- [Shokusu] You're part Japanese?
- Yeah.
- Oh. - A quarter though.
Would I have been put in a camp?
- Yes.
(gasps)
(slow music)
- Hi, my name is Desmond.
- Hi, Desmond, how are you doing?
- Good.
What is your name?
- I go by Shox.
Can you say that?
- Shox.
- Do you know what we're here to talk about?
- I think it's about World War Two.
People had to go in these camps
because they thought they were spies.
- Do you know who the United States was fighting against?
- Germany?
- Germany, Japan, and--
- And...
- Italy.
- Italy?
- Mm-hmm.
And you know what happened to the Japanese people
that were living in the--
- Yeah, they went into camps
and I forgot what type of camps they're called.
- They're called concentration camps.
They're prisons.
(inhales)
- At the time we had six children and mom and dad.
My family had to live in one room.
- That would be a lot of people just in a small room!
(Shokusu laughs)
Where would you sleep?
How old were you when this was happening?
- I was eight-years-old.
How old are you?
- Eight.
- That's the age they put us in these concentration camps.
- Oh my, only eight?
Were you a spy?
- Was I a spy?
- Yeah.
- At eight years old?
(laughs) - I was thinking that too,
eight years old?
I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't even have a credit card.
(Shokusu and crew laugh)
If you weren't a spy,
why'd they lock you up?
- Because the war was with Japan,
and I'm Japanese.
- Because you're Japanese?
- Yeah.
- Well, you didn't do anything bad!
- [Shokusu] That's right!
That's exactly right.
- This is my question,
why didn't they put Italy or Germany?
That's kinda weird,
because if you just put one country in,
that wouldn't make sense.
- The main reason is that a lot of the Germans and Italians
are white like you are,
but you're not all white.
- Yeah.
- [Shokusu] You're part Japanese?
- Yeah.
- [Shokusu] Oh. - A quarter though.
Would I have been put in a camp?
- Yes.
(gasps)
- That makes me like, wow.
Could you bring pets?
- No, we were not allowed to bring pets.
(gasps)
You could take to camp whatever you can carry
in a suitcase.
And that was all you could take.
What would you take if you had to go?
- I would take slippers.
- [Shokusu] Slippers?
- Yeah, because you can wear those
to like, go anywhere you want.
Maybe I would pack some macaroni and cheese.
- Oh you would?
What part of your family,
your grandmother or grandfather was at one of these camps?
- Minna-something.
- [Shokusu] Minnadoka?
- Yeah.
- That's where I was.
(crew members gasp)
- [Crew Member ] Oh jeez.
- Do you remember what your grandfather and grandmother's
last name was?
- Koyano?
I recognize that it is Japanese.
- My grandparents were there?
- [Shokusu] Mhmm!
- Oh wow!
Were you mad at the government?
- Yeah, my parents were very angry.
We lost our business.
We lost our home.
We lost the car.
So that was tough.
Would you be mad at the government
if you and your family were put into
these concentration camps?
- I would be stressed out
because I wouldn't wanna leave all my things.
I don't want that to ever happen.
- Well, they're doing that right now.
And there's a lot of resentment against the Muslims.
(slow music)
- Oh my, that's scary.
- Mm-hmm.
Hi!
Thanks for watching Kids Meet.
If you'd like to learn more,
check on the link down below.
(crew members laugh)
- [Crew Member] Awesome!
(clapping)
That was great!
Alright, thank you so much Sho!