Kenji - Fort Minor.mp3

[00:07.599]My father came from Japan in 1905
[00:10.439]He was 15 when he immigrated from Japan
[00:13.919]He, he... he worked until he was able to buy this patch
[00:17.109]And build a store
[00:17.970]
[00:18.199]Let me tell you the story in the form of a dream,
[00:20.139]I don't know why I have to tell it but I know what it means,
[00:22.669]Close your eyes, just picture the scene,
[00:24.279]As I paint it for you, it was World War II,
[00:26.499]When this man named Kenji woke up,
[00:28.549]Ken was not a soldier,
[00:29.739]He was just a man with a family who owned a store in LA,
[00:33.499]That day, he crawled out of bed like he always did,
[00:36.339]Bacon and eggs with wife and kids,
[00:38.279]He lived on the second floor of a little store he ran,
[00:40.989]He moved to LA from Japan,
[00:42.789]They called him 'Immigrant,'
[00:44.290]In Japanese, he'd say he was called "Esay,"
[00:46.659]That meant 'First Generation In The United States,'
[00:49.639]When everyone was afraid of the Germans, afraid of the Japs,
[00:53.290]But most of all afraid of a homeland attack,
[00:54.939]And that morning when Ken went out on the doormat,
[00:57.569]His world went black 'cause,
[00:59.290]Right there; front page news,
[01:01.390]Three weeks before 1942,
[01:02.919]"Pearl Harbour's Been Bombed And The Japs Are Comin',"
[01:05.719]Pictures of soldiers dyin' and runnin',
[01:07.479]Ken knew what it would lead to,
[01:09.319]Just like he guessed, the President said,
[01:11.239]"The evil Japanese in our home country will be locked away,"
[01:14.769]They gave Ken, a couple of days,
[01:17.789]To get his whole life packed in two bags,
[01:19.389]Just two bags, couldn't even pack his clothes,
[01:22.390]Some folks didn't even have a suitcase, to pack anything in,
[01:25.229]So two trash bags was all they gave them,
[01:27.689]When the kids asked mum "Where are we goin'?"
[01:30.900]Nobody even knew what to say to them,
[01:32.139]Ken didn't wanna lie, he said "The US is lookin' for spies,
[01:35.279]So we have to live in a place called Mandinar,
[01:38.690]Where a lot of Japanese people are,"
[01:40.139]Stop it don't look at the gunmen,
[01:41.689]You don't wanna get the soldiers wonderin',
[01:44.990]If you gonna run or not,
[01:45.598]'Cause if you run then you might get shot,
[01:47.689]Other than that try not to think about it,
[01:50.490]Try not to worry 'bout it; bein' so crowded,
[01:52.169]Someday we'll get out, someday, someday.
[01:56.639]
[01:56.679]As soon as war broke out
[01:57.190]The G.I came and they just come to the house and
[01:59.819]"You have to come"
[02:01.619]"All the Japanese have to go"
[02:02.899]They took Mr. Lee
[02:04.818]People didn't understand
[02:06.249]Why did they have to take him?
[02:08.599]Because he's an innocent (neighbour/labourer?)
[02:10.329]
[02:10.599]So now they're in a town with soldiers surroundin' them,
[02:12.709]Every day, every night look down at them,
[02:15.129]From watch towers up on the wall,
[02:17.149]Ken couldn't really hate them at all;
[02:19.399]They were just doin' their job and,
[02:20.739]He wasn't gonna make any problems,
[02:23.990]He had a little garden with vegetables and fruits that,
[02:26.168]He gave to the troops in a basket his wife made,
[02:28.719]But in the back of his mind, he wanted his families life saved,
[02:31.609]Prisoners of war in their own damn country,
[02:34.379]What for?
[02:35.399]Time passed in the prison town,
[02:36.839]He wanted them to live it down when they were free,
[02:39.379]The only way out was joinin' the army,
[02:41.559]And supposedly, some men went out for the army, signed on,
[02:45.179]And ended up flyin' to Japan with a bomb,
[02:47.439]That 15 kilotonne blast, put an end to the war pretty fast,
[02:51.909]Two cities were blown to bits; the end of the war came quick,
[02:55.179]Ken got out, big hopes of a normal life, with his kids and his wife,
[02:59.819]But, when they got back to their home,
[03:01.309]What they saw made them feel so alone,
[03:03.719]These people had trashed every room,
[03:05.809]Smashed in the windows and bashed in the doors,
[03:07.959]Written on the walls and the floor,
[03:09.709]"Japs not welcome anymore."
[03:11.489]And Kenji dropped both of his bags at his sides and just stood outside,
[03:15.629]He, looked at his wife without words to say,
[03:17.689]She looked back at him wiped the tears away,
[03:20.299]And, said "Someday we'll be okay, someday,"
[03:22.969]Now the names have been changed, but the story's true,
[03:25.859]My family was locked up back in '42,
[03:28.699]My family was there it was dark and damp,
[03:30.759]And they called it an internment camp
[03:32.459]
[03:32.959]When we first got back from camp... uhh
[03:35.228]It was... pretty... pretty bad
[03:37.228]
[03:37.569]I, I remember my husband said
[03:40.489]"Are we gonna stay 'til last?"
[03:42.129]Then my husband died before they close the camp.
[03:45.969]