International Examiner June 18, 2014

CELEBRATING 40 YEARSThe country’s premier nonprofit pan-Asian newspaper First and third Wednesdays each month.

FREE EST. 1974 —SEATTLE VOLUME 41, NUMBER 12 — JUNE 18, 2014 – JULY 1, 2014THE NEWSPAPER OF NORTHWEST ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITIES. FIND YOUR INSPIRASIAN.

YURI KOCHIYAMAA Remembrance and Appreciation

FIGHT FOR TARGETED LOCAL HIRE | 4

IMMIGRATION REFORM NOW | 5

MAYOR MEETS API LEADERS | 10

2 — June 18, 2014 – July 1, 2014 INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE OPINION

IESTAFF

Established in 1974, the International Examiner is the only non-profit pan-Asian American media organization in the country. Named after the International District in Seattle, the “IE” strives to create awareness within and for our APA communities. 622 South Washington Street, Seattle, WA 98104. (206) 624-3925. [email protected].

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CONTRIBUTORSJill Mangaliman

Rich Stolz Janice Deguchi

Stan Yogi Sharon Maeda

Stanley Shikuma Christina Twu Jessica Davis Yayoi Winfrey

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Correction and Update

Dear Dr. Young,The Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of

Washington State and the Asian Pacific Directors Coalition of King County look forward to meeting with you on July 31, Thursday, 3:30 p.m. at Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) to discuss restoration of the South East Asian student recruiter position in the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity. It is a matter of deep concern in our community. We are joined in this concern by University of Washing-ton faculty such as Dr. Stephen Sumida and Dr. Connie So of American Ethnic Stud-ies, and by state legislators such as Senator Bob Hasegawa, and Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, who wish to attend the meeting as well. Rogelio Riojas has also been invited and accepted our invitation.

The Asian American population is a community of contrasts which is extremely ethnically diverse. While some parts of the community have attained educational and economic success, other parts of the community have alarming educational and economic indicators. The Southeast Asian communities face significant disparities. For example, 37% of the Hmong commu-nity, 29% of the Cambodian community, 18% of the Laotian community, and 16% of the Vietnamese community live in poverty. High School dropout rates in these commu-nities are shocking: 40% of Hmong, 38% of Laotian and 35% of Cambodian students drop out of high school. Like other groups which have student recruiters employed by OMAD, these communities clearly experi-ence poverty and all the barriers of the op-

Editor’s Note: In the June 4, 2014 issue, the International Examiner ran an early and incorrect draft of a letter to University of Washington President Dr. Michael Young by the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of Washington State (APIC) and the Asian Pacific Directors Coalition of King County (APDC). The International Examiner regrets the mistake and apologizes to APIC, APDC, and our readers for the error. What follows is the final and correct letter dated June 2 that was sent from APIC and APDC to President Young. The letter thanks President Young for committing to meet with the community on July 31 at Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS). The letter also indicates that APDC has members who helped pave the way for earlier Asian inclusion in the Office of Minority Affairs (not paved the way for the Office of Minority Affairs as was mentioned in the earlier draft of the letter). This final draft of the letter below has 74 signers.

UW President to meet with API community at ACRS on July 31

portunity gap. Like the other groups which have much needed student recruiters, the Southeast Asian communities require the support of a culturally competent student recruiter that comes from the relevant com-munity.

The Asian Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC) is a statewide coalition of com-munity and business leaders and members with chapters in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, Yakima and Spokane Counties. APIC advocates on issues of concern to our communities, including equal access to education and closing the opportunity gap. APIC mobilizes our communities with civ-ic engagement, voter registration, voter ed-ucation, and public policy advocacy. APIC annually organizes 1,500 to 2,000 commu-nity leaders and members in 25 languages spoken by Asians and Pacific Islanders to attend our Asian Pacific American Legis-lative Day events in Olympia. Community and business leaders meet with Governor and legislative leadership and community members meet with their legislators. These events and statewide summits have been endorsed by over 100 community organi-zations, businesses, churches, and labor or-ganizations statewide. APIC works closely with the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs and with legislators on educational equity issues.

The Asian Pacific Directors Coalition (APDC) is a countywide organization with over 40 members, with leaders of Asian Pacific American community based orga-nizations addressing a variety of policy is-sues, including equitable access to publicly

funded education. APDC’s membership includes a former Seattle School District Board President, distinguished and award winning UW alumni, UW activists who helped pave the way for earlier Asian inclu-sion in the UW Office of Minority Affairs, and others with experience at all levels of public education.

Thank you for committing to meet with us and our community members; we look forward to seeing you soon at this impor-tant community meeting.

Sincerely,

Diane Narasaki, King County Asian Pa-cific Islander Coalition Chair, Asian Coun-seling and Referral Service Executive Di-rector, UW alumna, Dr. Samuel E. Kelly Award 2013

forLua Pritchard, Pierce County Asian Pa-cific Islander Coalition Chair, Asia Pacific Cultural Center Executive DirectorVan Dinh Kuno, Snohomish County Asian Pacific Islander Coalition ChairVang Xiong, Spokane County Asian Pa-cific Islander Coalition ChairDori Peralta Baker, Yakima County Asian Pacific Islander Coalition ChairLin Crowley, South Puget Sound Asian Pa-cific Islander Coalition ChairMark Okazaki, Asian Pacific Directors Coalition Chair, Neighborhood House Ex-ecutive DirectorMonica Ng, Asian Coalition for Equality Seattle Chair, UW Alumna

Bob Hasegawa, Washington State Sena-tor, 11th District, UW MPA, Distinguished Alumnus 2013, UW Nikkei Alumni Asso-ciationAlan Sugiyama, Executive Development Institute (EDI) Executive Director, UW alumnus, President Charles Odegaard Award, UW President’s Minority Com-munity Council former member, UW Mul-ticultural Alumni Partnership Community Service Award, UW EOP Student Leader-ship Award, UW Asian Student Council former Chair, UW Ethnic Planning Com-mittee former member, UW Asian Ameri-can Studies Planning Committee former member, Seattle School Board former PresidentFrank Irigon, UW Alumni Board former Trustee, UW Alumni Association Multi-cultural Alumni Partnership Club former President and current Board Member, Dr. Samuel E. Kelly Award, UW Alumni Help-ing Hand Award, first Asian on ASUW Board of Control, first Asian ASUW 2nd Vice PresidentBritt Yamamoto, iLEAP Executive Direc-tor, Ph.D., M.S., UW alumnus, UW Excel-lence in Teaching Award 2004, Antioch University Core FacultyTracy Lai, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance Seattle Chapter President, UW Alumni Lifetime MemberDebadutta Dash, Washington State India Trade Relations Committee (WASITRAC) Co-Chair, UW Foster School of Business

LETTER: Continued on page 3 . . .

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER June 18, 2014 – July 1, 2014 — 3

IE OPINION

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Letter to the Editor

Center for International Business, Education & Research Advisory CommitteeAy Saechao, Southeast Asian American Access in Education (SEAeD) Coalition Founder and Co-Chair, TRiO Student Support and Retention Services, UW alumnusFrieda Takamura, Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, Education ChairKhoua Xiong, Spokane Hmong Association PresidentSeng Vue, Hmong Association of Washington PresidentSinoun Hem, Cambodian Women Networking Association PresidentSing Phoxay, Lao Association of Snohomish County PresidentMyle Shaffer, Vietnamese Association President of Snohomish CountyTuyet Nguyen, Vietnamese Community for Mutual Support of Pierce County PresidentTrong Pham, Greater Seattle Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, PresidentNarad Dahal, Bhutanese Association of Snohomish County PresidentKyaw Thu, Burmese Association of Snohomish County PresidentMaria Batayola, Filipino American Political Action Group of Washington President, UW alumnaAlma Kern, Filipino Community of Seattle President

General Oscar Hillman, Filipino Community Alliance PresidentRoman Valisi, Filipino American League PresidentRon Chew, Organization of Chinese Americans—Greater Seattle Co-President, UW alumnusRebecca Chan, Organization of Chinese Americans—Greater Seattle Co-President, UW alumnaToshiko Hasegawa, Japanese Americans Citizens League Seattle Chapter PresidentYuko Toth, Tanpoponokai Japanese Women’s Association PresidentKilioni Prescott, Samoan Seniors of Pierce County PresidentGary Lizama, IMAHE Guam Association PresidentClarence Chun Fook, Hawaii Canoe Association of Washington PresidentMarissa Vichayapai, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) Seattle Chapter Co-Chair, UW MSWLisa Chen, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum Seattle Chapter Co-ChairJeffrey Hattori, Nikkei Concerns Chief Executive OfficerDorothy Wong, CISC Executive DirectorBeth Takekawa, The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Executive DirectorAndrea Akita, Interim Community Development Association Executive DirectorHigh Chief Peter Leota Strickland, Samoan Pacific Organization Executive Director

Siniva Driggers, Samoa Nurses of Washington Executive DirectorReueta Doiron, Samoan Family Support Center Executive DirectorSili Savusa, Pacific Islander Resource Coalition; White Center Development Association Executive DirectorIra SenGupta, Cross Cultural Alliance Healthcare Program Executive DirectorRich Stolz, OneAmerica Executive DirectorLisa Chin, YearUp Executive DirectorPran Wahi, India Association of Western Washington Seniors Program DirectorDr. Ulisese Sala, Minister, Tacoma Congregational Christian Church of America SamoaReverend Suipi Vaielua, Fort Lewis Congregational Christian Church of American SamoaBernadette Agor Matsuno, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Director, UW MSWRosie Rimando—Chareunsup, Ed.D., South Seattle Community College Vice President of Student Services, UW MPAMay Toy Lukens, South Seattle Community College Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions Project Director, UW MPATony Lee, Solid Ground Advocacy DirectorBev Kashino, YMCA of Greater Seattle Talent Acquisition Director, SPHR

