Mable Ota's Otousan
"Maybe I should feel some anger or bitterness towards the government, because if the evacuation had not happened, then the tragedies in my life wouldn't have occurred."
Mabel Ota father died because of insufficient care. Later while still in the internment camp her father fell ill because of his diabetes. She tried to tell the doctors but they said his illness was not caused by diabetes. They sent him to the hospital and then later died. Doctors confirmed it was from his diabetes.
"My father who was at Gila was a diabetic and so in our family we never had desserts because diabetics are not supposed to have a lot of starch or sweets...When we lived at the camp, the diet at he beginning was really terrible-just starches, whatever they could ship in, and hardly and vegetables or fruits. On meal I think there were nothing but bread, potatoes, spaghetti, and macaroni."
(Inada 175-177)
(Inada 175-177)
"The food I'm sure was related to my father's death but you see they didn't diagnose it correctly. They put him in the hospital...I went back and she said, "'They said it's not diabetes."' And so I went to see him and they said he was suffering from melancholia...my father was there and was given shock treatments, but he was only there six weeks and then the doctor called the camp and said, "Come, your father is going to pass away." We got to see him before he died; and when I talked to the doctor the next day he said,"'He didn't really have melancholia. It was brought on by his diabetes."'The camp had only given him a urine test. They had not given him a blood analysis test, you see, and the urine test would come out okay...So he went through all that for nothing."
(Inada 175-177)
"I think the government was very wrong. This is why, although it is very painful subject, I decided that I need to tell my story so that this kind of things won't happen again. If people don't tell, no on will know the kinds of things that happened to loyal American citizens." (Inada 175-177)
Mabel Ota had experience her right being taken away and watched as her family member rights were violated as well. However she again felt her responsibility was to tell her story. So that people will know how loyal Americans were treated.