The experience of the people in the internment camps and their testimonies tell the tale of an atrocity that these people had to live through. The Japanese-Canadian experience was one where the actions of the government and people other than that of Japanese origin in Canada were influenced by fear. The two experiences in this exhibit give the reader an insight into what the camps were like and how the Japanese Canadian felt. The testimonies have been written on two different coloured paper and these have significance. The red circle stuck on the white paper signifies that the people of Japanese origin, many of whom were born in Canada were thought to be loyal towards their home country and discriminated …show more content…
The second is a patterned pink circle which depicts cherry blossom, a sign of peace and tranquility in Japan. All the Japanese Canadian people wanted there to be peace among the two countries as the war was the reason they were being interned and their rights being stripped away from them. The artifacts highlight the historical significance of the Japanese Canadian internment as 23,000 people of Japanese origin faced restrictions on their movement and loss of their financial assets. They also did not have access to basic civil amenities and electricity. The internment caused a divide between the Japanese and non-Japanese population of Canada and damaged the relations between the people of the Japanese-Canadian community and the government. Later in 1988, the government of Canada finally realized that none of the internees had ever been convicted and so apologized to them. The Japanese-Canadians had to live with feeling that they did not belong and were unwanted in Canada for almost 45 years before their names were cleared. This event is still relevant today as through experiences such as this one, Canada has become …show more content…
They speak to every person differently and every time one looks at them, they notice something different or feel something different. The picture in this case is of an internment and labour camp for Japanese-Canadian men where they are burying a friend. These people were put into these camps as they protested against the canadian government's decision to displace several people of Japanese origin. The large targets on their backs have been made so that if anyone tried to escape, they could be shot. During the years of the war, not a single Japanese Canadian was ever convicted of treason but the people were highly suspicious of them and treated them as prisoners of wars. They believed that they were still loyal to Japan and would help the Japanese to win the war. Due to this fear, they were removed from their homes located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia and forced to move inland. They were also not allowed to fish, which was many people’s livelihood and they were not allowed to operate shortwave radios and cameras. The primary cause for Japanese internment in Canada was the fear of the Japanese Canadians being loyal to their homeland and helping the Imperial Japanese army to attack or invade Canada. The short-term consequences were low tolerance for diversity in the nation and loss of financial assets (including property, cars, etc)