Stella Chao, UW BASW, MSWCheryl Lee, UW JD 2016Eunice How, UW Lutheran Campus Ministry Board Member, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum Seattle Chapter member, UW MPHATagoipah Mathno, Cham Community of Seattle memberDeborah Sary, UW Khmer Student Association PresidentMichelle Lee, UW Myanmar Student Association PresidentJohnson Nguyen, UW Vietnamese Student Association PresidentTaylor Paul Anuhea Ahana-Jamile, ASUW Pacific Islander Student Commission DirectorTony Vo, ASUW Asian Student Commission Director, UW AlumnusYukimi Mizuno, Bellevue College Asian Pacific Islander Student Association (APISA) PresidentMichael Stewart, Bellevue College Asian Pacific Islander Student Association Marketing and Public Outreach ChairMonica Chan, Seattle University Student Government Multicultural RepresentativeCamille Debreezeny, Asian Coalition for EqualitySurabhi Mahajan, Asian Coalition for EqualityXengie Doan, Asian Coalition for EqualityCarol Li, Asian Coalition for EqualityTiffany Chan, Asian Coalition for Equality

. . . LETTER: Continued from page 2

Attention former clients of attorney Eric Jones. My name is Chelan Crutcher and I am a volunteer with the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA). Eric Jones worked as an attorney with many immigrants in Washington, but is no longer practicing law. The WSBA has appointed me as the custodian of the files of attorney Eric Jones. As the custodian, I have all of the client files of Eric Jones and am trying to make contact with his former clients so that the files can be returned to each client. Former clients of Eric Jones may contact me by telephone (206) 535-8773 or by email at [email protected] to make arrangements to regain possession of their files or to inform me about how they would like to proceed.

Chelan CrutcherAttorney at Law

Former clients of attorney Eric Jones soughtAttorney worked with many immigrants, files need to be returned


IE OPINION

Targeted Local Hire: Seattle Community needs living wage green jobsJill Mangaliman

IE Guest Columnist

Ray Hall is a licensed journey-level electrician and lifelong Seattle resident. He has lived in the Rainier Beach neighborhood for 18 years. Despite his 14 years of electrical work experience, he is still a disadvantaged worker in his own community, consistently struggling to get jobs in Seattle. When the city-hired contractor began constructing the new Rainier Beach Community Center in 2010, no one from the surrounding, predominantly African American community was offered a job, including Ray. This is in spite of local environmental justice organization, Got Green, offering the contractor a list of nearly 50 qualified local residents who were ready to work.

Ray’s experience is not an anomaly. According to a recent study commissioned by the Seattle City Council, only 6 percent of all workers on Seattle city-funded construction projects were Seattle residents, while an overwhelming majority, nearly 70 percent of these workers, lived outside of King County.

The city can address this economic injustice by passing a Targeted Local Hire law, which would require contractors to employ a percentage of skilled and qualified workers from communities in Seattle-King County hardest hit by the recent recession. The use of city

funds on construction and public works projects should not only improve the community’s infrastructure, but should also strengthen our local economy by reducing local unemployment and supporting local businesses. Unemployment and the lack of access to living wage jobs remain key challenges for workers living in economically distressed communities. In order to put these communities back to work, we need policies that prioritize lifting local residents out of poverty by giving them access to construction careers.

In turn, this will strengthen the local economy because local workers from economically marginalized

communities employed under a Targeted Local Hire policy will likely spend their living wages at local businesses. San Francisco enacted a similar law in 2011 that was supported by a broad coalition, including the Brightline Defense Project, Inner City Youth, and the Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA). The San Francisco law is expected to inject $177 million into that city’s general fund over ten years.

Additionally, Targeted Local Hire allows people to work where they live. This fits in line with Seattle’s desire to protect the environment and address climate change. Transportation accounts for 40 percent of Seattle’s climate

pollution. The pollution resulting from daily commutes in private cars and trucks to Seattle from outside King County also results in increased air pollution making it harmful for our children and elders to breathe.

Last summer, in front of a packed hearing hall, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted to address disparities in City public works construction hiring by forming a committee to recommend policy options including Targeted Local Hire. Six months later this committee is preparing to wrap up its work. Now is the time to ensure that we pass a law that does not support the status quo. To ensure that Ray’s experience does not happen again, we must be bold and implement a law for public works that requires that contractors hired with Seattle taxpayer dollars provide work opportunities to residents of economically struggling neighborhoods in King County.

A Targeted Local Hire policy is good for our environment, our economy, and our communities. Targeted Local Hire is a win-win-win.

Got Green’s South Seattle Jobs committee and the Targeted Hire Coalition leaders met with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Monday, June 16, to ask for his support. Check back at iexaminer.org for an update

Jill Mangaliman is the Executive Director at Got Green and a member of Pinay sa Seattle—GABRIELA USA.

Activists support Targeted Local Hire. From left to right: Vernon Hill, Hien Nguyen, Violet Lavatai, Mo! Avery, and Tuyet Nhi Vo. • Photo by Sam Smith

Activists demanding Targeted Local Hire hold a petition. From right to left: Vernon Hill, Murphy Stack, and Hien Nguyen. • Photo by Sam Smith

Got Green’s South Seattle Jobs committee and the Targeted Hire Coalition leaders met with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Monday, June 16, to ask for his support. • Courtesy Photo

Announcement

IE News ServicesWalk for Rice is a fundraising event

featuring a 2.5 mile walk/run. Each year, about 1,000 participants help Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) buy rice and other food for the ACRS Food Bank.

As ACRS’ signature community event, Walk for Rice brings in a diverse crowd of families, church groups, sorori-ties/fraternities, professional associa-tions and more. ACRS is partnering with major businesses and non-profits like Pepsi, Boeing, Microsoft, and the Uni-versity of Washington.

ACRS’ Food Bank is the one of the most visited food banks in King County, and the only one in the state that regularly acquires foods to meet Asian Pacific dietary needs. More than 5,000 people a year rely on the Food Bank and Nutrition Programs to have enough to eat. Most are children under 18 years old or seniors over 55; most come from low-income, Asian Pacific American

24th Annual Walk for Rice happens Saturday, June 28 at Seward Park

households. The food bank, located in Seattle’s International District, provides items like rice, tofu, ramen, fish, and fresh produce. ACRS’ goal is to help clients lead healthy lives with nutritious food options.

The 24th Annual Walk for Rice event happens Saturday, June 28 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Seward Park, 5902 Lake Washington Blvd S, Seattle, WA.

All ages are welcome—so are friendly, leashed dogs.

ACRS offers shuttle service from their building on 3639 MLK Jr. Way S. You can park for free in their lot and catch the bus to Seward Park. Shuttles begin at 8:00 a.m. and continue every 20-30 minutes until 1:00 p.m.

Note: Parking is limited in the park. Please make arrangements to carpool or use public transit. Metro Route 50 serves the Seward Park area; you can also visit Metro Trip Planner for more personal-ized routes. For more information, visit walkforrice.kintera.org


IE OPINION

By Rich StolzIE Guest Columnist

On June 27, one full year will have passed since the United States Senate passed an imperfect but comprehensive immigration reform bill.

For more than a year, immigration reform advocates have been working hard to persuade the House of Representatives to take action on legislation. Last month, in a meeting with Asian American business and community leaders from across the nation that I had the privilege to attend, President Barack Obama called for a “two month sprint” to pressure the House to take action in the window of opportunity remaining in Congress this year.

The stakes are high. If the House fails to take action, it may be some time before Congress will take up action on immigration reform again. Most pundits view 2015 and 2016 as unlikely years for reform, given the waning infl uence of the President in the last two years of his fi nal term, and the growing focus on the 2016 presidential elections. While angry partisanship has defi ned Congress for much of the last decade, the level of dysfunction in Congress may get worse still.

The consequences of failure are unacceptable. According to the Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE), labor shortages in the agriculture industry are causing a loss of over $3 billion in GDP and over $1 billion in farm income. Major high tech businesses have begun to shift their operations to other countries to try to take advantage of friendlier high-skilled immigration policies; earlier this spring Microsoft announced they would shift some of their operations to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Every day that Congress fails to act, more than 1,000 immigrants are deported, tearing apart thousands of immigrant families and destabilizing the communities, schools, and worksites where they live. Immigrants and refugees of any status continue to be detained under inhumane conditions in our nation’s immigrant detention system, and the lengthy waits that have burdened millions of families seeking to be reunited with their loved ones continue to grow.

Despite growing pressure for reform from an incredibly diverse group of constituencies—veterans, conservative evangelicals, immigrant and refugee communities, large and small business leaders, and even some conservative Tea Party activists—the window for action on immigration reform is upon us, and the future remains uncertain.

