June 6, 2018

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

SEATTLE’S NONPROFIT ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1974

June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 1

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INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Honoring Tosh Okamoto and his passion for his community The International Examiner and Gary Iwamoto Tosh Okamoto, a dedicated soldier for the entire Japanese American community and lifelong community activist, passed away on May 19, 2018. The International Examiner presented Tosh with a Lifetime Achievement award at its 2011 Community Voice Award annual banquet. IE board member Gary Iwamoto interviewed Tosh and wrote about his life in the article that follows.

Toshikazu Okamoto is a Nisei (second generation Japanese American) veteran and proud of it.

He has served our country and our community with distinction. Like most Japanese Americans, “Tosh” was sent to an internment camp during World War II. But ironically, the same government who questioned the loyalty of Okamoto and other Japanese Americans by sending them to internment camps decided that Tosh was loyal enough to be drafted into military service. At the age of 17, he joined the all Nisei 442nd Regimental Unit and was stationed in Italy toward the end of the war.

When the war ended, Tosh went to Edison Technical School to learn the skills to be an auto mechanic. But Tosh couldn’t find a job because the auto shops would only hire union mechanics. The union wouldn’t accept him, telling him that the waiting list to join the union was too long to get a job immediately. He knew this was a lie because the white students in his program found jobs easily. He eventually found a job with the Seattle Fire Department where he worked for 32 years, ultimately ending up as a supervisor in charge of vehicle maintenance.

In 1971, Tosh was serving as the Commander of the Nisei Vets Committee.

As part of his duties, Tosh visited Isseis (first generation Japanese Americans) living in a nursing home, who had lost sons in the course of military service, called “Gold Star Parents”. Tosh happened to visit an elderly Issei man who was living in a nursing home on Seattle’s First Hill. The son of that Issei resident came up to Tosh and asked him for change. Tosh was told that the staff would only respond to a patient pushing the call button if they had change in their hand; otherwise they would be ignored.

Tosh was upset at the treatment of that “Gold Star” father, the father of a Nisei veteran who died in the war. At about the same time, a Japanese boarding house was

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Established in 1974, the International Examiner is the only non-profit pan-Asian and Pacific Islander 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. 409 Maynard Ave. S. #203, Seattle, WA 98104. (206) 624-3925. iexaminer@iexaminer.org.

sixty years to Toshiko. He is the proud father of four children, Joyce, Susan, John, and Sheila, and grandfather to nine grandchildren. Long-time friend and collaborator Tomio Moriguchi said, “Tosh as a World War II veteran, is a great, caring, outstanding provider of quality of value and life for his whole immediate and extended family. A person that has been able to extend these values to his community.”

Corrections for the May 16, 2018 issue: In the article “State Senate candidate would be first person of color representing 34th district”, the article stated that Nguyen has received the public endorsement of Attorney General Bob Ferguson. He has not received this endorsement.

In the article “Filipino American jazz musician Jon Irabagon’s unchartered funhouse-mirrored Elysium”, the photo credit should have been to Bryan Murray.

Tosh and Toshiko Okamoto. • Courtesy Photo

closing. Tosh saw that the safety net for the Issei elderly was disappearing. Aging Issei had nowhere to go to receive culturally sensitive nursing care. Tosh shared these observations with Tomio Moriguchi and both men decided that it was imperative to create a nursing home environment which could meet the needs of Isseis.

Tosh and Tomio, along with Glen Akai, Harry Kadoshima, Sally Kazama, Fred Takeyasu, and Henry Miyatake, – the “Magnificent Seven” – formed Issei Concerns (later Nikkei Concerns) in 1975.

Their initial goal was to develop a nursing home to meet the cultural, social, language and dietary needs of elderly Nikkei. Of course, no one had the expertise to create a nursing home. But coincidentally, Tosh’s eldest daughter, Joyce, had just started working at the Keiro Nursing Home in Los Angeles. Through Joyce’s connections, Edwin Hiroto, the Director of Keiro, came to Seattle who advised the seven to mobilize the Japanese American community.

The group started a community-wide funding campaign. A site and facility were found at the old Mt. Baker convalescent center. In 1976, Seattle Keiro Nursing home opened its doors and it wasn’t long before the nursing home outgrew its limited space.

In 1985, when Tosh served as President of the Board, Nikkei Concerns embarked on its second major fundraising effort for a

IE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ron Chew, President Gary Iwamoto, Secretary Peggy Lynch, Treasurer Arlene Oki, At-Large Sokha Danh At-Large Nam Le, At-Large COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER Lexi Potter lexi@iexaminer.org BUSINESS MANAGER Ellen Suzuki finance@iexaminer.org FELLOWSHIP STAFF Bif Brigman Mitsue Cook

new $6.6 million, 150-bed facility. On May 6, 1986, the new Seattle Keiro broke ground at 16th Avenue and Yesler Way and opened one year later. Today, Nikkei Concerns serves our community through its four programs: Seattle Keiro, Nikkei Manor, Kokoro Kai and Nikkei Horizons. And Tosh is still involved after 35 years with Nikkei Concerns, serving on its advisory board.

While his work with the Keiro Nursing Home is Tosh’s proudest achievement, his contributions to the community don’t stop there. He has served on the board of the Kawabe Memorial House, including terms as President and Vice President, since 1987. He helped found the Meiji Kai Senior Lunch Program which served Issei at Nisei Veteran’s Hall for years. He served as a community advisor for the Kame Project (dementia research of Japanese Americans) and Japanese American Community Diabetes Study. He helped establish the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism in Washington DC and was the funding co-chair for the Pacific Northwest which raised more than $1.6 million for the Memorial. He has been a long-time member, past Commander, and current Executive Board member for the Nisei Veterans Committee. And at the age of 84, Tosh shows no signs of stopping.

Tosh has been married for more than

EDITOR IN CHIEF Jill Wasberg editor@iexaminer.org

JaeRan Kim Candace Kwan Susan Kunimatsu

MANAGING EDITOR Chetanya Robinson chetanya@iexaminer.org

DISTRIBUTORS Joshua Kelso Makayla Dorn Maryross Olanday Antonia Dorn Kristen Navaluna Kat Punzalan Eli Savitt Stephany Hernandez Vincent Trey Walker Flynn

ARTS EDITOR Alan Chong Lau arts@iexaminer.org CONTENT MANAGER Pinky Gupta CONTRIBUTORS Clarissa Gines Misa Shikuma Linda Ando Dale H. Watanabe Ning Luo Carolyn Bick Isyss Honnen Stephanie Ikeda Stan Yogi

EDITORIAL INTERN Molly Quinton FELLOWS Annie Kuo Bunthay Cheam John Phoenix Leapai Nick Turner

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June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 3

Dean Wong talks about Portland’s Chinatown and a new museum

By Alan Chong Lau IE Arts Editor During the 1890’s, Portland had the second-largest Chinatown in the United States. Even in the 1930s, a Portland Chinese American woman remembers it is as a friendly and lively neighborhood which was home not only to C_hinese Americans but African Americans, Japanese Americans and Greek Americans.

Now that community is a whisper of its former self. The increasing development of gentrification has led to a dynamic remaking of our cities, making it unaffordable for local residents. Also, historically, some early residents wanted to move out for other parts of the city as soon as they had families where they could find more ample housing.

Now a new museum in that city’s Chinatown named the Portland Chinatown Museum will open in the area. It sees as its mission to preserve some of the heritage and history of the community by telling stories of that immigrant community.

