Letter from Eiko Fujii to Fred S. Farr, February 3, 1943

of Tw

Denson, Arkansas,

February 3, 1943.

Dear Fred,

I am haunted - haunted by dozens and dozens of

letters tlt keep hounding me for answers. It finally

took a cold to get me wut of this nightmare. Had an awful

cold and stayed in beu since Sunday, and since the fever is

gone, I thought it was now or never. Got a half a dozen

. duty letters off and decided life was too sweet to waste

time on them, so tere I am, propped up in bed with the type-

writer on my - er - chest, all ready to look on the sunny

side of life. |

First of all, I am so happy for you that it was

a girl. If she grows up with the charm that she certainly

must have acquired from her' father, she will be wonderful.

And although I do not know your wife - if she will accept

- my congratulations to her too. |

You happened to mention in your letter about a Mr.

Watt that had spent some time at Tule Lake. I wonder if

he recalls Mr. James that was wotking there also - Mr.

James came here in regards to leaves to go outside to vork,

and he gave us some encouragement and enthusiam that we

certainly needvat this time. When he came I asked him

whether there was a possibility of finding a job in Wash.

D.C. (in spite of living conditions there and why-girls-go-

home article that came out in the LIFE magazine) but he did

not sound very encouraging. I asked him just for fun, for

I thought probably my knowledge of the Japanese language

might come in handy. There is a job of transcribing Japanese

broadcast into English, but my reading and transcribing power

ts limited to business and personal letters, and unless one

has some knowledge of foreign politics and journalism on the

side, it is pretty difficult to take a job like that.

Tom Cummins paid us an unexpected visit shortly

before Christmas. We were so really surprised to see him

ax that to this day we still talkabout it. He "dropped in"

on his way back to hig home to Casey, Ill. He stayed over-

night in Camp, and had meals with us and everything. I was

wondering why he was being welcomed by the Caucasian staff

here, and later found out most of them were connected with

the Fo Al

Now, about those questions that you asked:

I do not exactly know what you are referring to as an "issei-

Nissei problem", Probably you have their loyalty question in

mind, Regarding Isseis, the fact that they cannot be natura-

lized has made them feel like an outsider ail their lives in

this Country - and probably the cause for their being so

clannish. Technically they are Japanese subjects, but I

firmly believe there isn't a single Issei that will do any

thing to harm the United States, and I include those that are

interned. They may be loyal to Japan - that I don't know -

but they are all - and I can almost bet my last penny on it

- all grateful to the United States for the freedom and living

she has given them. There are many that have applied for re-

patriation, and I think those should be sent back there - but

still, even those - I have faith in them that they will not

do anything subversive to the land that fed them and enriched

_their lives so much. |

As for the Nisseis, those that were educated in this Country

are 100% American. I wish some of these anti-Japs could really

mingle with some of us and find out for themselves how American

we are. Our thoughts, talks, pleasures, philosophies are all

typically AMErican and therein lies or main friction between

parents and sons. A surprising number of families have been

broken up by differences of ideas - parents claim sons don't

understand them - sons claim parents have reactionary ideas.

To top this dissension, the children do not speak enough :

Japanese to make themselves understood, and the parents' broken

English is not convincing enough, and so the break is there to

stay.

While we are on the subject of loyalty, did you hear about the

U.S. Army wanting to form a combat troop of Nisei boys only?

Ta t really makes me mad. Just because we have the physical

makeup of the enemy, why segregate us? The boys aren't even

given a chance to prove their loyalty, but are being corralled

into one Camp - WHY? Does the ARmy think they can't be truste@

The discrimination wes there always, yes, but why draw such a

sharp line to make us conscious that we do have yellow skin and

therefore are on the wrong side of the track - why make the

intangible line so tangible? Can't they understand that by

such action, even the most loyal ones could get rebellious.

We bowed to the inevitable evacuation, but should this actually

come to pass we forfeit the last right that we can call our own

as an American citizen - the right of equality.

