Think of the Children

In a Letter from Obasan to Nesan, Obasan is telling her about the harsh experiences and treatments of the Japanese in Canada as they are being relocated into Japanese internment camps. One of the most devastating points in the letters is about the kids not understanding what is going and the health problems facing the children. “She (Nomi) doesn’t understand what is going on at all. Stephen does, of course.” (Kogawa, 96).  The quote is an example of how the children are left oblivious to the situation because they are too little to understand and it can be frightening to them. It is extremely cruel for people to make a little, Innocent, child go through the same discrimination as the adults. In an instance at school, another student tells the older brother Stephen that the japs are bad and that they will be sent away. (Kogawa, 83-84). the though for a child’s family being sent away and not knowing why must have been frightening. The parents are trying everything they can to protect them from that hate and fear because parents are supposed to relax and protect their children but it can be hard to do when the children face the hatred at school by other kids. They must confront it on a daily basis. Stephen being the older child has a better idea of what is happening because he is older and can understand it better. Because he knows why his family is being sent away might frighten him more creating self hatred and hatred towards others where as Nomi is younger and more innocent, she may not understand the full impact or extent of the issue. However, the moving to a strange place, harsh environments, and people shunning the family may trigger curiosities. The parents are trying to protect the child from going through those emotional struggles. Once the children do get to the internment camp, they must battle health risks because of the poor nourishment. Babies could not be properly fed because the mother was not. In an instance when people found maggots and manure under the floorboards in a stall creating unhealthy conditions for the fragile young kids. Well at least they cleaned the place however, the smell was still noticeable even though they washed the place with lime chloride probably strong chemicals to be living around on a daily basis. The parents were concerned about the health of their children “Supper was two slices of Bologna, bread and tea. Nothing for babies.” (Kogawa, 114). Without proper nourishment of the parents, the babies couldn’t survive and children of all ages need healthy food as well. How can people allow such unacceptable behavior to happen on soil that was supposed to be free treating their citizens with care? How come no parents who know the struggles of raising a child feel no guilt about what they were doing? Fear caused people to loose empathy for others and not to question their actions. To pose these health threats on innocent children is savage. The power of fear is earth shattering now we look back and thing “what a terrible thing we did” why didn’t we look at it while it was happening and think “ why are we doing this?” Imagine the lives and suffering that could have been spared but America has a dark history hidden behind its glory.