I owe it to my grandfather, who immigrated from Japan as a young man to work on the plantation fields of Oahu more than 110 years ago. I owe it to my grandmother, who came here as a young picture bride to marry and raise a family that is into its fifth and sixth generation.
I owe it to all of those who immigrated to Hawaii from Japan, China, the Philippines, Portugal, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific and beyond, in search of a better life.
I owe it to their children and grandchildren, who would become our doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, spiritual leaders; who would started “ma and pa” businesses that would eventually become some of our major local companies and financial institutions; and elected leaders who would guide us to statehood.
I owe it to all of them to say to our president that his actions against immigrants undermine the very strength of our country: our diversity. We are a nation of immigrants, built by immigrants and defended over generations by the descendants of immigrants. Their hopes and dreams were the impetus for our Bill of Rights and Constitution.
Here in Hawaii, we don’t have to look far to see that fact stamped with an exclamation point. Look into the faces of our family, friends and neighbors. There is something to be said about our own diversity in Hawaii and where we’ve come from — not because we’re perfect, but because we’ve made it work despite our many imperfections. As much as any state, we embody our national immigrant heritage. And we continue to be an entry point for new immigrants — an entry point for new energy, new ideas, and new hopes and dreams.
Learning about and accepting others, especially when they are not like us, comes from interaction and engagement. It comes from familiarity. Only then can understanding follow and consequently empathy and compassion. In Hawaii, we’ve taken that lesson to heart, often learning those lessons the hard way and often over generations. It hasn’t always been easy or without failings. We still have much to learn.
That’s why it’s so important to know our past. We cannot know who we are and where we want to go without knowing our past — no matter how painful those lessons may be. History teaches us valuable lessons. And if we pay attention, it gives us a chance to avoid repeating past mistakes.
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But perhaps, the president is not aware of this because he doesn’t know his own family history — his own deep past, as the grandson of German and Scottish immigrants. Maybe, he doesn’t see the irony and hypocrisy of his own actions.
If he did, would he be so quick to condemn others for their lesser fortune? Would he be so willing to deny others their legal and human right to seek a better life, or be so eager to prevent others from escaping the reaches of a despot or the adject poverty from where they came?
If he did, maybe then, he would have some semblance of empathy and compassion for others and act more like a man of faith and character and not like one who has given up believing in others.
Immigration should not be an issue that divides us, but brings us together to work out a thoughtful, workable and compassionate plan to both protect our borders and protect the dignity and lives of those seeking refuge and a new life in the U.S. It should be our most important national policy and reflect who we truly are in this country.
Tom Yoneyama, a retired freelance writer, is a lifelong Honolulu resident and third-generation Japanese American whose paternal grandparents immigrated from Yamanashi, Japan.
