andy article

Florin JACL Manzanar Pilgrimage
Walking In Their Footsteps
By Andy Noguchi & Twila Tomita

Florin Manzanar group photo caption: 1st Florin JACL Manzanar Pilgrimage in front of camp monument with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in background. 55 people of diverse backgrounds attended. (Photo by Mike Namba)Click for a larger photo
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The 55 sojourners hiked the dusty, parched grounds of the Manzanar Internment Camp on April 29th, walking in the footsteps of the 600 Florin Japanese Americans forced from their homes in 1942.

Like the Nikkei before them traveling under the cloud of the December 7th Pearl Harbor attack, this diverse group of Americans of Japanese, Muslim, Chinese, Jewish, Filipino, Korean, and European ancestry journeyed in the shadow of 9/11.

This adventuresome crew from the Sacramento area, in this first organized effort, undertook this 350 mile pilgrimage / 8 hour bus ride spanning 3 days to traverse the Sierra Nevada Mountains down Highway 395, past Bishop, and finally arrive at Manzanar. Former internee, Hiroko Saigo, remarked that, "the ride reminded her of a long trip to a former destination in Gila River camp," though a lot nicer, of course.

People on the protracted ride expressed that they wanted to learn first-hand about the wartime stories of the Issei & Nisei. Some wondered about what lessons this might hold after 9/11.

With ages ranging from 7 to mid-80s, the assembly later absorbed the tales of camp hardship told by National Park Ranger Richard Potashin as they trudged through the barracks foundation, mess hall, and rock garden areas.

Who could forget the women's latrine building with pipes for the toilets placing strangers nearly cheek-to-cheek? No partitions shielding modesty in the early months. The walk brought back vivid memories for the dozen Nisei and older Sansei in the group.

The topnotch museum, housed in the renovated Manzanar gymnasium, impressed all. Carol Hironaka, a former Manzanar internee, saw her name etched on the expansive plexi-glass wall listing the names of over 10,000 inhabitants. The names of my two uncles, orphans in the Children's Village, stood out for me.

The cemetery interfaith ceremony, led by Shinto, Buddhist, and Christian priests, invited people to pay their respects by offering carnations. Some made other offerings. Our group, with the planning of Annie Kim Noguchi, had folded origami paper cranes along our journey. Several of our ten students presented the cranes.

The five Muslim friends in our group, Dina El-Nakhal & Maren Shawesh dressed in traditional hajib scarves, represented Americans of the Islamic faith.

The L.A. Manzanar Committee drew over 500 people to its 37th annual day program - a massive & valuable undertaking.

The Manzanar After Dusk program in Lone Pine drew several hundred, mostly college students from the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. Camp Dance by the Grateful Crane Ensemble wowed the audience by expertly telling the poignant, moving, and humorous stories through lively song, dance, and dramatic numbers.

Small circle group discussions offered students a chance to talk to those who had lived the camp experience first-hand. Mary Yaskukawa, a former Tule Lake internee, said the importance of these discussions was driven home to her. Most of the students said parents & grandparents never talked about the camps.

Walking among the groups, you could see Nisei veterans, draft resisters, and those whose families were No-No Boys generously sharing their stories and the impossible choices the government forced upon them. Most of the discussion facilitators turned out to be our Florin pilgrimage members!

A young Muslim man in our group, Mike Fauzy, unexpectedly made his way onto the stage during the open mic session. He courageously shared his fears as a Muslim American when many people ignorantly cast suspicion on his community after 9/11.

Karen Kurasaki, Florin Chapter President, expressed the empathy felt by the audience when she called on all to support Mike Fauzy and our Muslim neighbors. People responded with a moving standing ovation. Wayne Maeda, Asian American Studies professor at CSU-Sacramento, later publicly thanked Karen saying, "We've all made a commitment to stand up for each other."

As we journeyed back after 3 days together, many people shared their thoughts & feelings. Joyce Eng, head of the Chinese American Council (CACS), disclosed that she "had been to two other internment camps before, Angel Island and Ellis Island", where many immigrants had been imprisoned. This was her first chance to hear people share their stories.

The pilgrimage provided a lesson for Dina El-Nakhal of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR). She "felt the sense of strength and pride from all the internees" "They had an amazing resilient spirit - of looking forward."