Adding to the uncertainty, last Tuesday House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his Republican primary election in Virginia’s seventh district. Cantor’s loss

was unexpected and shocked the DC political world. While anti-immigrant activists attempted to tie Cantor’s loss to his support for a modest proposal to legalize some young immigrants, the evidence doesn’t support that position. Surveys on the night of the election and polls conducted since demonstrated that a majority of those who voted in the election supported action on immigration reform, and those that voted against Cantor did so for more basic reasons—Cantor was viewed as not connected to his own district and too focused on his national ambitions.

That same night, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was a Republican leader in the Senate campaign to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation, won his primary election handily. And other Republicans, who took a clear and consistent position on immigration reform, like Representative Renee Elmers in North Carolina, won their primaries earlier this spring.

The lesson politicians should learn from these examples is clear. Leaning into the issue and taking a clear and consistent position is a winning strategy. Being inconsistent and appearing to take positions on this issue to only garner support from particular constituencies—whether business or minority voters—can cost an election, if it feeds into underlying perceptions about your integrity. Our own elected leaders should learn these same lessons.

A large majority of Washington voters support immigration reform, and the percentage of Republicans supporting reform is well above 60 percent. Now isn’t the time to wait and see what the Republican leadership will decide to do. The urgency of this moment requires Members of the House, especially Republican Members of Congress, to demand action on reform from their own leadership.

This is also true for House Republi-can Conference Chairwoman Cathy Mc-Morris Rodgers, who represents eastern Washington, including Spokane and Walla Walla. And while Congressman Hastings and Reichert and Congress-woman Herrera Beutler have all said they’ve privately reached out to Speaker of the House John Boehner asking for action, it’s time for our Representatives to fully voice the broad-based support for immigration reform that exists in their districts.

Because if Congress fails to act, how will they respond to the question: “What did you do to make it happen?” Their response must not be, “We couldn’t overcome the dysfunction in our own Party.”

For immigrant rights activists in Washington state and across the nation, there is a plan B. Even as we’ve pressed Congress to take action on legislation, we’ve also pressed the Obama Administration to bring

Crunch time for immigration reform, window of action upon usrelief to immigrant families through administrative action.

There is precedent. Though his ad-ministration has deported more than 2 million immigrants during his tenure to date, in 2012 President Obama an-nounced the Deferred Action for Child-hood Arrivals program that granted temporary relief from deportation and work permits to certain eligible young people. If anything, that decision ap-peared to galvanize support for the President in his re-election campaign, despite the President’s terrible record as the so-called ‘deporter in chief.’

With the House of Representatives stuck, the White House has taken smaller actions. For example, last month the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service announced proposed regulatory changes that would allow the spouses of high skilled immigrants who are currently not allowed to work in this country to receive work authorization from the federal government. When fi nalized, this would be a major victory for immigrant and women advocates, especially high skilled workers in the Asian American and South Asian communities.

Should the House fail to take action on immigration reform in this window

of opportunity, which the President said would close at the end of July, then the President must take signifi cant action to bring real relief, due process, and humanity to our broken immigration system. By taking major action—for example, extending deferred action to the spouses and immediate relatives of citizens, legal permanent residents and DACA recipients—the President could fi nally act on his own rhetoric about the brokenness of the system, and establish a legacy of moral integrity by ending the separation of thousands of families.

But for the moment, attention remains focused in the House, and the clock is ticking toward a national deadline imposed by immigrant groups nationwide: June 28. Congress can either take action on reform, or place the fate of millions of families in the hands of the President, who will be the focus of a growing national movement fi ghting for our families and communities.

The website goes live on Monday, but here’s a preliminary link to endorsements for the June 28 National Day of Action: www.stopseparatingfamilies.org. Another useful resource: www.webelongtogether.org.

Rich Stolz is the Executive Director of OneAmerica (WeAreOneAmerica.org).


IE OPINION

By Janice DeguchiIE Guest Columnist

What do Oklahoma, New Jersey, Georgia, and Florida have in common? Universal pre-school! Seattle may be next on this list. For the past year, I’ve served on the Seattle Pre-K program’s finance committee alongside early learning providers, policymakers, consul-tants, parents, and community members and have had an opportunity to design the Seattle Pre-K program. The end result will improve the availability, quality, and duration of pre-school for 3,650-4,000 children by 2019.

At Denise Louie Education Center (DLEC), we prepare children for success in school and life starting with weekly home visits for children ages 0–3 and pre-school for 3–5 year olds throughout Seattle and in Sea-Tac. I’ve witnessed how children transform over the short time they are enrolled in our programs.

A preschooler in one of our classrooms, Ginny, refused to take her coat off or speak to anyone for several weeks. However, many months later, she was happy, talking, and fully engaged in the classroom.

In our Early Head Start program, two siblings did not speak and we considered referring them to see a speech therapist. After we taught their mother additional tools for interacting with her children, both siblings began to speak frequently and fluently, and are well on their way to developing a deeper love of learning.

We must seize the opportunity to increase access to quality learning

Our teachers and home visitors win small victories like these daily. Each year, over 400 children in our program gain social skills, and literacy. They learn math, science, and how to persevere at challenging tasks. They learn to brush their teeth, take turns, work in a group, and follow simple directions. In ad-dition, they learn English, and how to solve problems without hitting; essential skills for success in today’s classrooms.

Thanks to the commitment to early learn-ing by our federal, state, local policy makers, and the voters of Seattle who approved the Families and Education Levy, our program is free for low income families.

However, last year, we had to turn away about 100 eligible children from our pro-gram due to lack of space. Without a quality early start, kindergarten teachers may spend months helping children learn classroom rules and how to solve problems.

Many children that lack access to high quality early learning program will start their first day of kindergarten without speaking a word of English or having the skills needed to navigate the classroom.

There are several initiatives being brought before the Seattle City Council with the goal of giving thousands of children more access to quality early learning. We owe it to our children to seize this opportunity and give them the best start possible.

Janice Deguchi is Executive Director of Denise Louie Education Center.

Photo by Lisa Merrill


IE COMMUNITY

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Photographer John Stamets remembered for documenting

Filipino migrant workers

A photo taken by John Stamets graces the cover of Alaskeros, a publication featuring a documentary exhibit on pioneer Filipino Cannery Workers. Stamets’ photo is of Johnny Rolluda, who was born in 1911 in Pangasinan province and arrived in the United States in 1929.

IE News Services

University of Washington lecturer and photographer John Stamets passed away earlier this month at the age of 64.

Stamets joined the UW faculty in 1992 and ran the Architecture Photo Lab in the basement of Gould Hall. He designed a photography class for future architects and a “special projects” class where students photographed a single subject in depth.

Stamets specialized in documenting the rise and fall of historic buildings with large-format photography. In 2011 he covered the UW’s expansion of new buildings on the west side of campus in a blog aptly titled “Here Comes the Neighborhood.”

He photographed construction of the Seattle Central Public Library and the Experience Music Project, the rehabilitation of King Street Station, and many other building projects. He published the book Portrait of a Market in 1987 with writer Steve Dunnington.

Stamets also coor-dinated the Alaske-ros exhibit at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Ameri-can Experience. The Alaskeros exhibit featured portraits of Filipino American pioneers in the Pacif-ic Northwest paired

with their own words to tell the personal story of struggle and success as they toiled in Alaska canneries.

“Without John Stamets’s initiative, the photographic history of the early Filipino migrant laborers who came in the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s would not have been documented,” said activist Ron Chew.

A public celebration of Stamets’ life and work happened on June 15 in the courtyard of Gould Hall at UW.

Stamets

8 — June18, 2014 – July 1, 2014 INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE COMMUNITY

Sharon MaedaIE Special Guest Contributor

The L.A. Times, Washington Post, New York Times, and many other newspapers have eulogized Yuri Kochiyama. In the weeks since her passing, they have chronicled her lifetime of activism for justice, from cradling Malcolm X’s head in her hands as he lay dying, being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, to the books and videos about her, and to her own autobiography, Passing It On.

Unlike what has already been written, this tribute to Yuri is about some of the everyday vignettes I was privileged to witness over the past 35 years.

Back in the 1970s, WNET TV’s Woman Alive asked for names of women to profi le in their ground breaking weekly PBS series. I immediately thought of Yuri. My aunt who worked for the World Council of Churches in New York gave me her number. Yuri was glad to hear from Frances Maeda’s niece but would hear none of being fi lmed. In typical nisei (second generation Japanese American) fashion, she demurred and offered up names of other women. I realized many years later that if I had told her I needed to produce a segment about her to boost my fl edgling career at KCT/9, she would gladly have agreed to participate.

In 1978, while stranded in a New York snowstorm, I saw a fl yer for an event in Chinatown where Yuri was a speaker. There, sitting at a table outside PS 124 in the snow, was Yuri at the registration table. She read my name, and suddenly realized that I was that pesky TV producer from Seattle. She left the table and rushed me into the school to meet many of New York’s activists ... as if I was a long lost friend.

That’s the way she was, a consummate organizer in an old school way. Yuri was always anxious to make introductions: young playwrites to someone she knew on Broadway, international students to political injustices here in the United States, activists from New York to activists from L.A., Black Power movement people to faith leaders.

In some ways, she was a typical nisei lady—self effacing and looking out for others. As she got older, friends at political events would shove a $10 bill into her pocket so she could take a taxi home. Most times, she would give the money to a homeless person, then take the subway home, even when she needed a walker. (By the way, the Blue Scholars’ song about Yuri mentions the “Free Mumia” bumper sticker on Yuri’s walker!)

