"One
of the most hauntingly pressing issues facing Japanese Americans
today is their concentration camp experience during World War
II. Yet, the major group of survivors -- the Nisei -- generally
do not confront the implications of it within themselves or with
their own children. In many respects the Nisei have been permanently
altered in their attitudes, both positively and negatively, in
regard to their identification with the values of their bicultural
heritage; or they remain confused or even injured by the traumatic
experience."
-
"Identity Crisis of the Sansei and the Concentration
Camp", Nobu Miyoshi, 1978.
"Recognizing
the great injustice that took place, they carry with them the
legacy of their parents' internment. Time has not severed the
psychological ties to events that preceded them, nor has the
fact that their parents will not openly discuss the internment.
On the contrary, the vast majority of Sansei (third generation)
feel that the incarceration has affected their lives in significant
ways..ot;
-
"Legacy of Injustice: Exploring the Cross-Generational
Impact of the Japanese American Internment", Donna K.
Nagata, 1993.
"Trauma
may directly or indirectly affect the children of trauma victims.
The multiple pathways of its effects create a variety of consequences.
Despite the silence, or perhaps because of it, the Sansei who
had a parent interned felt the effects of that experience in
numerous ways. They are sad and angry about the injustice and
attribute a number of negative consequences in their own lives
to their parents' internment. These include feelings of low self-esteem,
the pressure to assimilate, an accelerated loss of the Japanese
culture and language, and experiencing the unexpressed pain of
their parents."
-
"Legacy of Injustice: Exploring the Cross-Generational
Impact of the Japanese American Internment", Donna K.
Nagata, 1993.
"Long-term
health consequences included psychological anguish as well as
increased cardiovascular disease. Traumatic stress was buffered
by culturally constructed coping mechanisms that were less inculcated
in the youngest detainees. They reported more post-traumatic
stress symptoms of unexpected and disturbing flashback experiences
than those who were older at the time of incarceration. "
-
"The Experience of Injustice: Health Consequences of
the Japanese American Internment", Gwendolyn M. Jensen,
1997.
"Survey
information found former internees had a 2.1 greater risk of
cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular mortality, and premature
death than did a non-interned counterpart. California Nisei-age
individuals, the proxy for internment, died 1.6 years earlier
than Hawaiians who represented non-interned status. I concluded
traumatic stress has life-long consequences even in the presence
of efficacious coping strategies."
-
"The Experience of Injustice: Health Consequences of
the Japanese American Internment", Gwendolyn M. Jensen,
1997.
See
also: Dr.
Ina's Tule Lake Symposium Remarks