One of the youth, Esumi Fujimoto, a Davis student, shared her thoughts. She "valued every single word said on the trip. It's really important for us young people to get out and be educated. We're not learning about people's personal experiences in school, just what's in a text book."

Temple B'nai Israel member, JoAnn Solov, found a renewed commitment. "With the Muslim community feeling victimization, we really have to have a stronger presence with them, solidarity."

We even found plenty of time to have fun along the way. The Zephyr Cove and Mono Lake Interpretive Center stops were beautiful & relaxing. Bus host Stan Umeda's selection of Nikkei videos was perfect.
Everyone got a kick out of Bob Uyeyama's singing & harmonica talents as we relived 40s tunes. The beautiful Florin JACL Manzanar T-shirts designed by artist Stephanie Kubo were a big hit.

We were all well-fed, refreshed with drinks & snacks along the way, due to the coordination of our own Mike Staley, assisted by Darrell Naruto of the Marysville JACL. The "world famous" Bishop "lizard" jerky was a tasty treat. The advance team, including Steve & Jennifer Kubo, helped check out the route so travel would go especially well.

As the pilgrimage ended, we were no longer just 55 individuals or members of the Florin JACL, CAIR, CACS, Temple B'nai Israel, Nikkei Singles Club, Asian American Studies Departments, or other groups. Along the journey's way, we opened our eyes, listened, and learned from each other.

As Stan Umeda, a former Jerome internee, put it, "What started out as just a trip, by traveling together and sharing with people, it turned into a pilgrimage." By the end of our journey, we had walked in the footsteps of the original 600 Florin Manzanar internees, paid our respects, made new friendships, and renewed our commitment to being vigilant today.

(Florin JACL Manzanar planning committee members: Stan Umeda, Bob Uyeyama, Mike Staley, Dina El-Nakhal, Maren Shawesh, Karen Kurasaki, Annie Kim Noguchi, Steve, Jennifer, & Stephanie Kubo. Andy Noguchi & Twila Tomita served as the chairperson and assistant chair of this Florin JACL Manzanar Pilgrimage).