Home away from homeThe Kochiyamas lived in Manhattanville

Houses off Broadway on the edge of Harlem, near Columbia University and Riverside Church. With six children, they had a prime four-bedroom unit. As the kids left, Yuri turned their bedrooms into a home

away from home for activists, artists, and international students. By the time her husband Bill (she called him “Daddy”) passed away in 1993, Yuri had a room fi lled with fi ling cabinets, literally a historical archives of papers dating from World War II to every political movement in the United States. When the UCLA Asian American Studies department requested her papers, UCLA students spent summers in New York to sort and catalog her papers before sending them to L.A.

In her spare time, Yuri, tutored ELL students who wanted to improve their conversational English. She always invited them to holiday meals. I remember carving a Thanksgiving turkey on Eddie’s desk while people kept fl ooding into the apartment.

In addition to the international students, Yuri had randomly invited people and they brought friends. Out with the folding chairs stacked on one side of the living room, people were eating in the kitchen, hallway, and a couple of the bedrooms. Over the years, there were stories about who sat in those folding chairs. Hollywood and Broadway celebrities, international students, extended family and friends interspersed amongst the revolutionary leaders of the 20th century.

Yuri kept a bookshelf full of handwritten address books. Once I was looking for the contact information for Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King. I knew to call Yuri. Her response: “Do you want her home number, her offi ce number, or the number at the church?”

Keeping the faithYuri was also a woman of faith. As a

young woman, she taught Sunday School

in San Pedro, California, her hometown near L.A. In New York, it wasn’t about the denomination or even the religion ... at one point, she was a Muslim. She had faith in a higher being and in the goodness of people. She once worked for the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. While she knew it was a progressive institution, she kept her activism separate from her job, which was their loss.

One February, we went to the Japanese United Church for a Day of Remembrance event commemorating the day President Roosevelt sent 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to concentration camps during WWII. There I met Yuri’s peers: the artist Miné Okubo, writer Michi Weglyn, and fellow activist Kazu Iijima. What a stunning group of feisty nisei women!

Sometimes, her family and friends worried that Yuri was too trusting. In the days of FBI agents infi ltrating progressive groups, we worried that she probably housed an agent provocateur or two at the apartment.

The ʻcorny sideʼYuri was also sometimes goofy in a

naïve way. L.A. writer and fi lmmaker Karen Ishizuka called it “corny.” Sometimes Yuri would get all wound up about the storyline of a TV drama, then ask a question as if the drama was happening in the real world. Other times, she would be gleeful about trivia, like marveling at how plump raisins got if you put them in the pot while the oatmeal was still cooking.

Once, Bill and Yuri were off to a party and asked me to go along to help carry the shopping bags full of her precious bears ... yes, Hawaiian bears with hula skirts, college bears, Rastafarian bears, and large and small teddy bears all

colors of the rainbow bears. It was a bear party. In New York, people sit rather poker faced on the subway, but that day, our bear bags brought smiles all around.

She even thought that presidents would see the light and change U.S. policy. “Oh, maybe he’ll change his mind; he has to,” she would say with the utmost sincerity. She was always a boost to our cynicism.

A lifetime of hidden treasures In 1999, while visiting family—

Audee, Eddie, Jimmy, and Tommy (the four remaining Kochiyama kids and the “Grands” as she called her grandchildren)—Yuri had a stroke. She remained in California until her death.

The family and friends cleared out the Harlem apartment. We were literally dumping things we thought of no value—things like volumes of Readers’ Digest condensed. Suddenly, a photo fell out. It was photo of Yuri and Eleanor Roosevelt, arm in arm. So, then, we pulled all the volumes out of the garbage can and shook them upside down to see if there were any other treasures stuck between the pages. More photos and more souvenirs of days past.

Yuri single-handedly was a lifeline for political prisoners. And, she connected us to them. While in New York on my way to Kenya, she made me promise to visit former Black Panther Doc Powell and his wife Sue, who had been in exile there for years.

Yuri was a writer. Long after she no longer wrote position papers on various issues, she wrote to political prisoners. She had everyone signing petitions or writing a note to David Wong, a young Chinese man without papers. After years in prison, David was released, but immediately deported back to China. David never got the chance to thank Yuri in person. But, Geronimo Pratt went to thank her, even before he went home to see his family.

She wrote prolifi cally, in that unique beautiful handwriting, and was always running out of stamps. Rolls of stamps were like gold to Yuri and we often left them as a thank you for her hospitality.

A group called 18MillionRising.org was founded to promote AAPI civic engagement, infl uence, and movement by leveraging the power of technology and social media. The group started a campaign to create a Yuri Kochiyama postage stamp. How great and fi tting is that? Join in the online campaign: http://act.engagementlab.org/sign/18mr_yuri_stamp.

There will never be another Yuri Kochiyama. Our best tribute to her is to work for justice in our everyday lives.

Sharon Maeda is executive director of 21 PROGRESS and a longtime contributor to the International Examiner.

Faith and justice: There will never be another Yuri Kochiyama

Sharon Maeda and Yuri Kochiyama at the Kochiyamas’ Harlem apartment in 1995. • Courtesy Photo


IE COMMUNITY

By Stan YogiIE Special Guest Contributor

I first spoke with Yuri Kochiyama—who passed away on June 1 at the age of 93—on a balmy Sunday morning in 1982. I was a UCLA student visiting New York for a few weeks during my summer break. That year I was assisting the producer of an Asian American show that aired on a Los Angeles public radio station, and she had given me the names and phone numbers of people in New York to interview for potential programs.

Yuri was the first person on the list I called. I introduced myself, explained that I was visiting from Los Angeles and that our mutual friend had suggested I contact her.

“Do you have a place to stay?” she asked.

“I’m renting a room at the Westside Y,” I explained.

“Come stay with us,” she offered enthusiastically. “We have plenty of space.”

Within minutes, I had checked out of the Y and was riding the number 1 subway train to the apartment in Harlem where Yuri and her husband Bill had lived for decades.

I was unaware that Yuri was immortalized in a LIFE magazine photo showing the diminutive Nisei mother of six cradling the head of a dying Malcolm X. Nor did I know that Yuri was a titan not only among progressive Asian Americans but with a host of people throughout the world for her courageous political work.

Instead, I was amazed by Yuri’s extravagant generosity in inviting me, a stranger, to stay at her home.

Yuri and Bill Kochiyama were at once familiar and foreign to me. They were a Nisei couple in their 60s and looked like the hundreds of Nisei I had known growing up in Gardena and Los Angeles. But when Bill spoke, he had a thick New York accent. Yuri wore a T-shirt with the photos of political prisoners. They were unlike any Nisei I had ever met.

They ushered me into the kitchen. The table was piled with newspaper clippings, flyers for political rallies, and envelopes that Yuri had hand-addressed to mail announcements about an upcoming demonstration.

Yuri asked me, “Are you related to May Yogi?”

“That’s my aunt,” I exclaimed in surprise.

Yuri explained that she had been my aunt’s Sunday school teacher at the Jerome Concentration Camp in the Arkansas swamps during World War II. Yuri left the kitchen for a minute and returned with a worn photo of a gaggle of Nisei teenagers, including my aunt.

I felt immediately at home.

The following weeks were an education in politics. The Kochiyama apartment served not only as living space, but as an organizing hub, community center, and salon.

On any given night, Bill and Yuri might be hosting dinner for a group of visiting activists working to rid Japan of U.S. military bases. The following afternoon, some of Bill’s 442nd buddies who had settled in New York might stop by for beers and to reminisce. On another day, one of Malcolm X’s daughters would drop in to say hello. A few days later, a group filled the apartment to organize a coalition to protest the murder of Vincent Chin, a young Detroit man killed by two auto workers who thought Chin was Japanese.

Thousands of people crossed the threshold of apartment 3B at 545 W. 125th Street over the many years that the Kochiyamas lived there.

An old black phone in the living room sat atop an ironing board unfolded waist-high. It rang regularly. Yuri or Bill sat on a folding metal chair beside the ironing board and wrote in a spiral notebook the caller’s name, the date and time of the call, and the gist of the conversation in case they needed help later remembering.

The movement to secure redress for Japanese Americans incarcerated in camps during World War II was at its height, so many of the calls and visits to the Kochiyama apartment focused on that effort. Yuri and Bill were at the center of that movement in the greater New York area. They organized East Coast Japanese Americans for Redress. Bill testified in New York before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Yuri testified in Washington, D.C.

Following that rousing summer with the Kochiyamas, Yuri hosted me for several more extended stays over the following 15 years. I slept on the same trundle bed that had been her sons’ years earlier, listening to the clatter of the subway trains a few blocks away.

During those visits, Yuri involved me in her political work and talked to me with vigor and passion about a spectrum of topics—from the Black Panthers and Puerto Rican nationalists to Asian American jazz artists and the plight of David Wong, a Chinese immigrant wrongfully convicted of murder.

Conversing with Yuri in her living room filled with photos of her kids, Malcolm X, and other family members inspired me to fight for justice. But I was not the only one to feel Yuri’s influence. She touched the lives of thousands.

Yuri possessed the rare qualities of treating people with compassion, expressing genuine curiosity about their lives and trying to understand who they are. She also had a keen mind and a sophisticated understanding of larger societal and political systems that result in oppression based on race, ethnicity,

Yuri Kochiyama: A remembrance and appreciation

gender, sexual orientation, and class. That combination contributed to her impact. At one moment, she would talk with fervor about the Sandinistas and then a few minutes later ask a visitor to pose for a picture with two Care Bears that admirers had sent her.

