While we were reading, “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei, many things were running through my mind. Why couldn’t anybody have stood up and protested against this? How could they justify doing this to other people? How would the internees lives have been if they had never gone to the camps? But something that I came back to time and time again was, Would I be able to stand those day-to-day conditions every day? What would it have been like to live in their shoes?

My parents are immigrants from Vietnam and I have been fortunate to live a good life because of their work. But while travelling to America, my dad was actually put into a refugee camp. So I went to ask him about his experiences while he was there to see how it compared to the graphic novel.

While he was at the camp he was only 13, and for food he was given a bag that would last for 3-4 days filled with canned goods and other things like crackers and salt. Along with the bag he ate from the coconuts on the surrounding trees. There was little shelter provided if any so he along with other people decided to chop down the aforementioned coconut trees and use them to create small huts to protect themselves from the weather. Wells were dug for water and for a very long time, he lived there working day in and day out until he was able to catch any form of transportation to the US.

Obviously a different camp and a different environment vastly changed the way life was lived in these two camps but hard work was still needed no matter what. People who lived in camps needed a ton of mental stamina and perseverance to be able to adapt to such a different way of life.

No matter how old you are, what you look like, how you dress, or how you act, we are all human. We should all be treated like humans, not animals cooped up in small enclosures just because of appearance. The problems of the world today truly show how we have forgotten about such a simple concept that was taught to us as little kids. Treat others the way you would want to be treated.