Florin JACL Manzanar Pilgrimage Walking In Their Footsteps By Andy Noguchi & Twila Tomita Florin Manzanar group photo caption: 1st Florin JACL Manzanar Pilgrimage in front of camp monument with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in background. 55 people of diverse backgrounds attended. (Photo by Mike Namba)Click for a larger photo . The 55 sojourners hiked the dusty, parched grounds of the Manzanar Internment Camp on April 29th, walking in the footsteps of the 600 Florin Japanese Americans forced from their homes in 1942. Like the Nikkei before them traveling under the cloud of the December 7th Pearl Harbor attack, this diverse group of Americans of Japanese, Muslim, Chinese, Jewish, Filipino, Korean, and European ancestry journeyed in the shadow of 9/11. This adventuresome crew from the Sacramento area, in this first organized effort, undertook this 350 mile pilgrimage / 8 hour bus ride spanning 3 days to traverse the Sierra Nevada Mountains down Highway 395, past Bishop, and finally arrive at Manzanar. Former internee, Hiroko Saigo, remarked that, "the ride reminded her of a long trip to a former destination in Gila River camp," though a lot nicer, of course. People on the protracted ride expressed that they wanted to learn first-hand about the wartime stories of the Issei & Nisei. Some wondered about what lessons this might hold after 9/11. With ages ranging from 7 to mid-80s, the assembly later absorbed the tales of camp hardship told by National Park Ranger Richard Potashin as they trudged through the barracks foundation, mess hall, and rock garden areas. Who could forget the women's latrine building with pipes for the toilets placing strangers nearly cheek-to-cheek? No partitions shielding modesty in the early months. The walk brought back vivid memories for the dozen Nisei and older Sansei in the group. The topnotch museum, housed in the renovated Manzanar gymnasium, impressed all. Carol Hironaka, a former Manzanar internee, saw her name etched on the expansive plexi-glass wall listing the names of over 10,000 inhabitants. The names of my two uncles, orphans in the Children's Village, stood out for me. The cemetery interfaith ceremony, led by Shinto, Buddhist, and Christian priests, invited people to pay their respects by offering carnations. Some made other offerings. Our group, with the planning of Annie Kim Noguchi, had folded origami paper cranes along our journey. Several of our ten students presented the cranes. The five Muslim friends in our group, Dina El-Nakhal & Maren Shawesh dressed in traditional hajib scarves, represented Americans of the Islamic faith. The L.A. Manzanar Committee drew over 500 people to its 37th annual day program - a massive & valuable undertaking. The Manzanar After Dusk program in Lone Pine drew several hundred, mostly college students from the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. Camp Dance by the Grateful Crane Ensemble wowed the audience by expertly telling the poignant, moving, and humorous stories through lively song, dance, and dramatic numbers. Small circle group discussions offered students a chance to talk to those who had lived the camp experience first-hand. Mary Yaskukawa, a former Tule Lake internee, said the importance of these discussions was driven home to her. Most of the students said parents & grandparents never talked about the camps. Walking among the groups, you could see Nisei veterans, draft resisters, and those whose families were No-No Boys generously sharing their stories and the impossible choices the government forced upon them. Most of the discussion facilitators turned out to be our Florin pilgrimage members! A young Muslim man in our group, Mike Fauzy, unexpectedly made his way onto the stage during the open mic session. He courageously shared his fears as a Muslim American when many people ignorantly cast suspicion on his community after 9/11. Karen Kurasaki, Florin Chapter President, expressed the empathy felt by the audience when she called on all to support Mike Fauzy and our Muslim neighbors. People responded with a moving standing ovation. Wayne Maeda, Asian American Studies professor at CSU-Sacramento, later publicly thanked Karen saying, "We've all made a commitment to stand up for each other." As we journeyed back after 3 days together, many people shared their thoughts & feelings. Joyce Eng, head of the Chinese American Council (CACS), disclosed that she "had been to two other internment camps before, Angel Island and Ellis Island", where many immigrants had been imprisoned. This was her first chance to hear people share their stories. The pilgrimage provided a lesson for Dina El-Nakhal of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR). She "felt the sense of strength and pride from all the internees" "They had an amazing resilient spirit - of looking forward." One of the youth, Esumi Fujimoto, a Davis student, shared her thoughts. She "valued every single word said on the trip. It's really important for us young people to get out and be educated. We're not learning about people's personal experiences in school, just what's in a text book." Temple B'nai Israel member, JoAnn Solov, found a renewed commitment. "With the Muslim community feeling victimization, we really have to have a stronger presence with them, solidarity." We even found plenty of time to have fun along the way. The Zephyr Cove and Mono Lake Interpretive Center stops were beautiful & relaxing. Bus host Stan Umeda's selection of Nikkei videos was perfect. Everyone got a kick out of Bob Uyeyama's singing & harmonica talents as we relived 40s tunes. The beautiful Florin JACL Manzanar T-shirts designed by artist Stephanie Kubo were a big hit. We were all well-fed, refreshed with drinks & snacks along the way, due to the coordination of our own Mike Staley, assisted by Darrell Naruto of the Marysville JACL. The "world famous" Bishop "lizard" jerky was a tasty treat. The advance team, including Steve & Jennifer Kubo, helped check out the route so travel would go especially well. As the pilgrimage ended, we were no longer just 55 individuals or members of the Florin JACL, CAIR, CACS, Temple B'nai Israel, Nikkei Singles Club, Asian American Studies Departments, or other groups. Along the journey's way, we opened our eyes, listened, and learned from each other. As Stan Umeda, a former Jerome internee, put it, "What started out as just a trip, by traveling together and sharing with people, it turned into a pilgrimage." By the end of our journey, we had walked in the footsteps of the original 600 Florin Manzanar internees, paid our respects, made new friendships, and renewed our commitment to being vigilant today. (Florin JACL Manzanar planning committee members: Stan Umeda, Bob Uyeyama, Mike Staley, Dina El-Nakhal, Maren Shawesh, Karen Kurasaki, Annie Kim Noguchi, Steve, Jennifer, & Stephanie Kubo. Andy Noguchi & Twila Tomita served as the chairperson and assistant chair of this Florin JACL Manzanar Pilgrimage).

Muslim & Japanese American photo caption: New friends. L to R: Maren Shawesh, Florin Manzanar internee Carol Hironaka, & Dina El-Nakhal. (Photo by Marion Hironaka Cowee).		Students getting involved. L to R: Esumi Fujimoto, Todd Shima, Miyako Abe, Hytham Rashid, Sondra Morishima, Justin Fong, Annie Kim Noguchi, Michelle Fong, Beth Uno, & Kim Mee Staley. (Photo by Stan Umeda).