Answer:
Negative Psychological Effects
Shock, fear, and worry were common initial psychological reactions [1] as Japanese Americans were forced to deal with the stress of enforced dislocation and the abandonment of their homes, possessions, and businesses. Without information about where they were being taken, how they would be treated by the government, or how long they would be gone, uncertainty about their future loomed large. Added to these concerns was the larger psychological burden of being stripped of their civil rights and the unjust ethnic denigration of being suspected of disloyalty based only on their Japanese heritage [2] .
Within the camps, Japanese Americans endured dehumanizing conditions including poor housing and food, a lack of privacy, inadequate medical care, and substandard education. Feelings of helplessness emerged under the racially segregated colonial conditions where white administrators wielded power and set policy, and where Japanese Americans were treated more like prison inmates than individuals. [3] Many incarcerees attempted to make the best of their situation by responding with the Japanese stance "Shikata ga nai" (It can't be helped) and drawing upon the Japanese value of "gaman," the internalization of and suppression of emotion. [4] However, there was also anger and resentment about their unjust imprisonment. The "enforced idleness" and harsh living conditions aggravated tensions between incarcerees and the War Relocation Authority as well as among the incarcerees themselves as they argued about the distribution of camp resources and leadership positions. [5] Added to this were tensions surrounding responses to the government's loyalty questionnaire and the draft. Levels of disillusionment increased over time and approximately 20,000 incarcerees eventually expressed their frustration by filing for repatriation or expatriation to Japan. [6] Extreme peer pressure and coercion played a major role in the large number of requests, especially at the Tule Lake camp [7] and only about 8,000 actually left the country. Nonetheless, the large number who applied for this option has been seen as an indication of the levels of "outrage and alienation." [8]
More specific psychological effects of the incarceration were mediated by age, life stage, and gender. [9] The oldest incarcerees were first generation Japanese immigrants ( Issei ). Although most Issei had lived in the U.S. for decades, they were barred from citizenship in the U.S. (See Ozawa v. U.S. ) Those who were leaders in the Japanese American community before the war were considered by the government to be high risk for disloyalty. These 1,500, mostly male Issei, were abruptly arrested by the FBI soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor and kept in Department of Justice (DOJ) internment camps as enemy aliens. [10] DOJ internees experienced significant stress and worry from their sudden removal, loneliness at being separated from their families and friends for extended periods of time, and the clear loss of autonomy while imprisoned in highly controlled and Spartan conditions. [11] Given that most of these internees were active men who had been community leaders before their removal, these difficult conditions were felt intensely. [12] Those who were eventually moved to one of the ten incarceration camps encountered continued stress. Some found that their own children no longer recognized them. Others found themselves stigmatized by fellow incarcerees who viewed their previous DOJ detention with suspicion. [13]
The incarceration also had psychological impacts on the Issei in non-DOJ camps. Born and raised in Japan, "For the honor-conscious Issei, it was the repudiation of many years of effort and hard work in this country." [14] Under the communal camp conditions Issei men lost their traditional roles as the heads of household and civic leaders. In addition to losing their livelihoods and no longer being the primary wage-earners, they found that their wives, freed from household chores, could take on camp jobs for the same pay as men. [15] The absence of a home base and communal camp conditions diminished Issei authority within their own families. Children ate with peers rather than family members in the mess halls and frequently socialized with friends. [16] At the same time, the Issei experienced an additional loss of status as a result of WRA policy that prohibited them from taking on leadership positions at the beginning of the camps and instead placed the younger Nisei in those roles. [17]
Explanation:
