Today we continued building on the the content from Jennings (see previous post here) and other materials covered, but also delved into the world of myths, parables and storytelling.
One of the first things that struck me from Mighty Stories, Dangerous Rituals by Herbert Anderson and Edward Foley was the reminder of the power of stories - the ones we tell others, and the ones we tell ourselves. It not only shapes who we are, but who we are to become. There is much power in sharing our stories, but there are also consequences of NOT telling our stories. The book gives one example of the women in Rwanda, not permitted to tell their experiences of the Rwandan Genocide.
The community that I serve, a church that is the oldest Japanese/Japanese American Christian church in North America, carries a similar experience. During WWII, over 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry were incarcerated for no reason other than their ethnic identity. Between the years 1942-44, many Japanese/Japanese Americans were stripped of their possessions, their dignity, and American identities. Even though the community had experienced such trauma, many people did not tell their stories to their children. Although they were not forced to keep silent, many did do due to the 'culture of shame' that exists in the Japanese culture.
Having served my church for over 11 years, as well as other Japanese American experiences elsewhere, I cannot help but feel the effects that this silence has had on the generations that followed, as well as the Japanese American culture itself. In recent years, people have finally begun to open up and talk about their experiences and telling their stories (which I have seen to be a very liberating experience for those individuals), but the mark that the silence has put on the community and culture remains strong.
Knowing the power of story and storytelling, I wonder what stories our current Japanese American generations can develop and tell which can bring more healing and hope for the future....?
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I still remember the first time I really heard of the internment in a way that had an impact on me -- it was the film "Unfinished Business." Because I have no direct family history/memories of that time, I needed the stories of people who had been there to make it come alive for me. The film remains something I return to, and try to find ways to share in the contexts in which I work. Do you know it? Would you use it? Or are there other stories / novels / films you recommend?
ReplyDeleteGrace, I think there are several points of intersection with your ministry and the Foley and Anderson book. As you said, the silence and the secrets can lie under the "official" story and may bubble up in unexpected places. Maybe designing some ritual could be part of the healing of memory in your community.
ReplyDeleteI love reading poetry and stories from this shameful period in American history, because picturing a young girl and her family, a boy playing baseball, a doctor losing his home and his practice, a grandmother squatting in a stable--I cannot forget these images cannot as easily as I might forget statistics.
I wish you well in your project of recovering and healing.