ased on the lies of a “confidential
informant,” in January 1942, the FBI invaded the home of my husband’s
grandfather, a prosperous businessman in Seattle’s International District. The FBI ransacked the house and took his
address books, Japanese language books and magazines, and even raffle tickets
for a JACL fundraiser. He was arrested and held with no charges, without being sentenced,
and without the representation of a lawyer. He was incarcerated in a Department
of Justice prison in Bismarck, North Dakota as a dangerous alien enemy despite
his innocence and the lack of any evidence. He was eventually paroled,
financially drained, stripped of his dignity, his health destroyed, and his
good name ruined. He died of a massive heart attack before the war ended.
Earlier this month in the small farming
community of Lodi, California a disturbingly familiar scenario was unfolding.
Ice cream truck driver Umer Hayat and his son Hamid were arrested as alleged
“terrorists” who planned to attack shopping centers and hospitals. The
allegations appeared in an FBI agent’s affidavit that was widely distributed
and the source of hundreds of newspaper and television news stories that fanned
fears of terrorist bombings in the Sacramento valley. Once the media were
saturated with the threat of terrorist attacks, the FBI affidavit was withdrawn
and described as a mistake.” A different affidavit was filed in court, reported
the New York Times on 6/11/05, one that deleted any mention of terrorist
attacks on large food stores and hospitals.
Within days of the arrests, amidst growing
clamor of terrorism in Lodi, half a dozen members of the Florin Chapter of the
JACL organized under the leadership of the Florin chapter civil rights chair,
Andy Noguchi, attended an emergency forum at a Stockton mosque. The mosque was
filled with fathers and sons and wives and children - all of whom feared for
their safety and protection, not from the supposed Islamic “terrorists” among
them, but from Federal law enforcement officials.
The scene at the mosque was a vivid and
haunting reminder of the mistreatment of our Japanese immigrant forebears
during World War II, something many of us thought could not happen again after
the success of the Japanese American redress movement and the Presidential
apology in 1988. How wrong we were.
The Muslim community in Stockton and Lodi
reported the threatening and intimidating presence of the FBI, feeling
themselves the target of aggressive FBI surveillance and interviews.
“Planes and helicopters are flying over and
around our neighborhoods. The government agents question innocent people at
work and at their homes; they follow innocent people around the block as though
they are guilty of something,” said Hamza El-Nakhal, describing the constant
surveillance. Nakhal is President of the Sacramento Valley chapter of Council
on American-Islamic Relations, a nationwide Islamic civil rights and advocacy
group that has monitored the FBI’s activities in the Pakistani community in
Lodi.
“They force people to take lie detector tests
by threatening to put them in jail if they do not take the test. At one home
agents wanted to search, they kicked the door open and pointed weapons at the
heads of women.”
“Instead of feeling that these law
enforcement agents are here to protect us, it seems more like the community is
under siege, invaded by over 100 FBI agents,” said El-Nakhal.
“We are not supporting terrorism. America is
our country. If anyone harbored terrorists, we would be the first to report it.
We are innocent but we feel that we are being treated as criminals in the same
way that Japanese Americans were treated as the enemy after Pearl Harbor was
bombed,” said El-Nakhal. “People in our community are filled with fear and
worry that the same things that happened during World War II will happen once
again.”
As our group from Florin JACL drove home from
Lodi, we pondered the events taking place and wondered what to believe.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the way my
husband’s grandfather was treated as a dangerous criminal even though he was
innocent. I also remembered that very few people stood up to speak out and
challenge the way Japanese Americans were being stripped of their rights and
their freedom during World War II.
What lessons have we learned from our own
terrible experiences, treated as the enemy because we looked like them? Do we
truly believe the guiding principle of justice in America, “innocent until
proven guilty?”
We can remain silent and console ourselves
with “shikata ga nai.” Personally, I am grateful that the Florin Chapter, in
which I am proud to claim membership, has risen to the occasion and extended
support to a community that is sorely in need of friends.
Florin JACL Supports Muslim American Community
- by Andy
Noguchi, Civil Rights Co-Chair
o counter the cloud of suspicion hanging over
the Muslim American community – the false accusations by the government about
plots to attack hospitals and shopping centers, the public trial of suspects
through media reports, and hysteria about terrorism whipped up by politicians –
the Florin JACL and other community groups have stepped forward - just as we
wish people would have stepped forward for Japanese Americans after Pearl
Harbor.
-
Attending “Know Your Rights” Forum with Stockton & Lodi Muslim
American community
-
Meeting with Lodi and Stockton JACL Chapter members.
-
Joining a news conference calling to respect the civil liberties of
Muslim Americans.
- Supporting
Muslim American “How to Deal with the Psychological Impact of Terrorism” forum.
-
Protesting KFBK News Radio promo spreading false claim of plot to attack
hospitals & shopping malls.
-
Organizing legal resources for Muslim Americans being questioned by the
FBI.
-
Writing articles educating the public about the threat to civil rights
similar to those faced by JAs before
-
Mobilizing support from other Asian Americans and the public
-
Speaking at a news conference with Muslim Americans denouncing
terrorists attacks.
-
Attending a new Introduction to Islam 101 course to learn the facts
about the Muslim religion
Many Muslim Americans we’ve met have
expressed their deep gratitude for the special concern shown by Japanese
Americans during this challenging time.
Our appreciation goes to Florin JACL members like Cheryl Miles, Karen
Kurasaki, Fumie Shimada, Barbara Takei, Alan Koike, Twila Tomita, Marion &
Ryu Kanemoto, Bob Uyeyama, Kazuyo Morishita, Kais Menufy, and many others. Please contact any of us for more
information.
