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History Lesson on the Japanese Canadian Internment
Sit by the radio, listening
Hear of great battles
Make paper planes like the great birds of war,
Think of the day
That you can enlist,
Like your father,
Veteran,
Fight for your country.
Radio tells of Japan
And pearl harbor
Bombs rain down
Suffering follows
For those there, and those still here,
“We are Canadians”
They cry,
But no one seems to listen.
It starts with boats, cameras, radios
Then homes are taken
People are taken
With only what they can carry
Leaving behind a scattered trail
Of memories and broken dreams
Wishing for hope in dark times
Watching as they continue to take and take and take
Forced here and there without explanation
Onto trains that are
Dark, cramped, crowed
The people like cattle
Afraid and uncertain
Arriving at ghost towns and camps
Prisoners hoping for a rescue that never comes
Even though they are not the enemy
This ‘new home’ is not home
Tiny houses like shacks
With relentless heat and cold reaching in
Spend nights
Looking at stars through cracks in the walls
Wishing without a word or answer
Guarded like convicts,
Thought of as spies
For years I was there,
with mother and brother
Father was far, working, suffering
We were prisoners in our own country,
The country that father had served
That grandfather gave his life for
Had they forgotten about all
That we had given?
We had to fight long to be acknowledged,
Gain compensation and apology,
And the ability to come back home
But now we seem forgotten
As they work for truth and reconciliation
They remember pain brought to some
But what about us?
Did we not suffer as well?
Canadian history is larger than just
What people talk of now
There are more stories to be told,
More injustices that were faced,
Many problems still impacting
Those of us still here,
Still living,
Still fighting.
Sit by the radio, listening
Hear of great battles
Make paper planes like the great birds of war,
Think of the day
That you can enlist,
Like your father,
Veteran,
Fight for your country.
Radio tells of Japan
And pearl harbor
Bombs rain down
Suffering follows
For those there, and those still here,
“We are Canadians”
They cry,
But no one seems to listen.
It starts with boats, cameras, radios
Then homes are taken
People are taken
With only what they can carry
Leaving behind a scattered trail
Of memories and broken dreams
Wishing for hope in dark times
Watching as they continue to take and take and take
Forced here and there without explanation
Onto trains that are
Dark, cramped, crowed
The people like cattle
Afraid and uncertain
Arriving at ghost towns and camps
Prisoners hoping for a rescue that never comes
Even though they are not the enemy
This ‘new home’ is not home
Tiny houses like shacks
With relentless heat and cold reaching in
Spend nights
Looking at stars through cracks in the walls
Wishing without a word or answer
Guarded like convicts,
Thought of as spies
For years I was there,
with mother and brother
Father was far, working, suffering
We were prisoners in our own country,
The country that father had served
That grandfather gave his life for
Had they forgotten about all
That we had given?
We had to fight long to be acknowledged,
Gain compensation and apology,
And the ability to come back home
But now we seem forgotten
As they work for truth and reconciliation
They remember pain brought to some
But what about us?
Did we not suffer as well?
Canadian history is larger than just
What people talk of now
There are more stories to be told,
More injustices that were faced,
Many problems still impacting
Those of us still here,
Still living,
Still fighting.