Filmmaker Frank Chi produced an incredibly moving short film taking on the similarities between the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and the recent anti-Muslim rhetoric in America. In the film, Muslim-American children stand beside Japanese-Americans who lived in these camps as children themselves. The Muslim children read letters from Japanese children who wrote about their daily life, thoughts on racial discrimination and yes, their hope for a better future.
One powerful moment in the film occurs when 11-year-old Zaid Syed reads a letter from Louise Ogawa, who was a child at an internment camp in 1942 — “One discouraging thing which occurred here is the building of the fence. Now there is a fence all around this camp. I hope very soon this fence will be torn down.”
The short was sponsored by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, a must watch!
