Explanation:
"As a result of the interview … my family name was reduced to No. 13660. I was given several tags bearing the family number, and was then dismissed."
After the events of the Japanese attack on a US military shipyards and airfields at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The American government believed that there were spies among the Japanese communities in America.
As at that time, there were about 93,000 Japanese in California and for easy identification the American military resorted to giving name tags to identify family names. The Okubo family got 13,660.
The statement above was as a result of the way Mine Okubo felt about the treatment her family got post-pearl harbour. It was most likely a traumatizing experience for her, given the fact that her family knew nothing about the attacks and they were also Americans by virtue of the laws. They were also made to wear allegiance to a country they had given their all before the war. While being exposed to harsh weather conditions as a result of the fact that most were stripped of their homes and had to live in camps throughout those periods.
A quote:
"I had the opportunity to study the human race from the cradle to the grave, and to see what happens to people when reduced to one status and one condition"
The one status and one condition was the tag Citizen 13660.
She was most likely overwhelmed with sadness with the way most Japanese families were treated. An excerpt from book
However, it was not long before I realized my predicament. My fellow workers were feeling sorry for me; my Caucasian friends were suggesting that I go east; my Japanese American friends were asking me what I would do if all American citizens and aliens of Japanese ancestry were evacuated. Letters from a sister in Southern California informed me that Father had been whisked away to an internment camp…. Â
The people looked at all of us, both citizens and aliens, with suspicion and mistrust.
This describes just how Mine felt even before they were made to face the extreme conditions to had to face while living in horse stables or military base as well as the humiliation they passed through. Coupled with the loss of properties every single Japanese family had to face .
