Norm Hayashi (pictured here with his younger brother Pat) was two years old when his family was forcibly removed from their Oakland, CA home and incarcerated in the Topaz concentration camp in the Utah desert in 1942. In 1943, when the resettlement program expanded, Norm’s father left camp to work in Chicago to support his wife, parents, and three sons, all of whom remained behind in Topaz.
Many of us turned out between 2016-2020 to protest the separation of families and incarceration of refugees fleeing violence in their own countries and seeking asylum in the U.S. We breathed a sigh of relief when the incoming administration ended the policy. But the administration is now considering continuing the policy of incarcerating asylum seekers.
Sometimes it’s easier to look back on the events of the past and say, “That was wrong.” But when they happen in our own time, we tend to look away or say “this is different.” What is the same is the human cost of separation and detention.
The years of incarceration and separation took a toll on Norm’s mother’s health and his relationship with his father. Eighty years later, we are still feeling the effects of “Every Little Moment.” Read Norm’s story (first published on May 1, 2021).
The Topaz Stories Team
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Media Coverage:
Read Internee’s story told with ‘Topaz Collages’ (Wheel of Dharma, Vol. 5, Issue 3, March 2023).
Watch Topaz survivors tell their stories (abc4 news, 4/22/2022)
Listen to the “In the Hive” podcast with interviews with Ann Dion, Jonathan Hirabayashi, and Topaz survivors Jeanie Kashima and Joseph Nishimura (KCPW, 4/28/2022)
Read How a Utah exhibit about Topaz Camp looks to find empathy in ‘an ugly stain on American history (ksl.com, 4/22/2022)
Read “Topaz Stories rise from the dust,” (Department of Culture & Community Engagement, 4/2022)
Listen to KQED Forum, Day of Remembrance interview with Ruth Sasaki, 2/15/2022
Listen to Max Chang and Ruth Sasaki interviewed (KRCL RadioActive, 2/9/2022
Read On Topaz Stories and ‘Authentic Voice’, the Discover Nikkei interview with Ruth Sasaki (10/14/2022)
Listen to Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration, the Topaz Stories podcast with Ruth Sasaki and Jonathan Hirabayashi (6/2/2021)