But at her core she was committed to battling injustice in its many manifestations.

Bill passed away in 1993, and several years later Yuri moved to Oakland to be closer to her children. I saw her at anti-war rallies and performances by Asian American artists. By then, she was using a walker plastered with

political stickers and moving more slowly, but she always warmed me with her smile and the sparkle in her eye.

I miss her energy, her passion for justice, and her endless faith that we can make the world better by fighting for what’s right.

In mourning Yuri’s passing but also in celebrating her extraordinary life, I’m reminded of words from Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker:

“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spear in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words, and deeds is like that. No one has the right to sit down and feel helpless. There’s too much work to do.”

Thank you, dear Yuri, for generating waves, not ripples, for justice, equity, and freedom. I am grateful that you were always hopeful and stood up for your beliefs without hesitation. You did more than your fair share of work to heal the world. And you inspired countless others to do the same.

Thank you for showing us how to live a life of meaning, compassion, and commitment.

Artistic rendering of an iconic image of Yuri Kochiyama


IE NEWS

Drive off into summer behind the wheel of a brand new car! Two lucky winners using their Preferred Players Club card will be randomly selected every other

hour between 12pm – 6pm to participate in the final drawing at 7pm for a chance to win cash or a brand new car!

Vehicle tax, licensing and registration are the sole responsibility of the winner and are not included in the value of the vehicle. Must be a Preferred Players Club member to participate in promotion. See the Preferred Players Club for complete rules and details. Promotions are subject to change without notice.

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TUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS & THURSDAYS IN JUNE

By Travis QuezonIE Editor in Chief

On Wednesday, June 11, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray spoke with the Asian Pacifi c Directors Coalition about current API concerns. Three recurring topics were weaved throughout the discussion: diversity, recent violence in the city, and education. The mayor and API leaders spoke about ways diversity is essential in the city’s future and how universal Pre K education can help to curb gang violence and raise communities out of poverty.

The mayor opened the discussion by talking about the city’s strategy in addressing equity.

“If we grow as a city, and as we’re successful as a city, [we must] remain a city that is diverse racially and diverse economically,” Murray said. “These are key factors if we don’t want to become a city [in which] only the very wealthy live in the city and those who clean our offi ce buildings at night or serve us food at restaurants go home somewhere outside the city. That I think that’s one of the biggest challenges Seattle faces. It’s one of the biggest challenges the API community faces.”

Mark Okazaki, Asian Pacifi c Directors Coalition chair and Neighborhood House

Mayor speaks with API leaders about diversity, violence, and educationexecutive director, asked the mayor how new Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole will be responsive to needs and concerns of the API community.

Murray responded: “I chose Kathleen O’Toole because I believe she had had the deepest experience as far as working not just with the API community, but with the African American community. Not just with building a police department, but having worked in New Jersey, Connecticut, and both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. ... [She is someone who] understands the issue of constitutional policing, who understands the issue that we have a problem at times with bias policing, the huge issue in regards to accountability, the huge issue in regards to use of force.”

Okazaki also asked the mayor how he would ensure that the health and human services and education for the API community are met. Okazaki described how resources from the Seattle Families and Education Levy were not reaching APIs.

Murray said the city must carefully plan its midcourse correction on the levy to address disparities.

“We need to fi gure out how we actually assist emerging communities who may not have the same infrastructure and capacity as a large non-profi t,” Murray

said. “Catholic Community Services has great capacity. A new emerging nonprofi t particularly out of immigrant communities probably doesn’t have that same capacity.”

To illustrate the need for a Targeted Local Hire policy, OCA Greater Seattle Chapter’s Doug Chin described the results of a study commissioned by the Seattle City Council. The study, released in February, found that just 6 percent of workers in Seattle construction projects were Seattle residents. The study also found that Asians made up only 2 percent of the workers, while Pacifi c Islanders made up 1 percent.

“People are working on public works jobs in Seattle and taking our jobs and taking their money outside the city,” Chin said. “San Francisco, L.A. have ordinances and resolutions to improve that and I hope that you will push it.”

Murray said the city is pushing for Targeted Local Hire and that a proposal is in the works.

On the neighborhood level, Chin talked about the need for more parking regulations at Jefferson Park. He described a situation where construction crews working at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System were taking up the park’s limited parking spaces.

“People who use that facility, Jefferson Park, can’t get access to it,” Chin said. “There should be a two-hour parking limit. To ask for money to improve the park system and community centers and then we don’t have access to it, that’s a contradiction.”

Murray said that parking issues were one of the tensions the city is experiencing overall and that he is currently looking into the problem.

The meeting took an emotional turn when Chin told the mayor that he was “irritated” that Murray had once said that not too long ago, there were signs that read, “Irish need not apply.”

Chin, who has written extensively on the history of Chinese Americans in Seattle, said to the mayor: “It irritated me because, in fact, it was the Irish who led the anti-Chinese movement, who drove the Chinese out of Seattle, Tacoma, and so forth.”

Murray responded: “I did mention that because the actual experience of discrimination that my grandparents experienced when they came to this country in 1950, their experience of discrimination was real. Their experience of going through the 1960 election and the questions around the heritage and religion of the Democratic candidate for president was real. My experience growing up in West Seattle and walking to Holy Rosary Elementary School and being called names because I was going to a Catholic school and was a Roman Catholic was real. I just don’t think we win when we pit one group of people who have experienced discrimination

against another group of people who have experienced discrimination.”

(The mayor would go on to say after the meeting that he appreciated Chin’s directness.)

Alan Sugiyama, executive director of Executive Development Institute, was able to lift tensions by asking the mayor: “Were you surprised you didn’t win the hum bow eating contest [at the API Heritage Month Celebration in May]?”

“I didn’t want to win,” Murray joked. “Can you imagine what the blogs would have said?”

Sugiyama quickly moved the conversation on to the issue of gang violence.

“On a more serious note, we have gang problems,” Sugiyama said. “We have a problem of violence. It’s just kind of erupting. We also know that the trends have always been where you see a lot of African American gangs in violence, that it always gets copycatted with Asian gangs. Every 10 years this has happened, and now it’s right on schedule again.”

Seattle Police Offi cer Alex Chapackdee said that gang violence has changed in the last decade and that the causes for violence are harder to pinpoint.

“It’s not just Seattle gang members, folks that are outside of the city are committing crimes in the city,” Chapackdee said. “It’s not just race related, it’s not turf related or territorial. It’s different now than it was 10 or 15 years ago. And that’s the reason why we have a day gang unit and we have two units in our night gang squad as well. It’s an issue that’s certainly a concern for us in our communities.”

Murray acknowledged the multiple unrelated shootings that took place in Seattle in the weeks prior. He said that while there have been conversations regarding police reform, there have not been enough efforts taken by the city on the community levels and ensuring that there is programing that allows young people a place to go.

“Short term, we have a series of things we’re going to talk about over the next cou-ple of weeks,” Murray said. “Long term we have some structural issues that we need to get at. Part of that actually goes back to universal Pre K. Kids who get that at three and four actually graduate at a much higher rate than kids that don’t get that. The differ-ence is dramatic, and it doesn’t matter what race or economic place you are, you get there early and the outcome is dramatic.”

Murray took a strong stance on universal Pre K and said it was the key in raising up communities currently living in poverty.

“The universal Pre K I think is the most important thing that I will work on in the next four years and probably in my entire political career that will have a long term effect on this city,” Murray said. “We can make a huge difference in what happens with gangs. We can make a huge difference with what happens with graduation rates. Universal Pre K is an incredible opportunity.”


IE COMMUNITY

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By Christina TwuIE Contributor

When years of burnout and job dissat-isfaction are swallowing ambitious profes-sionals, a real “Careercation” might be the way out. Just ask Seattle entrepreneur David Niu, author of the book of the same name, who coined the term to describe the counterintuitive: an extended vacation from work to enrich your career and life for the long term.

After more than a decade spent co-found-ing and building new media companies BuddyTV and NetConversions to remain competitive in a fast-changing technology industry (the latter was sold to aQuantive in 2004), Niu moved at the same break-neck speed to hit a wall at high velocity many years later. Though he was successful by many external measures, he needed some-thing more to sustain him internally: expe-riences that enrich, challenge, and spawn personal growth. He also wanted to pursue a happiness that he could share with his wife and young daughter.

Six months abroad across the Pacific Islands was the answer.

“When I was trying to convince my wife to get on board with this [trip] and with our newborn, she was in nesting mode and very protective, Niu said. “She was like, ‘Man, are you sure?’ Near the end of our ‘careercation,’ [my wife] was like, ‘When are we going to the next one?’”

Niu embarked on his journey in 2011 to give his family something they would never forget: the sights, sounds, wonders and majesty of New Zealand, Australia, Korea, China, and Vietnam. In these countries, he also met with business leaders to gather wisdom and best practices to fight toxic work culture: the growing beast, when fed, would eat away at employee satisfaction and retention, creating a seemingly intractable problem for executives and mutual unhappiness and burnout for both management and their employees.

