When You Look Like the Enemy

Abstract

After the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress’ response to the attacks was the approval of the USA. Patriot Act. This broad legislative policy gave the government investigative powers to fight against terrorism and subsequently targeted those in the Arab, Muslim, and South Asian communities with not just prejudices against these communities, but blatant racism toward innocent people, just because they appear to look like they ‘‘identify’’ with those who have made terrorist threats. The government acted similarly against a group of people in this country that had a supposed connection with a terrorist threat. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and killed over 2,500 Americans. Seventy-three days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the government responded by retaliating against those of Japanese ancestry living in the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 to authorize the military to construct and run 10 internment camps that imprisoned over 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast in California, Oregon, and Washington. This entire ethnic community living on the West Coast was sent to internment camps in California, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and Arkansas. Two-thirds of those Japanese Americans who were sent to camp were U.S. citizens. The Japanese Americans were removed by themilitary, and thousands were questioned and detained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under the charge of ‘‘military necessity’’ and denied due process, despite the fact that there was no record of sabotage or spying, and their loyalty had been attested to by the FBI and Naval Intelligence. FastforwardtheclocktoSeptember11,2001,asmanypersonsofArab,Muslim,andSouthAsian descent were-and continue to be-rounded up, just like the Japanese Americans were in 1942. If we are to learn anything, we need to learn from Executive Order 9066 and September 11, 2001, and how we as a country treat our citizens in time of paranoia and crisis. We must never forget what happened to the Japanese Americans in 1942 and what continues to happen to the Arab,Muslim, and South Asian Americans, which is hatred toward those that ‘‘look like the enemy.’’ [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 8:209–213 (2008)]