As Terry Chung, founding president of the Portland Chinatown History Foundation, puts it, “It’s not just the history of the Chinese; it’s the history of Portland’s development.”

Ivan Mui, Republic Cafe family member . Photo by Dean Wong.

The museum will tell the stories of the early Chinese immigrant experience, with visual installations from Portland artists Carey Wong and Rose Bond and rotating exhibits from local Chinese American artists such as Horatio Law and Seattleborn photographer Dean Wong. A future expansion would add long-term student housing. Historian Jackie Peterson-Loomis, one of the project leaders says, “It is a way to engage the larger Asian community about the neighborhood’s changes and what it means to keep your culture and your language.”

The Portland Chinatown Museum will become the permanent home of a revised and expanded 2,400 square- foot exhibition, “Beyond the Gate: A Tale of Portland’s Historic Chinatown.” Originally presented in the spring of 2016 to a record-breaking audience at the Oregon Historical Society, this exhibit will be the centerpiece of the museum. It will be augmented with a rotating exhibition schedule and performance gallery plus a diverse array of public programs.

The museum commissioned Dean Wong to do a series entitled, “Made in Chinatown, U.S.A., Portland”, which runs June 7 through September 2, 2018.

It opens on First Thursday, June 7, from 4;00 PM to 8:00 PM. An artist talk and community discussion are planned.

In many countries, awards are given out to artists who have contributed a significant body of work that enriches the culture and history of that society. In Japan, they are known as “living cultural treasures.” If there were any designation like that in Seattle, photographer Dean Wong would be our most likely candidate.

A self-taught photographer, his artistic vision has been honed by his years as a community activist and photojournalist.

Selected as Portland Chinatown Museum’s first Visiting Artist in Residence, I wanted to know more about his upcoming exhibition in Portland.

International Examiner: How did you get involved with this Portland Chinatown project?

Dean Wong: In the fall of 2016, I went to see “Beyond the Gate”, an historical exhibit on Portland Chinatown at the Oregon Historical Society. I heard the Portland Chinatown History Foundation had leased a building on NW 4th to start a museum. Ron Chew, former director of the Wing Luke Museum had been advising the Portland group on funding. I decided to photograph what is left of Chinatown which had been greatly impacted by development and gentrification.

IE: How is Portland’s Chinatown different from others on the West Coast?

Does it have its own distinct personality?

DW: Chinatowns have appeared away from the city center. In Portland’s Pearl District along SW 82nd, a huge business district has developed with Chinese and other Asian restaurants and stores. The remaining business owners show a lot of pride for still being there. They feel Chinatown, despite its decline, is their home.

They know all the Chinese population is now centered around SE 82nd. But if you look at a Portland map, it clearly states where Chinatown is. A it’s not SE 82nd.

The Yat Sing Music Club still meets once a week in a Chinatown basement.

They told me they have no plans to move.

The building had been up for sale. Now it’s off the market. That’s how fragile this Chinatown is. The members of the Portland Chinatown Historical Foundation’s bold move to build a new museum is a huge development for the community. Five major Chinese associations still own their buildings. Each has the traditional ornate meeting halls and communal kitchens.

Members attend meetings once a month.

Most other businesses and groups like the Chinese school have moved to SW 82nd.

IE: When you take pictures, what are you looking for?

DW: Henri Cartier-Bresson called it the “decisive moment.” Moments in life framed in a composition and captured by a fraction in time.

IE: What’s the future look like for Chinatowns here on the West Coast?

DW: Looking down the road, I read stories about Chinatowns all over America undergoing change. At the start of this project, I was invited to a large Chinese banquet at a restaurant on SE 82nd in Portland. I overheard a man saying he was “so happy” because he sold his property in Chinatown. I thought it was sad.

Seattle Chinatown, too, is undergoing big change with major developments. Big buildings on the way. The most significant project to impact the neighborhood is a 13-story chain hotel going in at Eighth and Lane. This is the same intersection where Seattle Police say Donnie Chin was caught in a “crossfire” which killed him.

It’s interesting to note that ICHS wanted to purchase the property to better provide our community with extended health care and they were outbid by a corporation.

The House of Louie, the last remaining restaurant to serve dim sum, closed earlier this year. It had this Chinese pagodastyle roof that was part of that Chinatown look. The doorway had a round design.

The property was sold a while back. The House of Louie owner finally decided it was time. The property was sold for $2.5 million. The new owner now has it on the market for $2.5 [million] or so. In the month after House of Louie closed, the front door ‘round window’ was shattered when I walked by. The next day there was a blue tarp in tent form, home for several homeless people.

4 — June 6 - June 19, 2018

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

NEWS

Khmer Americans celebrate high school and college graduates; address issues of access to higher education

By Bunthay Cheam IE Fellow

to be part of the event is because I wanted to connect and meet all Khmer student graduates across Washington state to come On Saturday May 19, 2018, the Cambo- together and rejoice as a community and see dian American Community Council of WA everyone’s accomplishments for completing (CACCWA) held its second annual Cambo- high school or college,” he said. dian Graduation Celebration at the SeaTac Event co-chair Nyda Ouch, who graduCommunity Center. ated in 2017 with a degree in biology from The event recognizes and honors aca- the UW, recognized the importance of demic achievement within the regional events like this to a marginalized commuCambodian American community, and it nity. “Education statistics for Cambodians also serves as a space for community mem- are an excellent example highlighting the bers to engage intergenerationally. Sponsors necessity of programs targeting the needs of of the event included the Commission on southeast Asian and API populations,” she Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) said. “We must advocate for policies which and the United Cambodian Development disassemble barriers to education for CamAssociation. bodian American communities and the diThe event featured 14 high school gradu- verse groups which exist within it. On that ates, 23 college graduates receiving bach- same note, these events also demonstrate elor’s degrees and one graduate receiving the determination and resilience of Khmer their master’s degree, with event participa- students.” tion from as far north as Everett and as far south as Olympia. Also at the event, three Cambodian Americans compared to high school graduates received community the national average scholarships totaling $3,500.

Cambodian Americans, compared to CACCWA was founded in 2015 following their peers, fall toward the bottom. A 2015 a community event called Remembering report released by the Center for American the Past and Welcoming the Future, which Progress cites 37 percent of the Cambodian reflected on the 40 years that had passed American population in the U.S. with less since the Cambodian Genocide. Commu- than a high school degree and only 14 pernity members wanted to capture the suc- cent with a bachelor’s degree compared to cess and momentum of that event and carry 29.6 percent U.S. average and 49 percent it forward, and CACCWA was established Asian American average. with that end in mind. The group currently “I think having these events are imporcoordinates with over a dozen Cambodian community organizations all over Washing- tant because everyone deserves to celebrate their identity as Cambodian Americans, ton state. especially towards higher education,” said Alexander Khem who will receive a bach- Khem. “Many of us who know or have elor’s degree in Media and Communication families living in poverty may or may not Studies with a concentration in Social Jus- understand how difficult it is when we have tice and Diversity from the University of parents with language barriers unable to Washington, was at the event. “I signed up

speak English or speak little English to supIn a 2013 SEARAC report focused on port their children every day.”

Washington state Cambodian Americans, The same report showed the median in- a majority of students, 60 percent, live in come of Cambodian American household single parent homes. 81.7 percent of Cambois $53,000 a year versus the overall Asian dian Americans also qualify for free lunch, American average of $71,000 and 18.8 per- the highest amongst other minority groups. cent are in poverty versus the 15.7 percent national average. Isolating children as a group, the numbers jump to 39 percent versus the national average of 22.2 percent that live in poverty when comparing Cambodian Americans to Asian Americans as a whole.

This represents a huge access issue for a large swathe of the Cambodian American community.

Amongst but not limited to the multitude of causes that create access issues to higher education for Cambodian Americans, language barriers have and continue to have a drastic effect on the population. In the 2013 SEARAC report, 40.5 percent of Cambodian Americans in Washington State speak English less than well compared to 8 percent of the total population.

“As a student, accessing education wasn’t easy for me,” said Touch. “My journey at UW relied on scholarships and grants.

Each year I nervously waited for financial aid to determine how they would control my finances. There have been times they severely cut my aid or threatened to revoke it. Financial hardships are one of numerous challenges facing Cambodian Americans.”

Because of these barriers within the Cambodian American community and among the state’s southeast Asian population in its entirety, the SEARAC report concluded that Washington state Southeast Asians are most at risk of experiencing alienation and marginalization in schools.

To help address this issue and many others around access to higher education within the community, the CACCWA established an Education Subcommittee. Past subcommittee co-chair Bopha Cheng said of its role that it “provide[s] a platform to uplift and recognize the academic accomplishments in our communities. Both to combat the negative stereotypes of Cambodian Americans and to highlight the success stories.”

A community taking charge of its future by uplifting future scholars Because of this lack of access and barriers in navigating higher education for Cambodian Americans, on of the CACCWA’s longer term strategy is to create a mentorship program.

“That’s one of the next bigger steps,” said event co-chair Chunneath Kravanh, who is a graduate of the UW and is currently working on his master’s degree at Seattle University’s College of Education School Counseling program. “Really get the community involved, like high school graduates, college graduates, to connect to others.”

“This was an opportunity to educate the larger communities and our own Cambodian communities that our students face a different set of challenges from their peers, white and east Asian counterparts as well as Khmer Student Association (KhSA) of generational ideals for their children,” she UW President-elect Ammara Touch celsaid. ebrated the event because she said it created conversation about equality and equity, as well as inclusion and liberation.

Keynote speaker and CAPAA Commissioner, Sina Sam, invited the audience to take a step back and conceptualize the challenges the Cambodian American community faces. “It was really powerful to see how various environmental/external factors can influence a person’s social mobility. And it’s also important to realize that the trauma faced by our community has huge implications in those external factors, such as accessibility to resources and lack of education,” she said.

Although Commissioner Sam participated in the event as a representative of CAPAA, she revealed, “The more important reason was the opportunity to let my community know I see them. I am proud of their sacrifices and accomplishments. That I am them. I stand on the many shoulders that have come before me, and they can stand on my shoulders to lift themselves up on their way up to even greater achievements.” *Bunthay Cheam is an active member of the CACCWA.

NW Angkor Dance Troupe performing a Khmer dance called Robam Tovea Propey. • Photo by Sally Phnouk

ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 5

Angela Garbes explores pregnancy in Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy

By Clarissa Gines IE Contributor Motivated by her frustration as a first-time mother navigating the nuances of pregnancy and motherhood, Seattle-based writer Angela Garbes embarked on a passionate journey to better understand this new world of physical, mental and emotional chaos. After writing an article in Seattle’s alternative paper, The Stranger titled “The More I Learn About Breast Milk, The More Amazed I Am” which turned viral, she quickly realized that many women wanted unbiased information and advice on pregnancy.

Through ardent research, conversations with friends and medical experts, and candid recollections of personal experiences, Garbes breaks down various cultural myths about pregnancy in an enthusiastic and awefilled fashion in her first narrative book, Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy.

The thoughtfully written and researched book addresses questions that most women during pregnancy and new motherhood wonder about through a scientific and cultural lens. Throughout the book, Garbes highlights the strong women in her life – her mother and Lola Lily, and how their experiences as Filipina immigrants guided her through her pregnancy journey. Between her own personal experiences and those of friends, she substantiates it with scientific data and facts from different cultures.

Each chapter touches on a different circumstance that expecting women come across – from first finding out you’re pregnant, to miscarriage, to the placenta (the most fascinating chapter in the book), and to labor and postpartum care. Garbes successfully translates hard to understand medical jargon into information that is much more palatable and accessible by presenting the information in layman terms.

The book raises questions about the lack of information and resources available on various aspects of pregnancy – case in point, information about the placenta. She dedicates a whole chapter to it and skillfully explains the importance of this organ – which is a completely new organ that grows inside the body and helps nourish the baby during pregnancy! Additionally, Like a Mother highlights the various ways that our culture is unkind to pregnant women and mothers, and how we obsess over what to eat or not eat, where or how the best way to go into labor is, etc. Throughout the book, Garbes gives permission to question resources and medical authorities and insists that women are deserving of more information and autonomy.

Garbes helps better inform women about pregnancy and encourages choosing a plan that is right for them, rather than filtering information and suggesting what they should do. By presenting information in a nonfiltered way, it allows women to feel less anx-

ious and overwhelmed about pregnancy and impending motherhood. Garbes mentions how most books she picked up during her pregnancy did not answer her questions, felt outdated, and made her feel insecure and judged. This view extends to media where pregnancy and motherhood are commonly portrayed in a particular light, where doctors are restrictive and women are too strict on themselves, as she mentions in Like a Mother. This realization only fueled her desire to take her skills as a journalist and apply that to the research she would embark on in fulfilling her curiosity about pregnancy.

Like a Mother is an empowering resource that allows the reader to be informed of pregnancy and motherhood in a way that resonates with folks from various backgrounds.

She presents stories and information with humor and enthusiasm. With Garbes, a Filipina as the author, she demonstrates the importance of representing the voices of intersectional women: who are women of color, who come from marginalized communities, who battle depression or have suffered miscarriages. Garbes beautifully gives every unique experience the affirmation that they are valid and provides unbiased guidance and support for other women are navigating pregnancy and motherhood. The book will leave you with a new sense of admiration and appreciation of the female body and will leave you feeling glad that a book like this finally exists.

Angela Garbes will engage in conversation with fellow author Lindy West on Wednesday, June 13th at 7:30 pm at The Summit on Pike. Tickets are $5. For more information, go to www.townhallseattle. org. The Summit on Pike is located at 420 E Pike.

The Doctor From India and Haikara-San play this week in Seattle

By Misa Shikuma IE Contributor Septuagenarian Dr. Vasant Lad, one of the world’s leading experts in Ayurveda, a traditional form of medicine, hasn’t let age slow him down one bit. Lanky, bespectacled and speaking in evenly measured tones, his practice hasn’t changed much over the decades; rather public opinion and reception to it has.

Jeremy Frindel’s documentary, The Doctor From India, follows Dr. Lad’s journey from relative obscurity to global renown after introducing Ayurveda to the west in the late 1970s.

Coming from a modest upbringing in Pune, India, Dr. Lad discusses how as a young man he narrowly missed the high test score threshold for entrance to medical school. Despondent and unsure of his next steps, his father suggested pursuing an education and career in Ayurveda. (Pune is home to a college dedicated to the practice).

Fast forward to the 21st century, and the doctor now spends about half the year lecturing abroad, while maintaining the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and also taking trips back to Pune.

The film, though engaging and easy to digest, could have benefitted from including more background and context for Ayurveda.

Essentially, the practice focuses on reading the body’s pulse – there’s an almost shamanistic quality to the way Dr. Lad grips patients’ wrists, as though his entire body is listening to the faint throbbing that his fingertips detect.

As a Westerner living in a time of hyperawareness of whitewashing and cultural ap-

own husbands. Unfortunately for Benio, an agreement made generations ago between her family and the aristocratic Ijuins means that she is betrothed to their male heir – the half-German Second Lieutenant Shinobu (Mamoru Miyano).

Upon hearing of the engagement, Benio’s best friend Ranmaru (Yuki Kaji), a neighborhood boy training to take on female kabuki roles, professes his love for her and offers to elope. The pair doesn’t make it very far before Shinobu finds them and demonstrates a deep patience and compassion for Benio despite her causticity.

The Doctor from India. • Photo courtesy of Zeitgeist Films Beginning to accept the family pact, Benio agrees to move into the Ijuin compound propriation, The Doctor From India seems these maybe all one really needs is a person and learn the household duties. Ranmaru follows, posing as a maid, in order to remain almost deliberately tame. Watching Dr. Lad to put one’s faith in. close to her. Despite her staunch position at treat disadvantaged locals in Pune who unThe Doctor From India plays at the Norththe outset, Benio’s feelings toward Shinobu doubtedly don’t have access to healthcare is west Film Forum June 6-10. and his family begin to shift, though before inspiring and makes sense; the roomfuls of the couple can officially wed, an officer with enraptured white hippies who probably paid ***** a grudge sends the Second Lieutenant to the an arm and a leg to get to India and observe front lines in Manchuria. the doctor at work less so. Aside from Dr. The first installment of a two-part Lad, most of the other featured experts are Although the source material was written Caucasian, and thus a more accurate tag- adaptation of the popular manga from the almost 40 years ago, and set almost a ‘70s, Haikara-San is a fun jaunt through line for the film might be one man’s journey century ago, Benio’s tenacity and idealism bringing an ancient Indian healing practice Japan’s Taisho era, as seen through the eyes are more relevant than ever. Staying true to of the headstrong, adolescent tomboy Benio to privileged white people. the original shojo manga (manga targeted Hanamura (Saori Hayami). at a young female demographic), director Westerners have been romanticizing and Like Elizabeth Bennet and countless Kazuhiro Furuhashi crafts Haikara-San latching onto ideas and practices that other cultures have been practicing since antiq- other women in literature, Benio was born into a light-hearted but effective coming-ofuity before Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray into a rigid social system whose rules and age story of a young woman who fights for Love made it a point of social commentary, conventions she constantly challenges, much her own agency. Although the film visually but the documentary’s evasion of the issue to the chagrin of her widowed father. In 1918 romanticizes early twentieth century Japan, is frustrating. Whether or not one believes Tokyo, a time of great Westernization, Benio Benio’s plight – the struggle for individuality in the legitimacy of Ayurveda as a medical and her friends attend a finishing school in spite of what society expects a woman to practice, Dr. Lad’s magnetism as a benevo- designed to make them into suitable brides be – is thematically resonant. lent scholar is undeniable. And in times like for important men, while daydreaming of the Haikara-San plays at the Grand Illusion freedom to pursue careers and choose their Cinema June 9-11.

6 — June 6 - June 19, 2018

ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

SIFF movie I Miss You When I See You shows the realities of depression and homosexuality through a love story

By Linda Ando IE Contributor

and looked at their school paper and saw they had an LGBT section.

I Miss You When I See You is a tender and courageous film about the complexity of adolescence, identity, sexuality and struggles with cultural conformity by director, Simon Chung. I Miss You, breaks the silence with an intimate portrayal of lost innocence, friendships and burgeoning love between two young high school boys discovering their sexual identities that clashes with the socio-cultural norms and the realities of depression and homosexuality.

IE: On many university and school campuses in America there is a movement or accepted culture to define one’s identity (pronouns). Is that taking place in Asia, school systems?

SC: In universities, there are gay and lesbian clubs and alliances, not sure of high school. Now when you look at Hong Kong society, people are very accepting of gay people. Yet the general attitudes of the people have become more liberal.

However, the political system is largely conservative politicians, and they are fighting against the liberal legislations.

IE: Can you tell us how this film emerged, reflecting on your earlier films and how your work evolved over the years ?

Simon Chung: I’ve made four featured films and three shorts. One of the inspirations for this film is a short called Stanley Beloved from 1997. The initial inspiration was to visit these characters and imagine what their lives would be like ten years later. The original story has to do with two kids who are in secondary school named Kevin and Jamie, Jamie is Caucasian and Kevin is mixed Chinese and Caucasian, very good friends in high school. Kevin has to leave to go to study in England, tells Jamie one night and has a kiss.

The I Miss You two main characters are also named Kevin and Jamie who were good friends in high school, and Kevin has to immigrate to Australia with his mother, so it echoes like the earlier story.

In terms of how it evolved, I think as I get older, my films are less to do about myself per say.

In this film, there are four main characters and I try to make them well-rounded and be a story about these four characters and explore how they deal with their lives. Whereas my earlier films, seems to be about the main character and his struggle. Hopefully, I’ve become better at creating different sorts of characters and their relationships.

IE: How did you find your voice as a storyteller?

SC: Finding my own voice is an ongoing process. Being gay has a lot to do with it. You are forced to look at yourself, you realize you are different from other people, thus makes you more introspective about yourself and how you are different from other people and how to navigate within society as a person who is different from other people. In my films, I try to explore many of these issues, such as sexuality but also themes about identity, culture, how people fit into society.

IE: When did you become aware of your own sexual identity?

SC: A bit earlier before I moved to Canada, when I was about 14 or 15 years old. Like Kevin in my movie, I also had like a high school affair which prematurely ended because of my move to Canada. I had to rediscover my sexuality

Photo courtesy of SIFF

within the disparity of white society, that was interesting.

IE: How was it dealing with your family and parents in Asian culture?

SC: In the west, people believe in coming out. Whereas that need is not as urgent in many Asian families. I never had to say I am gay to my parents, but somehow it’s understood and it’s unspoken.... unspoken acceptance? Well, I am not sure because we don’t talk about it, so I don’t know how much they know. After a few years my father would still be saying, “Why don’t you get a girlfriend?” Not like a high-pressure thing, just mention it.

IE: Breaking the silence is never easy especially around stigmas that exists in our communities and in society. Can you talk about the role art and artists can play to break the silence about depression, mental health and LBGT and other social cultural issues?

SC: To me, depression and homosexuality are issues that are closely tied because in both conditions the person feels very isolated and feel they are the only person in that state, and they are both very lonely sort of conditions. Also, I have suffered from depression on and off throughout my life, and that is very much tied to my sexuality because it has to do with me wanting connection with other people, wanting love. I feel these issues are very important for the gay community, so I want to explore that with this film.

IE: In writing this script, what challenges did you face in telling the stories of Kevin and Jamie?

SC: First depression is very hard to deal with because it is a very internal condition. Often times in real life, you don’t really know a person is depressed because they don’t really show signs or they hide themselves away or sleep for 16 hours. So that isn’t very cinematic. The challenge was to present this condition within a storytelling medium to make it somewhat dramatic.

The other thing is the budget. This film was five years in the making. It is a very difficult film to fund because of the homosexuality content and especially within the current movie-making business in Hong Kong. We have become reliant on the Chinese market and a lot of films made are co-productions with Chinese companies and meant for release in China, so films with homosexual content can’t be shown in Chinese theater or on Chinese TV. IE: How did you navigate to find the balance between the sensitive and hard topics like the scene of getting HIV testing to the light and sweet moments of love and friendships?

SC: Not sure if it’s deliberate because you can’t make a film of complete despair that would be dull. The film is about these four characters, make them well rounded as possible and to inject different point of views and less just about Kevin and his frame of mind, so it is also about these other people and makes it less heavy.

IE: What would you like to say to the young people like Jamie and Kevin who are struggling with their identities and sexuality?

SC: I’m not sure about that. I am very leery about giving advice to people, I think people should find their own paths.

If I was a younger person, the last thing I want to hear an older guy telling them what to do. (Laughs) Also, this film hardly gives them very high hopes about the future, it’s bleak, and there is a bright ending, but it also has to do with heavy emotions.

I think young people now days have fewer struggles. It depends on their families and where they are from in the world.

There are still many countries in the world now that are very oppressive about homosexuals.

And even in America, there is a lot do discrimination and people are afraid to come out. On the other hand, I went to a school in Seattle, a preparatory school

For example, we don’t have any antidiscrimination laws to protect gay people and lesbians. I have friends who are high school teachers, and they are scared of coming out because they could be fired.

Not even for being gay or lesbian, now most teachers are on two-year contracts and they can simply not renew your contract with no reason. There is no recourse, you can’t sue the schools.

On the other hand, you have societies like Taiwan who is moving toward legislation for gay marriage. It’s set to be the first Asian country. Vietnam and Thailand are also considering similar legislation, so it is moving in that direction.

IE: What would you say to your younger self knowing what you know now.

SC: Not sure he would listen! (Laughter) Ahh, a lot of things I would say. Not to be so scared. Not just me, so many people are ruled by fear that they don’t know that really nobody cares, in the end.

IE: What do you hope the audience walks away with from seeing your film?

SC: In this film, it is an open ending and there is no one single message I want to give, except maybe something about hope and the future. Especially when you are depressed, you don’t think of the future, you think that this thing you are feeling or this condition will last forever and you can’t see beyond it.

Things will change. Some people don’t realize that.

ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 7

Gaysia is a sexy romp through the “gayest continent on earth”

By Annie Kuo IE Fellow The minute I finished reading Gaysia: Queer Adventures in the Far East, I knew I wanted to read it again. It is a triumph of a first book for Asian Australian travel writer Benjamin Law, and a joy for the reader who accompanies Law on his sexy romp through what he proclaims is the gayest continent on earth. (In his introduction, Law argues that since six of the world’s most populous countries are in Asia, then most of the world’s queer people must live in Asia, too.)

Law takes us on an adventure through seven Asian countries – Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, and India – in this non-fiction work that is part travelogue, part anthology and part social commentary. Rich with wit, empathy and unflinching honesty, Law’s skillful storytelling combines investigative research with first-hand observations and interviews. Along the way, we meet the moneyboys of Bali, ladyboys of Thailand, Tokyo’s celebrity drag queens, China’s deeply closeted gays in fake heteronormative marriages, Christian and Muslim “ex-gay” fundamentalists in Malaysia who claim they can cure homosexuality, HIVpositive Burmese street workers, and queer rights activists marching in India’s Pride Parade.

Inspired by a 2009 Time magazine story, “Why Asia’s Gays Are Starting to Win Acceptance,” Law discovers that the truth is

actually more complex, especially on such a diverse landmass whose cultural overlaps, the article states, are religious conservatism, a strong emphasis on marriage and children, and taboos against talking about sexuality.

While taking us along by rickshaw, trishaw, tuk-tuk, and shinkansen, and joking about occasional food poisoning, Law repeatedly delves into this complexity. The India chapter ironically covers both yoga classes designed to cure homosexuality and India’s decriminalization of homosexuality. In the Thailand chapter, the flamboyant transgender beauty queens are accepted by society, but not necessarily within their families, and the Thai government bans sex changes on official identification as a rule.

In the Japan chapter, gay men are reported to be a staple character on television, but lesbians were conspicuously absent from national awareness. Writes Law, who created and now co-writes a TV series in Australia called “The Family Law,” “So much of queerness in Japan seemed to be a performance for straight people… For the country with the most colourful television in the world, Japan felt like it was only just coming out of the black-and-white era.”

I was deeply touched by the voices of the book’s varied cast of characters, who shared their personal struggles of how their identities affect relationships with their culture, government, and loved ones.

Law holds sacred space for these normally subdued, if not silenced, voices.

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Law’s identity as a gay man of Asian descent is key to his commentary on the emerging gay rights issues – and were likely critical to gaining access to many of the intimate conversations and “insider” situations in this book. He pursues coverage on different gender and sexual identities, as well as different socioeconomic contexts. His stories cover the rich to poor, and range from the loudly proud to the those closeted for fear of their lives. By the end we are able to form a detailed image of what issues these Asian LGBTQI+ communities face. Unfortunately, though change is on the radar for acceptance in Asia, it comes at a much slower pace than here in the West.

I admired Law’s sensitive reporting on new experiences, interviews and situations that might have been personally unsettling for him – such as witnessing the afterhours sexual conquest of Burmese street workers by a volunteer assigned to protect them, and attending the religious services of homosexual healers in Malaysia – if not for his admirable broadmindedness as a reporter.

Readers are also the beneficiaries of Law’s dogged journalistic pursuit of conversations with elusive personalities like the Japanese transsexual star Haruna Ai, whose face was otherwise everywhere he turned. Law’s story of his outreach to Ai’s management team made me laugh, as did much of his book. Somehow, Law manages to strike a balance between crude and classy comedy, and light, observational

commentary with serious reflection on how Asian culture and history places limitations on his fellow Gaysians.

As a reader, I felt privileged to be along for the ride. The finished product of Law’s year in Asia is equal parts entertaining, surprising and touching, as we discover so much we would not learn otherwise. I would recommend it to anyone curious, planning a trip to Asia or interested in an armchair escape to the queer landscape of Asia as told by a remarkable talent.

8 — June 6 - June 19, 2018

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

COMMENTARY

There is nothing better than knowing who you truly are

By Dale H. Watanabe IE Contributor I am not sure my story is unique. Like many others of my generation, it was not as easy to be “out and free” when I was younger, at least not like it is today. There were few queer role models, and even those that were around did not resonate with me. In truth, it has only been a few years since I have officially been out to my mother, even though in other parts of my life, both work and social, it was not a secret. When I finally made that decision to tell my mom, it was the eve of sharing a testimonial at my church about being a gay Christian. Not sure how I would have reacted if my mom had said “please do not share this at church.” I did not have to worry, however, as my mom took it well and has been absolutely wonderful since that official declaration with the words “I am gay” was said to her.

As I reflect on what took so long for me to be out to my mother, I know why. In my younger days I heard far too many stories from other API queer males that all was fine if the words were never spoken.

I had an acquaintance in high school that I heard had come out to his parents and was forced out of his home and lost all ties with his family. I subscribed to this belief that it would be okay if I lived as a closeted gay male and let my mom believe that I had not found the right girl. Family was, and is, important to me so I was content.

back to that place when I was not out and what gave me the confidence to reveal my true self. I realize there are some things you cannot hide. My grandparents and parents were targeted and incarcerated in American concentration campus during WWII. Guilty because of their race and forced out of their homes and sent to a desolate camp in Idaho through the presidential Executive Order 9066, which allowed for the forced removal of all Japanese Americans living along the West Coast.

My family could not hide who they were. This kind of hate is powerful and painful. There is nothing you can do to change who you are to redirect it. Although I have heard a few stories, by far the majority did not deny their identity and followed the government order that imprisoned them behind barbed wire for three years based solely on their identity.

This kind of hate and target against something you cannot change, for the very core of who you are, is exactly the reason I think I chose to eventually say the words to my mother. I admit I did not have as much to lose, especially since most of my siblings already knew, and I was in a place where I would not sacrifice what I valued most – family.

Knowing the history of discrimination against a marginalized community, my community, gave me strength and a hope that my mom would understand what it meant to have a gay son. In my years working on and attending the annual When contemplating what to write for pilgrimage to the Minidoka National Histhis reflection, I decided to bring myself

toric Site in Idaho, where my family spent three years during WWII, it is a time to reflect and hear the stories of the survivors and how they rose above such hate. I have learned of their stories of resilience, how my grandparent’s generation struggled and fought against racist laws and oppression, culminating in losing everything they had worked for to end up in an American prison. For my grandparents and parents who endured being forced from their home, from the life that they had built, simply because they were of a certain ethnic group cut to the very core. This shameful chapter in American history continues to haunt the social justice fabric of our nation as it could easily be repeated. We are seeing signs today with the so-called travel ban against predominantly Muslim countries fueled by the media representation of what a terrorist looks like.

I find strength from the generations before me and feel it is my duty to speak out today to remind us to never forget that we have been there before. As a community, we understand and know what prejudice looks, and more importantly, feels like.

As people that know, we should be even more vigilant to speak out against such prejudice.

I am inspired by people like Fred Korematsu who made it his mission to travel the country speaking about his experience shortly after 9-11 to ensure that Muslims were not treated the same way as Japanese Americans were in 1942. The pilgrimage to Minidoka is my passion not just because

Dale Watanabe with his mother

I am a descendent of a family imprisoned in Block 14, Barrack 10, but because this is an American story that happened to innocent Americans and should not be repeated.

I found my definition of who I am from the foundation of the past, to honor the sacrifices of the family that came before me. I drew from their courage to be my true self and share with my entire family that I am a proud gay Asian male. I am proud of who I am and recognize that there is nothing better than knowing who you truly are.

Journey to the West: Living in the U.S. as a gay Chinese student

By Ning Luo IE Contributor Storytelling is the one of the best ways to share experiences and knowledge, to learn about lessons and histories, and to empower and liberate ourselves through a shared network. We share pain and blood through storytelling, we offer comfort and hope through storytelling, and we fight for justice through storytelling. We are more compassionate when we choose to see and understand through other people’s narratives. We are a bigger wave of movement when we connect with each other’s consciousness through stories. A shared narrative offers us a sense of belonging, solitary, and meaning of life that we are a part of something bigger. Herein, I am sharing my experience of coming into understanding the world in hope to validate and connect with others who share similar experiences, struggles, and realizations in life.

I spent 17 years in Hohhot, China, what is widely considered a remote, conservative city.

This is where I got most of my fundamental educations and ideologies. Then, I had my first exciting taste of the U.S. as an exchange student in Toledo, Ohio. And this was followed by my college years in Seattle, Washington, where I reflected upon my past experience and formed my current core value of social justice.

Just like many people who had cross-cultural experience, my worldview was shaped and reshaped as I was looking for common ground in the road of cultural exploration.

The Motherland For people from the U.S. thinking that

Ning Lao

China is a government-oppressed country with censorship and a ray of inequalities, you are not wrong. However, as an individual who grew up there, my narrative might bring some diversity to the monotonous image of civil lives. As I came in contact with the Internet, I learned of the word “gay” in Chinese and English, which validated my attraction for male physiques and features. Gradually starting in sixth grade, I started to come out to my friends; eventually, even many students on campus knew that I was gay since only a handful of us came out (but not to our families).

You would think that people would be hostile to gay people in a conservative region in China. Surprisingly, I was one of the popular kids who were accepted by my friends, classmates and teachers in the neutral school

climate. I even openly asked a question about homosexuality in ancient Chinese literatures in class before. Looking back now, I think many people were so naïve about gay people that they didn’t quickly judge gay people morally. Plus, everyone was too busy with getting into a prestigious university to care about others’ lifestyle.

Although I was more comfortable with my identity at school, I knew that being in China was far from the best option for me since the less-democratic nationalist government wouldn’t recognize gay rights and protect gay civilians. Discriminations and shame were still prevalently associated with “coming out.”

Luckily, I had the option to go to school in the U.S. where people live freely and authentically, instead of being oppressed into following the traditions. I had been fantasizing about being in a democratic country since day one that I was taught about U.S. history and political system at school.

The land of possibilities I swear that I felt all my troubles melted away the day that I got on the plane bound for the U.S, but I didn’t realize that I was about to experience something more than merely a cultural shock. Although I had a great exchange experience, some incidents made me very uncomfortable. Some students called me a communist, chink and gay, as I was from China and appeared more feminine than the jocks at school. A few students also enjoyed making the stereotypical Asian penis jokes and commenting dismissively and ethnocentrically on where I was from. As I continued to attend

college and form my social circle in Seattle, I became more aware and educated about POC experiences and inequalities in the U.S., which was not for the faint-hearted to survive.

For some time, I felt that my high expectations of the U.S. and worldview had collapsed as I contemplated about the oppressed society where I came from and the appearing-freedom-for-all-but-oppressed-for-many society in the U.S. I increasingly feel that the political situation is becoming surprisingly alike between the two countries I call home, especially after this recent election. I realized that oppressions and inequalities are ubiquitous and exhibit in myriad forms. I was oppressed and treated as second class by the law because I was gay in China, whereas I am oppressed by the U.S. system more so because I am POC than I am gay. I felt depressed and broken whenever incidents of racism, islamophobia, homophobia and other forms of discriminations happen.

Yet in this difficult time for humanities around the world, I also felt free and grateful because I wouldn’t be alone anymore in this world fighting for equality, equity, freedom, inclusivity, and love. For all the people fighting for the same oppression in different forms in divergent societies, we inherited the same story, we share the same blood, and we will strive for the same future. So, my brothers and sisters around the world, if you feel broken or hopeless, you still have thousands of us standing by your side and cheering for you. Let’s turn despair into fire and melancholy into chantey. As the night is still young and full of darkness, we need to be ready.

NEWS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 9

Pride Asia celebrates diversity in all its rainbow colors Words and photos by Carolyn Bick IE Contributor

I want to be with all my loved ones – my only harassment they had ever personally family, friends, my community. And it’s experienced was in the Capitol Hill neighexhausting, when you try to silo parts of borhood.

It took Jill Mangaliman almost 40 years your life.”

Still, Mangaliman’s experience is not the to come out as genderqueer to their family.

But even after Mangaliman acknowl- norm, which is why organizations like API While Mangaliman’s coming out story edged their sexuality, it didn’t mean they Chaya host events like Queer and Trans has a happy ending – not only did the automatically had access to the queer People of Color Dim Sum, in order to start Filipinx-American’s family accept them, AAPI community. They said that, in to foster a dialogue within the AAPI comthey continue to support them – this isn’t their personal experience, it’s been hard munity around acceptance and visibility. true for all Asian American and Pacific Is- to find that community in Seattle. And It’s also why the Pride Asia festival itself is landers (AAPIs). This is why Mangaliman even when one finds that community, and so important: “we are here, and [it’s] a way thinks events like the Pride Asia festival wants to make new familial ties, it’s not for us to … break that silence.” are so important. They were this year’s as though LGBTQ+ AAPIs can just leave Between announcing acts and speakers keynote speaker at the festival, which took their biological families behind – regardplace in Hing Hay Park on Sunday, May less of whether or not those families sup- on Sunday, festival founder Aleksa Manila echoed Mangaliman. The Filipina woman 27. port them. is a drug counsellor and drag queen, and, Part of the reason it took Mangaliman “We have such a strong bond with our as a passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ so long to come out is because they didn’t family, it’s not like we can break up with rights and visibility, founded Pride Asia know what their parents would do, say, or them. It’s very intertwined in our history seven years ago. think. For the first several decades of their and our culture to support our family, even While she is proud of her contribution to life, even though they have queer family when our families aren’t supporting us,” this visibility, Manila said she wanted to members, it was easier for them to simply Mangaliman said. acknowledge that the festival builds on the avoid difficult conversations altogether.

And while Mangaliman believes the In- work done by other AAPI organizations But acknowledging their sexuality made ternet has made it easier for the younger in the past, like the Asian Lesbian and them realize they couldn’t avoid the congeneration to come out, this doesn’t nec- Bisexual Association (ALBA) and Queer versation forever. essarily mean it’s in an encouraging en- and Asian (Q&A).

“When I found the queer community, vironment. Another aspect of the issue is “I think it sort of represents how the I was really happy. I didn’t want to live a that there is “a lot” of violence and silence makeup and the history … of the queer double life,” Mangaliman said in an inter- in the AAPI community, when it comes view before the festival. “[I didn’t want to queer community members, Mangali- API movement in the Seattle and Northto] separate or compartmentalize my life. man said. However, they noted that the west region has gone through lots of

changes,” Manila said. “I think that, time and again, we … bring forth visibility for queer APIs, not just politically, but from a social justice perspective.”

She also said the festival and visibility events like it are important from the standpoint of celebrating diversity.

“I think that when we talk about the gay community…we often disregard how diverse our community really is – by sexuality, by ethnicity, by gender, by race, and I think when we have organizations like Pride Asia, it reminds folks that, ‘Hey, you know, it doesn’t just stop there. It goes on and on,’” Manila said.

Marion Malena, an American Samoan who has won multiple beauty pageants, and who performed at the festival Sunday, said that race plays a significant role in her desire to participate in public events like Pride Asia. She said that “no matter how Americanized you are, people will always judge you based on your skin.”

“It’s important to celebrate events like this, where we are able to celebrate our culture, because America doesn’t really have a culture – it’s a mix of different cultures,” Malena said. “It’s important to tell the world that we are here.”

Marion Malena, a performer at the Pride Asian celebration, sits in the shade

Atasha Manila, back center, dances with Shawn Mills, during the Pride Asia Festival

Top left: A man watches Atasha Manila, right, perform

Top right: Aleksa Manila, founder of Pride Asia, watches a performance during the Pride Asia Festival

10 — June 6 - June 19, 2018

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INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Kince de Vera performs during the Pride Asia Festival

Queer Bigan, center, and Soft Guahn Magic Love, back right, film a video

Carrie Lippy reacts during the festival

Aleksa Manila

Amaya Gagarin, back right, helps Atasha Manila, center, adjust her eyelashes

Atasha Manila, right, helps Amaya Gagarin, center, prepare for her performance, during the Pride Asia Festival

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INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Atasha Manila, right, helps Amaya Gagarin, center, prepare for her performance

June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 11

From left to right, Nic Masangkay, DJ Phenohype, and Aleksa Manila work during the Pride Asia Festival

The mural at Hing Hay Park reflected in a booth wheel

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12 — June 6 - June 19, 2018

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

NEWS

Thai transgender women share their truths about social acceptance

By Annie Kuo IE Fellow

The International Examiner interviewed Tanya Rachinee and Wora Tippayapaisal about their experiences as Thai transgender immigrants in Seattle. Tanya is the owner of Root Ballard restaurant and came to Seattle at 17 years old. She became Miss API International 2001 at age 19, after winning the Miss UTOPIA (United Territories of Pacific Islander Alliance) title. Wora, who works at Nordstrom, is a transgender advocate, emcee and model who has appeared in magazines, fashion shows and a Lineup video on cut.com.

Known as a global destination for sexual reassignment surgery (SRS), Thailand attracts medical tourists seeking inexpensive, high-quality procedures and good hospitality.

Dr. Preecha Tiewtranon performed the first procedure in Thailand in 1975, and has since performed over 3,500 procedures. For transgender people in Thailand who don’t have to travel far to consult with its 100 SRS doctors, their awareness of options begins early.

International Examiner: What do you Sex hormones are readily available, even for think about Thailand’s reputation for actweens. ceptance of LGBTQ people?

The Bangkok Post reported in 2017 that Tanya Rachinee: Acceptable when not Thai society accepts and recognizes transyour own. For the Chinese immigrant family gender people, including those who do not undergo SRS. While this popularly is attributed in Thailand, the oldest son is the pride of the to Buddhism’s live-and-let-live attitude, some family. As a society, they accept. claim it is due more to Thailand’s culture of Wora Tippayapaisal: I had a regular famtolerance and acceptance. ily until I decided to do the operation. My Transgender people have long been a vis- father stopped talking to me for ten years. I ible part of Thai media and social life, even am the only child... I blamed myself and other before Chaz Bono and Caitlyn Jenner entered people blamed me. But my mom really acceptthe American conversation. The path has ed me. They divorced, and I came to Seattle been trailblazed by Thai legends like Treecha to see my mom, who gave me the green card.

Marnyaporn (“Nong Poy”), who since 2004, When I see my dad next year in Thailand, it Wora Tippayapaisal and Tanya Rachinee. has won transgender beauty pageants at the will be the first time in 15 years. Over time, he national and international levels and made could accept. The same with my boyfriend’s it’s a grey area. It’s about karma. You be who Institute to study fashion design. I met Aleksa a career out of movie roles where she is cast family. At first they were like my dad, but over you are. But in Thailand, once born you can- Manila, who became my drag mother, when I time became more positive.

My boyfriend is unquestionably as a woman. Transgender men not legally change your ID or pronouns. was 17 or 18. I participated in Aleksa’s graduThai, so more accepting. are also becoming more prominent in Thai soWT: Thailand is very accepting but will ate school experiment, YAMS (Young Asian ciety.

TR: Maybe Thais are more accepting benot change your ID, U.S. behind in accepting Men Studies) for queer-identifying men. cause Buddhism has no severe punishment… but easy to change paperwork. I remember PRIDE Asia started in 2012 by Aleksa and one time when I was traveling with my Thai friends, myself included. passport, the Thai officials were processing it at immigration and shouting about me. It was a terrible public moment and really upset me. Here I can change ID but not in Thailand.

When I became 100% American citizen, they changed man to a woman. Bam! … Done.

API Chaya Queer Network Program is partnering with TRANSform WA to host a social event for Queer and Trans People of Color during Pride Month.

IE: Tell me about the beauty pageants and modeling shoots.

TR: I’m actually a scaredy cat person but bought my own evening dress and tried the Miss UTOPIA pageant. It was nerve-wracking. I had to speak English, and in front of an IE: Tell me about your early experiences audience. After winning, I started to attend in Seattle. functions such as the Court of Seattle, so I got WT: My memories from Thailand are not exposed to the general LGBTQ community so good, but when I came here, I started a new besides the Asians. Then I won Miss API Inworld. I was free. More fulfilled. I didn’t know ternational. anyone else like me, then I heard of Tanya in WT: I got into modeling through a friend the Thai community. Meeting her opened my at the Art Institute. I didn’t tell people that I world about the transgender community. was born male. When people accept me, I feel TR: My parents worked in a Thai restau- good. In my Lineup for cut.com, people had rant. I mostly hid myself in school … I was to guess the sexual orientations of strangers. I androgynous. I took ESL at Franklin High appreciated the chance to explain I am straight School and my friends were mostly other – I am a transgender woman in a relationship Asian kids. Then I had an argument with my with a man. Also, my boyfriend is not gay. He dad. He said I was an embarrassment. So the is a straight man that likes women.

