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Period: to
Immigration
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Birth
The Birth of Lee Tsuzumi: As a child, I thought I had everything. We had more than most other people and I always had something to do. I thought the way we lived in, which was in a wooden hut supporting our whole family of 12, was the way everyone lived. We had a much bigger hut than anyone and I thought we were living the life. As I became older I realizes a huge reality. We were living in terrible conditions. It was filthy! Our floor was dirty, walls covered in filth, and much more disgusting -
Birth Cont.
features. I realized that we, as a community, were actually very poor. I learned what jobs could do for us. Money could better out lives, and yet we had no money. At the age of 22, I had a wife and 2 children with no job. We had then decided to move to America for a new life for the better -
Event 1: Arrival Cont.
We told them that we were very poor back in China, and we decided to immigrate to America to start a better life for the better of my family. We stayed at Angel Island for another month or two -
Event 1: Arrival, Angel Island
Had no money to support the family. Herd of what America could bring us so we decided to immigrate there. We arrived at Angel Island, 12 of us, me, my wife, 2 sons, both me and my wife's dad and mom, and both of out grandparents. We stayed there for about a year or two in crowded places, but those places were somewhat "decent." Angel island was better than our old house, yet it was still very sanitized. They asked us questions about our families history, and much more about our culture. -
Interrogations
other family members will be involved. Getting the answers wrong can result in deportation because of a threat issue. However, we had trouble answering those questions -
Interrogations
We had to wait months before we were up for interrogations. They asked us questions about our families history, and much more about our culture. We told them that we were very poor back in China, and we decided to immigrate to America to start a better life for the better of my family. They also asked us about our family, where our village/town was, and where out home was located before. We had to remember out answers because if we move out of the country we need to remember the answers. Also -
Event 2: The First Job, San Francisco
After we left the island we needed a job, obviously for money. I found a job at a railroad. I was paid a fair amount of money, enough to keep food on the table and a little extra for saving. Americans however, hated me for "taking their job." All I did was ask for a job and didn’t get paid as much as the rest, so they hired me because of that. We were later able to buy a small house in a nice community supporting 12 people -
Coming Back to Bite Us Cont.
basically done for. When the time came we did not answer all the questions correctly and we were deported back to China. Being back in China changed everything. I now knew how to build a better house, hunt, and cook. From my experience, the U.S expects too much from us, and looks down upon us. Back in China we support each other no matter what. -
Prejudice Cont. 2
I came back I would be killed. I knew they were not joking so I didn’t come back and was left without a job. My son was not able to keep his job. We were left with my wife supporting the family -
Prejudice: San Francisco
By now our whole family except for our parents, had a job to help support the family. However, my children have told me that the white people were being mean to them. I couldn’t do much at first so I told him to ignore them. Later the next day, he came home all beaten up. Asked him what happened and he said that the white people beat him up because he took their job. Then it came to me, the same thing could happen to me. A few weeks later some people came to apply for a job but there was no room -
Prejudice Cont.
to me. A few weeks later some people came to apply for a job but there was no room. They saw me working of the rails and they complained that I shouldn’t be allowed to work on the rails. My boss told them that I was working for less, so that’s why he hired me. They left after that. After my working hours were over I left for home, but along the way I saw 3 men standing on the road. It was the people from before asking for a job. They rushed towards me and beat me to a pulp. They told me that if -
Coming Back to Bite Us
By now my grandparents are no longer living. We are in terrible shape. I have a job with very low wage, and my son works with me. My wife lost her job the same way we did. Now comes the time where we have to answer the interrogation questions again. There was a major problem. Neither me nor my wife could not remember the answers because of all the troubles we've already gone through. My children did not remember obviously because they were young, and my parents were too old to remember. We were