Bunro Sakaino Concentration Camp Diary

Transcript

May 13th (Wednesday)

Memorial service for Mr. Oshima was held according to the past practice at 11 am. The emcee is a Zen Buddhist monk.What attracted our attention was a few from the Panama group who joined the service shirtless with a towel on their head and wearing geta clogs. We all found it very inappropriate.

We were all lined up for roll call in the afternoon. This is the first time. I assume the roll call was conducted as the incident took place yesterday.

Some commotions suddenly occurred on the north east area within the wire fence last night.

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I was told that one of the fellows from California who has mental health issues started to act out and his tent mates were trying to pin him down. A guard spotted it, turned the alarm and flash lights on, and ordered other onlooking Japanese around it to go back, and that is why it was noisy. We found out that they contacted the guards through Mayor Taoka, and Dr. Sekiyama came over and gave him a shot to make him sleep. I am wondering if even such a small incident could trigger extreme reactions as both guards and internees are on edge. As regulations state, we just need to stay quiet after 9 pm in our tent, and we don’t need to go outside to look around or get startled with voices.

The supervisor came with about 10 soldiers to take the above-mentioned mentally ill person away. They brought handcuffs, but the person was so calm, and they decided to leave him to a doctor and left. The above-mentioned patient was admitted to the Main Hospital later. Mr. Takeoka reported that this hospital is an excellent facility, and they offer the best treatment to their patients. Their patients even volunteer to take care of the yard under their supervision.

We found out that Mr.Ono’s eldest daughter Miss Fumiko got married. The wedding ceremony was held at the Japanese Methodist Church in Wapato. We do not have any means to send our warm wishes under the current circumstances. I decided to use scrap paper to create a message piece with everyone’s signature and started to work on it upon everyone’s approval.

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Those who are active in community such as Mr. Ono would have held a lavish ceremony, but our current situation does not allow him to do so. I cannot help feeling sorry for him.