According to a recent survey mentioned in Careercation and documented by palliative care specialist and author Bronnie Ware, not being true to oneself to meet others’ expectations, not allowing oneself to be happy, working too hard, not staying in touch with friends and not having the courage to share what one is really feeling are the top five regrets people have on their deathbeds.

Niu connected this study pointing to happiness with work culture—the kind that breeds job dissatisfaction. Many reputable companies struggle with employee retention as a result, often wasting resources that attract employees who are incompatible with organizational values. From this, a business idea emerged; one he incubated quickly from zygote to birth of a startup.

Shortly after his return to Seattle in 2012, Niu incorporated TINYhr, a Seattle-

based human resources startup helping employers get an accurate read or “pulse” on their employees by designing a simple TINYpulse survey gauging how the work environment and management are doing. Within two years, TINY’s client base has grown to more than 300. And by popular demand, TINYhr has expanded their survey tool to gauge the satisfaction of employers’ clients.

Niu’s growing client base is also diversifying: from a small construction company in New Zealand, to a growing NGO in Haiti, to Seattle’s Experience Music Project (EMP) Museum to rising e-commerce agencies such as Airbnb.

Inside his own Seattle office, Niu practices what he preaches. He and his team actively practice positive company values to resist a toxic culture that can grow all too fast to plague companies, employers, and employees for generations.

But take it from Niu himself. In a recent interview with the International Examiner, Niu explains how embracing happiness can be critical to sustaining a company’s long-term success.

International Examiner: You mention at the beginning of your book that you were raised by a “Tiger Mom.” Did your family readily embrace the idea of happiness when you were growing up? What was their definition of it?David Niu: If you do well, that’s just the interpretation of happiness. So it’s not like, “Oh, you had fun at the park,” it’s like, “Oh, you got straight ‘A’s. That’s good.” So that was more of the lens that my mom would define happiness. My mom defined happiness as, “Oh, you’re achieving. I’m happy, therefore, you should be happy.”

IE: Everyone thought you were crazy when you decided to embark on your “careercation.” What specifically was your parents’ reaction when you told them you were doing this?

Niu: They were like, “Why would you do that? You have your own company that’s doing really well. And why would you want to take this big risk?”

It hearkened back to when I was in college. I decided that I was gonna study abroad in China (in 1994), which freaked them out. They said, “Why don’t you just study abroad in Taiwan where we have relatives? It’s safer there, we know people there, and if you get in trouble and you need help, we can do that, and you know, it’s a good school.”

And I’m like, “You know, I don’t want to do that. I think I need to push myself to be a little different. … Now my parents admit that it was a great decision for me to do that.

IE: And do you think of (going on your “careercation”) as a Western concept necessarily?

Niu: I think it is a little more Western. I think I got influenced by other people who have done something similar, who basically were like, “Hey, I don’t want to wait till I’m in my 60s and I’m retired to go on vacation when I have a little bit of wealth, but declining health. Why don’t I just chunk up my retirement throughout my life and take these career vacations?”

And then at the end of the day, I know that I don’t need a lot of money to be happy, so why am I accumulating all this when I don’t need a lot of money to be happy? Why am I accumulating this when my health is going to be going down? … So I do think it’s a lot more Westernized versus kind of stereotypically what my parents would want: “Hey, you have this great job. You keep plugging along because that’s what society expects.”

But I want to model for my child what I want to do to be happy, regardless of what society expects.

IE: Is “careercation” something that you encourage in your employees now?Niu: For folks internally [at TINYhr], we don’t have a PTO (Paid Time Off) schedule. We don’t have like vacation or sick days. [One of our] values is, “Hold yourself accountable: big freedom equals big accountability.” So we have someone going down to the World Cup. [So I say], “Hey I hope you don’t take your laptop with you and you can really unplug.” But for him, he really wants to take it.

IE: That kind of accountability, huh? That runs counter to what I think of when I hear the word “accountability.”Niu: It’s just that I think he’s so accountable here, [I tell him], “Hey you should take time off. You should trust that you did your job right, and the team here has got your back.”

This interview was edited for clarity and length.

Happiness for employees: A value that more than 300 companies around the world can chew on

Niu with family at Gyeongbokgung Pal-ace in Seoul Korea. • Photo courtesy of TINYpulse (www.tinypulse.com)


IE ARTS

I remember shortly after 9/11 reading in the paper about the disillusionment of a young Filipino American man. He had written that he had always felt he was American until the day he was taken off a plane in the new post 9/11 reality and questioned by authorities because he had been mistaken as an Muslim militant simply because of the color of his skin. The experience shook him to the core and made him question things as he had never questioned before. Being American was no longer a comfortable given.

I was reminded of this incident recently when I read yet another story in the paper. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia surprised people when he bluntly told law students at the University of Hawai‘i that internment camps to detain Americans could eventually return. Although he admitted that the Supreme Court approval of internment camps for Japanese Americans was wrong, he followed up by telling the crowd that “you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again.” Citing a Latin expression he quoted an expression attributed to Cicero: “In times of war, the laws fall silent.”

I cite these two examples to people who might wonder why we continue to cover a historical incident that happened years ago and only affected one portion of the American population. The truth of the matter is that it could happen to you. If we are not vigilant, the rights we hold as American citizens could be taken away from us in a heartbeat. Which brings us to our short feature on the internment of Japanese Americans. Stanley Shikuma looks at two major books on Minidoka, the internment camp that many Japanese Americans in the Northwest were taken. Chizu Omori looks at several new books on internment history and briefly covers a recent art installation in California dealing with the topic. Locally, there are the annual pilgrimages to Minidoka and Tule Lake internment camps (all these events can be found listed online in my “Arts Etc.” at www.iexaminer.org), a performance at ACT Theatre in Seattle of a play on Gordon Hirabayashi, and a traveling Smithsonian exhibition entitled “The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942 - 1946” at Bellevue Arts Museum from July 3 to October 12. There is also the mounting of a major traveling exhibition by Seattle artist Roger Shimomura that takes on the Asian stereotype opening in the fall at the Museum of Art, Washington State University, and eventually surfacing at Tacoma Art Museum later next year. As the old adage goes, if we don’t remember lessons from our history, we are doomed to repeat it. Enjoy your summer!

—Alan Chong Lau,IE Arts Editor

It could happen to you: The internment of Japanese Americans and how it ripples through history

By Stan ShikumaIE Contributor

In 1942, almost 13,000 people of Japanese ancestry, many of whom were American citizens, were removed from their homes and sent to a desolate incarceration camp near Twin Falls, Idaho. Japanese Americans spent nearly three years incarcerated at Minidoka and other camps during World War II. Today, the Minidoka site continues to hold a mixture of memories and strong emotions—feelings of denial, distrust, shame, and joy.

—Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee

The memories won’t die and the legacy lives on in generations that never lived inside the barbed wire of Minidoka. This is due in large part to the work of groups like the Minidoka Pilgrimage Planning Committee and Friends of Minidoka who continue to raise consciousness around the Japanese American concentration camp experience and the designation of Minidoka as a National Historic Site.

Credit is also due to the work of many authors, scholars, filmmakers, photogra-phers and journalists who continue to re-search and write about the incarceration and removal, finding new details, new sto-ries, and new connections that help keep the story alive and relevant to the present.

Two such works were recently pub-lished. One is a book by photojournalist

Minidoka: Memory and survival captured in literary works

Teresa Tamura and the other is a com-pilation of essays edited by historians Russell M. Tremayne and Todd Shallat. Minidoka:

An American Concentration CampBy Teresa TamuraCaxton Press, 2013

Tamura’s Minidoka chronicles the author’s own journey from a passive state of ignorance and embarrassment about Minidoka to a passionate desire to unearth and illuminate the history of the people and the place. As a photojournalist, she achieves this largely through the photos she takes of people, sites, and artifacts associated with Minidoka and the explanatory captions supplied.

Through her research, well documented in footnotes and bibliography, Tamura

Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho, USA. Inside the coop store of block 30, 1943. • Photo by U.S. Department of the Interior

reveals several little known facts and provides a clear historic context. The author’s intro and a special essay by Mitsuye Yamada make fascinating reading, but the heart of the book lies in the black and white photographs taken by the author.Tamura includes many voices in her book, providing us with the photos and perspectives of those who lived or worked in the camp; those who left Minidoka for school, work, the army or prison; those who were actually born in camp; and those who worked to keep the memories alive through organiz-ing, teaching, speaking, writing, art, lit-erature, and poetry. She gives a voice, a name, a face, and a historical backdrop to each portrait.

Surviving Minidoka: The Legacy of WWII Japanese American

IncarcerationRussell M. Tremayne &

Todd Shallat, editorsBoise State University, 2013

In Surviving Minidoka, editors Tremayne and Shallat preserve 10 “essays and insights from the College of Southern Idaho’s annual Minidoka Civil Liberties Symposium. Contributors, in pictures and words, honor the enduring spirit of nidoto nai yoni: “let it not happen again.” (Tremayne, from An American Tragedy.)

The pieces range from historical scholarly works like that of Professor

Greg Robinson on Mixing the Races, to personal remembrances from artist Roger Shimomura and the late Frank Kitamoto, to reflections on specific topics or personalities like Anna Hosticka Tamura’s piece on Minidoka Gardens or Russell M. Tremayne’s piece on Nakashima woodworker. Interspersed throughout are poems and excerpts from the writings of Lawrence Matsuda, Mitsuye Yamada, Lawson Fusao Inada, and others.

