May 7, 2012

Rose Ochi, internment camp survivor and political
activist, and Sue Obeidi, MPAC's Director of Operations,
commemorate the closing of the Manzanar Camp more than
70 years ago.

More than a 2,000 people gathered on April 26, including MPAC's Director of Operations Suhad Obeidi and Financial and Administrative Coordinator Lydia Burgos, to commemorate the 43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage. The annual event is organized to remember the more than 120,000 Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II. Nine detention camps were used to intern individuals and entire families, which included adults, seniors, children and infants. Manzanar was one of the largest of those camps around the country.

During the commemoration, camp survivor and political activist Rose Ochi, spoke of her work on the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 signed by President Ronald Reagan and the success in getting Manzanar named as a historic site. More commonly known as the “Redress Act,” it extended an official, national apology to those interned during World War II, and each survivor received $20,000. 

The Japanese American community, who understands the consequences of taking away civil libirties, stood side-by-side with the Muslim American community after 9/11, helping to ensure that what happened almost 70 years ago doesn’t repeat.

During her speech, Ochi told the crowd of multi-faith supporters, “You are our future advocates.”