It 1s a good thing I am a@.g@irl.- for sa thing like that aggra-

vates me to the point of tears. Like this evacuation, you

know as we}l as I do how heartbreaking it was, Wnen it first

o Ot

started I (R)uld not conveeive it ever happening to American citi-

zens. There are so many loopholes, so many false notes to this

' whole evacuation, and to what gain? Now we are a burden to the

Government - stepchildren ... Illigetimate children, I should say

- acknowledged but not wanted.

I think my lowered state of resistance is flowing

into this letter, so for some of your other questions;

You asked what facilities have been provided for the convenience

of education for highschool students - I'll Gry to give you the

general system. Two blocks are set aside for schools, one for |

grammar grades and another for high school. T'll get the stats

on students and pupils if you are specially interested in this

line. I do not know much about the highschool students, but have

two nieces going to the grammar school, one in the oth, and the

other in the first. They have both lost one year of schooling,

for have not had any regular education since March 1942, when they

evacuated. Schoolrooms and supplies are meager to say the least.

My little niece has to take a camp stool with her every day, for

they have no tables, and use the folding chairs for tables.

There are Caucasian teachers, all degreed (sounds funny, but you

know what I mean) and since the scarcity of teachers is accute,

Nisseig# teachers are on the staff. fhe only requirement being

that they are college graduates - and to be perfectly frank,

quite a number of them are not suited to be teachers. .

Highschool students may apply to go to outside schools, but so

far not a single one has gone out. Quite a number of college

students have gone out. 1 am working in the "Leave and Transfer

Division" and this comes directly under our office, so I have the

stats if you are interested. Student releases are applied thru

the National Student Relocation Council in San Francisco, and

takes time. |

| I happened to notice you mentioned about the Presi-

dent of a small University in Vermont was interested in getting

farming families there. I haven't heard anything about this -

most probably it will be squelched, for no one can go out tohe

Eastern Defense area without the army clearance.

I was working myself up to your next question of

how we feel about taking jobs on the outside and under what

conditions would we accept them.

First I'll get a piece in about my sister. She wants to get out

in a hurry mainly because of children's education. Long Beach

had one of the highest educativnal standing, I understand, and

I suppose she has become education-conscious,.

~ 44

(are you still with me? This c@rtainly is attalning the size of

a mammoth, I am certain Emily Post will disapprove of the length)

The lights went out just now, We are having a terrific electric

storm, A touch-system typing certainly does come in handy at a

time like this - and a nice dive mipon - keeps my mind off of

lightening and thunder. .

I think I was going to write about outside joo, This is the situa-

tion, Unless we have an outside job, a definite position, the WRA

won't let. us out. We - those that 7s interested in going out -

have taken out "leave clearances" Ce that we filed at this

Camp, copies of which go to Washangt on D.C. for a check-up, in-

cluding the FBI clearance. oe we get our clearances, what? We

cannot go out without a def pLLoyricuh, Bub how to attain

a job - 99%o0f us will pe ing out O strange cliies and (the

lights came back) it is inconceivaonle tht anyone would give us a

job without an interview and without| knowing our backgrounds. Yet,

without a definite offer we can't gojout - so we go around in a

circle. The WRA is setting up offices in key-akaxs erent so

gradually things will be syetema i ape.

f

We all have grand discussions ab it whether to go out or not.

Majority of the boys feel they have lesser chance than girls to

resettle on the outside for they! know no specialized trade - like

typing or shorthand; or they go to the other extreme of too highly

specialized skill but no opening. It really is astonishing to

realize that so many boys with college degrees have been working

ok fruitstands and markets, driving trucks. The reason for that

is lack of employment in the fields that they have had special

trainings - for practically all of the Caucasian doors were

closed to them. But I won't go into that now, for that's another

chapter, another thorn in our "sides that we have had to cope

with these several years.

And so, outa of professionals and those that have had trainings

like aeronautics, mechanics, radio and other similar trainings, it

is rather difficult for the boys to find jobs on the outside. Yet,

who can tell, maybe the'll find a fruitstand waiting for them in:

the wilds of New York! But those that have more serious thoughts

consider this the best opportunity to find the type of work that

was closed to them in Caiifornia and the West Coast. Each will

have to solve his own problem, and we are doing plenty of wishful-

thinking.