Like any collection of writings by several authors, the leap from one essay to the next is sometimes wide, both in style and content. Taken as a whole, however, the 10 essays, punctuated with numerous ancillary photos and writings, create a nuanced picture of Minidoka concentration camp and of the social milieu in which it was created: early 20th century America.

Viewed side by side, Minidoka and Surviving Minidoka offer a stark contrast: one in muted black and white with a single narrative and author, the other a busy full-color volume with multiple viewpoints and far-ranging topics. Both, however, are artistically attractive, both apt to kindle some emotional response, each with a unique take on one of America’s ten concentration camps of WWII: Minidoka.

The 2014 Minidoka Pilgrimage takes place from June 19 to 22. For more information, visit www.minidokapilgrimage.org.


IE ARTS

By Chizu OmoriIE Contributor

Why another book about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II? We already have a vast library of literature addressing many different facets of this history, almost more than any one person can adequately cover. Nevertheless, Roger Daniels’ new book, The Japanese American Cases: The Rule of Law in Time of War deserves a prominent place in the literature because of its scope and depth of scholarly research. Prof. Daniels is perhaps the foremost historian dealing with matters of the incarceration story and he continues to study, reexamine and monitor all relevant developments.

Asked by the editors of the University of Kansas Press of the series, Landmark Law Cases, and American Society to write about Hirabayashi and the other cases that made it to the Supreme Court in 1944, Daniels gives them top priority in this book and then expands into a reexamination of the whole history up to the present. This is an admirable compilation of the many strands and layers of this complex history. What sets this book apart is his tone of understanding and looking at things from the point of view of us, the victims of government policy, admirably illustrated by passages like this: “For the West Coast Japanese Americans the 11 months following Pearl Harbor were an extended waking nightmare as their illusions about their place in wartime American society were inexorably destroyed.”

Daniels readily admits that there are still many unanswered questions regarding these wartime cases, but as he says, “The inability to answer certain kinds of questions is one of the factors that makes history, in the words of the great Dutch historian Pieter Geyl, ‘a debate without end.’”

New evidence does turn up, and a reexamination, especially about the incarceration is due.

Though the emphasis is on the major cases brought to the Supreme Court, (Hirabayashi, Yasui, Korematsu and Endo), this is no dry scholarly volume. What is particularly gratifying is his forthright, plain English approach. For example, he characterizes the actions of wartime ACLU during this period under the leadership of Roger Baldwin, as feeble and confused.

As for Roosevelt’s role in creating the policies, Daniels has this to say: “It seems to me likely that the president’s fear of the political consequences of not taking steps against the West Coast Japanese was more significant than any fears he might have had of invasion or sabotage.”

As these cases wend their way up the judicial ladder, each judge, each lawyer makes his moves and renders his opinions, and the impression is that there is much foot dragging and delaying tactics to slow the process. By the time Endo reaches the Supreme Court, it is the end of 1944, a full years after the initial roundup and incarceration. The justices of the Supreme Court whose decisions had such a tremendous impact on our lives seem so distant from us. The dry parsing of legal matters while we were languishing in the concentration camps takes on a surreal edge since we had not been convicted of wrongdoing. I wonder how the justices would have felt if they had come to see the camps, to meet the thousands being held in them. But, it turns out that they decided that it was okay to keep us locked up for years because the military said it was necessary.

One area that Daniels covers in great detail is the segregation camp, Tule Lake. The story of the camp that held the designated “disloyals” has never been given proper attention. The separation of these individuals from the other camps, the turmoil, clashes, renunciation and its subsequent problems are well told here. Lawyer Wayne Collins emerges as a real hero and champion of Japanese Americans in his fight to restore citizenship for the renunciants.

Postwar years, the struggle for redress, the move to preserve and create national monuments of former campsites, the National Japanese American Memorial on the Capitol mall, all these are mentioned in the end, bringing the book up to date. It is quite a history, our history. Prof. Daniels is to be thanked for telling it so well.

The Japanese American Cases: The Rule of Law in Time of War

reexamines incarceration history

The Japanese American Cases: The Rule of Law in Time of WarLandmark Law Cases and

American SocietyBy Roger Daniels

University Press of Kansas, 2013

By Chizu OmoriIE Contributor

University of Hawai‘i professor Eileen Tamura has undertaken in this book, In Defense of Justice: Joseph Kurihara and the Japanese American Struggle for Equality, a biography of Joseph Kuri-hara whose history highlights the deep injustices of America’s persecution of Japanese Americans during World War II. Kurihara, American born and educat-ed and also an army veteran who served during World War I, was a staunch advo-cate and defender of “The American way of life,” of the grandeur of the theoretical underpinnings of the ideals of democra-cy, of equality before the law and liberty and justice for all.

A self-starter, he went to Catholic schools in Hawai‘i and continued his education in San Francisco at St. Igna-tius School where rigorous academic standards insured Kurihara’s grounding in ethics and ideals. His goal was to be-come a doctor and he particularly took to heart the school’s intent to develop Chris-tian manhood with strong moral charac-ter. He also studied elocution, acquiring skills in writing and speaking.

As Tamura says, “What St. Ignatius gave Kurihara [was] a nurturing of no-tions of justice for ordinary people, and an appreciation of the power of oration in persuading them to defend their rights.” These ideas were to remain with him for the rest of his life, though, as we find, they brought him to the breaking point during his incarceration in concentration camps during WWII.

He did not become a doctor, but at the war’s beginning, he was working as a navigator on a tuna fishing boat, earn-ing a good living and enjoying a seagoing life. During slack time, Kurihara honed his writing by contributing to the Kashu Mainichi and the Rafu Shimpo, writing essays like, “Go East, Young Man, Go East,” advising Nisei to go farming in eastern parts of the United States. The war put an end to the large Nikkei partic-ipation in West Coast fisheries and Kuri-hara could not find employment when all Nikkei were taken off the boats.

When it was becoming apparent that the government was formulating plans to incarcerate the Japanese American pop-ulation in the West Coast, Kurihara ap-proached Togo Tanaka, editor of the Eng-lish language section of the Rafu Shimpo if he could speak on behalf of the Nisei against the forced removal. He was ap-palled and sickened by the Japanese American Citizens League (a group of young Nikkei) leadership’s acquiescence to the orders, calling them “a bunch of spineless Americans” and he vowed to fight and crush them.

In the Caiifornia concentration camp Manzanar, Kurihara jumped to assume a

leadership role in the revolt on December 5, 1942 when a JACL leader, Fred Tayama, was beaten and hospitalized. In the tur-moil that overtook the camp, he inflamed the crowds by declaring the JACL leader as an informer, a betrayer. Speaking before a crowd, he intemperately shouted, “Let’s kill him! Let’s kill him and feed him to the roving coyotes!” In the ensuing turmoil, two young men were shot and killed by the Army, which horrified Kurihara.

Here, Tamura takes the time to sorting out some of the basic divisions roiling the com-munity. The JACL’s version of Americanism was compliance and cooperation with the authorities. Kurihara, though just as much a believer in America, thought that the citizen’s role was to protest injustice. He said that what happened at Manzanar was a “damnably dis-graceful and irreparable action against the very principal(s) of democracy.”

Then, there were inmates who were sym-pathetic in varying degrees to Japan, others who were just plain angry and humiliated by their incarceration, and many who were frightened and confused.

“Manzanar was a powder keg and the Tayama incident ignited the whole barrel,” said Togo Tanaka. “[Resistance] did allow them to assert themselves in a way that expressed their individual sense of dignity and their collective sense of pride in their ethnoracial identity.”

The Japanese American community exhibited resistance in many ways and it is only now that the camp experience is being reexamined in a much broader and deeper way, creating a much different im-age of the group than that which had pre-vailed for many years, that of cooperation and resigned patience, of volunteering to serve in the army to prove their loyalty. The tragedy of our incarceration is that govern-ment policies drove these divisions within the community, bestowing untold suffering and damage on the population. Patriots like Kurihara just gave up and ended up in Tule Lake, the segregation center. He renounced his citizenship, was sent to Japan, a land he had never visited. He remained there until his death.

The ordeal of the camps has obviously had a debilitating affect on the Nikkei popu-lation and it took many years before an or-ganized effort was mounted to demand an apology and some redress. As we learn more about what happened to individuals like Kurihara, we see the tremendous sense of betrayal and disappointment that the incar-cerated inmates felt, that their plight forced choices which altered their lives forever.

Tamura has done a great job of re-search and examination of this individual and of the history of the Japanese Ameri-can community during WWII. And as we come to an appreciation of the destruc-tive effect of the incarceration, we have to shake our heads. What a tremendous waste it all was.

Book relives debilitating affect of camps on Nikkei population


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IE ARTS

Check back for Sudoku in the IE every issue! Answers to this puzzle are in the next issue on Wednesday, July 2.

By Jessica DavisIE Contributor

Several filmmakers took the time to speak with the International Examiner about their films presented at the 2014 Seattle International Film Festival.

in the fall in addition to possibly having online distribution.

“The main thing that I take away from this whole experience is that if you have an idea that everyone thinks is crazy, you need to go for it,” Peterson said. “You have to follow your dreams or you’re going to spend your life wishing you’d followed your dreams.”

For more information about Big in Japan, visit www.bijthemovie.com. For more information about Tennis Pro, visit www.tennispro-band.com.

Pei-Pei Cheng), a first-generation immigrant mother who speaks little English and lives in a London nursing home. She grieves over the death of her son, Kai (played by Andrew Leung in visions and flash-backs). After Kai’s death, she is visited by Vann (played by Naomi Christie), an interpreter, and Rich-ard (played by Ben Whishaw), her son’s roommate and “best friend.” The script also has moments of hu-mor, as Junn strikes up a romance with Alan (played by Peter Bowles), a co-resident at the nursing home who only speaks English.

With a BA in Film and Video at Surrey Institute of Art of Design, Khaou worked in theatres, such as The Royal Court, Polka Theatre,

Filmmakers reflect on API films screened at SIFFDende Collective, and Yellow Earth Theatre to develop his skills as a writer. Originally written as a stage play over a decade ago, he noted that Lilting was very much influenced by his own family.

“What’s in the film is incred-ibly personal,” he said. “It’s always stronger when you write from what you know.”

Born in Cambodia, Khaou grew up in Vietnam and has lived in London (where the film was made) for over 30 years. His mother, also a first-generation immigrant, does not speak English. Khaou said he thought of her when writing the script.

The film had two weeks of re-hearsal time and was shot in 17 days. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Khaou’s two short films, Summer (2007), and Spring (2011), were also selected for Ber-linale and Sundance film festivals. Khaou is currently in the process of writing the screenplay for a new film set in present-day Vietnam. He noted that identity, the human condition, and culture are a big part of his scripts.

“These themes are very dear to me,” said Khaou.

Lilting is expected to return for a wider release in the fall.

For more information about Lilting, visit www.facebook.com/liltingmovie.

Big in Japan Local filmmaker John

Jeffcoat’s third feature film, Big in Japan, loosely based on true events, captures the often humorous adventures of real-life Seattle surf-rock band, Tennis Pro (David Drury, Sean Lowry, and Phillip Peterson). Jeffcoat originally encountered the band while working on Lynn Shelton’s MTV series, “$5 Cover.”

The band members play semi-fictionalized characters of them-selves traveling through Tokyo, on barely any money, in an effort to gain fans in Seattle. Some of the film is scripted by Jeffcoat and some of it is improvised, but much of it is based on real events that happened while shooting in Japan.

“It was like sketching out a coloring book,” Jeffcoat said.

Most of the crew only knew English when they arrived in Japan. Jeffcoat said that a lot of the communication they made was through body language, as most of the people they encountered in Tokyo only spoke Japanese.

“It was intriguing to me to throw people into a new environment and see what happens,” he said.

The cast and crew encountered an eclectic mix of bands—some were naked on stage, others were dressed like Michael Jackson.

“What we found was this really warm acceptance,” Jeffcoat said. “Everyone was just psyched to see live music.”

“Tokyo was very over-stimulating and exciting in a good way,” added Peterson, noting that the band’s first trip there was in 2010. “Experiencing it is of course nothing you can really prepare for.”

Jeffcoat said he’s looking to premiere the film in Tokyo

Kumiko, the Treasure HunterIn Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter,

office worker Kumiko (Rinko Ki-kuchi), is convinced that she will uncover the buried treasure shown in the movie, Fargo. An outcast, she plots to escape her day-to-day life in Tokyo and head to Minnesota.

Austin-based filmmaker David Zellner has made numerous award-winning shorts and feature films over the past decade with his brother, Na-than Zellner, but this was their first in Japan. They started writing the film over a decade ago, and in addition to shooting in Minnesota, they spent over six weeks shooting in Japan.

“It was amazing. I loved it. I love Japan,” said David Zellner. “I loved it and can’t wait to shoot something else there.”

For more information about Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, visit www.kumikothetreasurehunter.com.

Lilting A film about communication and

loss, Hong Khaou’s first feature film, Lilting, follows Junn (played by

A scene from Lilting, the first feature film directed by Hong Khaou.


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By Yayoi L. WinfreyIE Contributor

The 2nd South Asian International Documentary Festival (SAID) presented by Tasveer is brimming with films that explore substantive topics. From Bollywood to outsourced workers and—the most prevalent—women’s rights in repressive societies, the narratives reflect hope even in a time of despair.

Consider the liberated ladies of Gulabi Gang. If you caught Pink Saris a few years ago, you may recall Sampat Pal Devi as the outspoken activist of Uttar Pradesh India who, in 2006, organized rural women to fight against the abuses of men, and sometimes other women. When Sampat appears on the scene, men tremble. Summoned to a village where a woman has been burned to death, she’s told by the victim’s husband and in-laws that the cooking fire is to blame. But like a television CSI detective, Sampat immediately notes the body lying in a room where there is no stove. Not to be taken lightly; Sampat admonishes, she insults, she lets the men know that she knows they’re lying. Then, she marches straight to police headquarters, haranguing authorities until a murder investigation is opened.

Shouting and waving their bamboo sticks called lathi, the women of Gulabi Gang confront men who are reported for beating and sometimes killing women. But in addition to their vigilante stance, the feminists are also civically involved. Following Sampat’s lead, they make their votes count and actively campaign for candidates who support their agenda, even installing their own members into office. Gulabi Gang women are empowered, never losing hope even while facing adversity. And, in one joyous scene in a display of global unity, they’re joined in song and dance by women traveling from Fiji.

Another documentary about oppressed females, I Was Worth 50 Sheep, unravels in Afghanistan where 10 year-old Farzaneh has been sold to a 60 year-old man in exchange for some farm animals and land. Fortunately, she’s been purchased on an installment plan and has six years before she’s to report for marriage. Meanwhile, her older half-sister Sabere has just escaped a six years-long abusive marriage and returned home—at 16. After escaping to a safe house, she solicits legal help in divorcing her abuser, by whom she suffered several

South Asian International Documentary Festival: Hope in a time of despair

miscarriages including a third trimester fetus that was literally beaten from her body. While moving between the safe house, her family home and court, she dons a burqa lest she be identified by Taliban members. Meanwhile, Sabere’s stepfather laments his lack of a son because living with four women (his wife, his mother and two daughters) makes life difficult even though they wait on him with freshly pumped glasses of water and homemade meals.

Denied education, traded for land and livestock, subjugated and suffering at the hands of brutal men, Sabere nonetheless remains dignified.

“All of our problems stem from illiteracy,” she declares.

Raising her voice in punctuation, Sabere displays a glint in her eyes reflecting the hope she feels for her future.

Women aren’t the only ones standing up for women. In The Menstrual Man, Muruganantham is appalled upon learning about the high infection rate among rural Indian women because of the rags they use during their periods. Washing them, they hang them out to dry only briefly because of the shame associated with bleeding. Thus, bacteria are encouraged to cultivate on the rags that are then reused. Obsessed with creating the perfect sanitary pad, Muruganantham avidly researches to the mortification of his wife, then his mother—losing both when they decide he’s crazy. But when he builds a machine that village women can operate to manufacture sanitary pads, a cottage industry is born. Brilliant, yet not formally educated, Muruganantham is dedicated,

driven, modest and munificent—never seeking a profit.

Men can be oppressed, too, in ways that aren’t always evident. In Mardistan, four New Dehli Sikh men are profiled about their societal roles and their views of women. Amandeep is an author; Tarun, a virginal college student; Gurpreet, a man passionate about his twin daughters; and, Dhananjay, a homosexual who opted for marriage and children over coming out as gay.

Three Sad Tigers also makes a case for demoralized men, those who are outsourced. Three Bangladeshi men go to Dubai for jobs that won’t even cover the debts they’ve incurred, including contractor fees they paid to secure those positions.

For lighter fare, there’s An American in Madras, the story of Ellis R. Dungan who went to India in 1935 on a lark, but stayed and made films in Tamil even though he never spoke the language. The black and white scenes, and glorious music, featured from his movies are extraordinary.

In Beyond Bollywood, the film industry is examined through the yearning eyes of four hopefuls. Pooja left home for Mumbai determined to dance in Bollywood, but deals with a jealous boyfriend. Harry, an Australian, finds work as the foreign entity in commercials and the white guy centerpiece in features. Prem Singh Thakur advocates for union members while Ojas, a makeup artist, is far more dramatic than any of the actors he styles.

Finally, there’s more dancing in Remembering Kumari when Nepalese culture is showcased in a goddess dance honoring a teacher.

A documentary is also being screened at the Northwest Film Forum. Shot in Nepal, Manakamana is 158 minutes of intimacy shared with worshippers riding a cable car to the temple of goddess Manakamana. Crowded inside a windowed box, high in the sky overlooking jungles, mountains and villages, the travelers talk displaying a mix of awe and fear.

Among the passengers are an old man and boy who never exchange a word of dialogue, three young musicians fussing with their hair while snapping selfies, a rooster, kitten, several bleating goats, and more. With its gentle message of traditional versus modern life, this film promotes hope through a couple seen departing earlier that returns looking happier than when they left.

2nd SAID (South Asian International Documentary) Festival takes place June 28 and 29 at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, 719 S. King St. in the Chinatown/ID neighborhood. For more information, call (206) 623-5124 or visit www.tasveer.org.

Manakamana shows at the Northwest Film Forum from June 20 to 26. Northwest Film Forum is located on Capitol Hill at 1515 12th Ave. For more information, call (206) 329-2629 or visit nwfilmforum.org.

Gulabi Gang

Menstrual Man

Documents

International Examiner June 18, 2014