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next day, I decided to fully dress in my mom’s IE: Any last words about being a transThai style dress to march in the 2000 Pride gender advocate or giving hope to others? parade.

WT: Transgender women in Thailand now IE: Wow, just like that. You were brave have many sisters, role models, and help on and defiant! How are you and Dad now? what hormones to take. There are activists TR: He lives with me, and that’s him over who have tried to change the laws about our there. [She points out her dad working in the passports, but it has fallen through. I hope one restaurant kitchen.] After the Pride parade, day it will change.

TR: When I started to transition, I wanted people to think about me as a female. But now I am proud of my trans identity. For others, it’s not my right to out them or tell them what to do. Being myself, nothing stopped me. I feel good, being authentic and I have always IE: So even that long ago, you had many worked harder. I hope one day transgender allies here. It could have been different in people will be seen everywhere as normal folk who go through a change but are still human. another part of the country.

It might not be my lifetime, but one day.

TR: Yes, very lucky to be in Seattle. Very lucky! After high school, I went to the Art I talked to my teachers. They let me use the bathroom in their lounge, and the administration allowed me to wear the female uniform.

The day before graduation, where a boy and a girl have to walk, the boy refused to walk with me. The girls took my side.

COMMENTARY

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 13

UTOPIA provides strength, support and community for queer and trans Pacific Islanders

By Isyss Honnen, UTOPIA Board Co-Chair IE Contributor

around it.” This proverb teaches us that one person can make a significant impact in the universe.

UTOPIA, also known as United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance, is a queer and trans people of color-led, grassroots organization born out of the struggles, challenges, strength and resilience of the Pacific Islander LGBTQI community in south Seattle and south King County. Our mission is to provide sacred spaces to strengthen the minds and bodies of QTPI – Queer and Trans Pacific Islanders – through community organizing, community care, civic engagement, and cultural stewardship.

Since 2009, UTOPIA has worked with QTPI leaders to create a safe, welcoming, supportive, and vibrant space for members of our community to address basic needs, build pathways toward new expanded career and life opportunities, foster a sense of common purpose, and advocate for social justice, education, and overall wellness among members of the Pacific Islander LGBTQI community. We also seek to build trust and common ground as a convener and bridge-builder between the Pacific Islander community and the LGBTQI community, who often share many of the same issues and concerns.

UTOPIA is led and founded by women of color, identifying as transgender and/or fa’afafine. Fa’afafine is a cultural gender identity native to Samoa translated as “in the manner of a woman.” We approach community work through an intersectional and cultural lens. Our cultural identity plays an integral role in the way we care and fight for the liberation of queer and trans people of color.

Photo courtesy of UTOPIA

Since its inception, UTOPIA has worked to build power and help our community members access resources, employment, stable housing, higher education, culturally competent healthcare, and more. Founder and Executive Director, Taffy Johnson saw an influx of queer and trans Pacific Islanders emigrating to the Pacific Northwest in search of opportunities and the need to address the inequities in access.

These community members faced hardships in securing employment due to race and gender-based discrimination and were often pushed into sex work, low-paying hard labor jobs, and contracted out-of-state jobs where their rights as workers were violated and there is limited access to healthcare. UTOPIA continues to empower our members by providing worker and tenant rights training, sacred spaces to build a safety network for sex workers, and infor-

We at UTOPIA believe in the importance and worth of every person. We value dignity and believe that everyone is worthy of honor, love and respect.

We will continue to celebrate the many identities of Pasifika people – takatapui, mahu, fa’afafine, fakaleiti, etc. – at Pasifika Pride in August. We will be collecting stories from sex workers around building a safety network to combat the negative impacts of FOSTA/SESTA legislation.

Pasifika Pride is aimed at bringing Pacific Islander youth, adults, elders and families together. Come out and enjoy Pasifika food and performances.

Last year, we were able to hire our first mal, short-term housing and assistance for Executive Director. This year, we are trans women. happy to announce that we finally have Through coalition work, UTOPIA works a space to call home after nine years in to build the leadership of sex workers, queer community. We have an open house next and trans people of color, and incarcerated month in Kent. Come out and support transgender and gender diverse community the opening of the UTOPIA Q Center, members. We strongly believe that libera- a home for all queer and trans people in tion begins when we center the most mar- South King County. You can also support ginalized members of our community in de- UTOPIA by attending one of our Talanoa cision-making and in movement work. We – talk-story – community forums where need to put black and brown women, native we hold space to have difficult conversacommunities, transgender people of color, tions, such as confronting anti-blackness undocumented people, women experienc- and white supremacy in Pacific Islander ing sexual violence, homeless youth, elders, communities, exploring the roles of QTand people with disabilities at the forefront. PIs within the Church, addressing climate change and fighting to protect our culture, This month, UTOPIA celebrates API land, and oceans.

Pride by elevating the stories of Pasifika You can help to improve the lives of people in the Pacific Northwest. One of our core values is drawn from a Hawaiian queer and trans people of color by donatproverb, “Ukuli’i ka pua, onaona I ka mau’u ing through our website at www.utopias- Tiny is the flower, yet it scents the grass eattle.org.

“We didn’t talk about it”: Moving beyond a culture of silence Stephanie Ikeda IE Contributor

even when we’re generations removed from want to discuss it. When he was battling east Asia. depression, I called her and said, “If you “We didn’t talk about it” was a much- want me to talk to him, as a… non-straight My Chinese and Japanese American parperson, I could do that.” She replied with ents were born, raised and nearly totally heard refrain from survivors and children of something like “Yeah, you should,” and that survivors of Japanese American incarceraassimilated in postwar Americana, yet still was it. carry on the age-old East Asian tradition tion during the first Minidoka Pilgrimage It was the only time I’ve ever mentioned of never speaking openly about personal I attended in 2015. The multigenerational, multiracial event gathered at the former War my identity to her, even in vague terms. Latthings -- relationships, heartbreaks, mental health, anything beyond the “practical.” The Relocation Authority “camp”-site where er, my sister texted me that my mother said list of major and traumatic personal events thousands of Japanese Americans were that using they-them pronouns was “ridicunever spoken of or outright dismissed in my wrongfully incarcerated behind barbed wire lous” in response to finding out a friend of house is extensive, including the resound- to learn, reflect and share memories, but all ours uses those pronouns. Devastated, I ran ing silence around my parents’ divorce, or too often the memories were those of buried to cry somewhere by myself, but ultimately decided not to confront her about it. having to find out indirectly that my little secrets and silence. brother is gay and was bullied at school.

I’m the oldest, the independent one, and it was independently of my family forover a decade that I managed to discover I identified somewhere at the intersection of asexual, bi-romantic and nonbinary (they/them pronouns).

Whether the intention was to shield future generations from the trauma, an attempt to move on, a deep-seated cultural reluctance to discuss hard topics, or a combination of all of the above, a culture of silence was created around incarceration for decades afterwards. It made me realize how deeply embedded silence is in my upbringing and culture even today, and how crucial it is to overcome that silence.

Never talking about such things seemed to be limited to my family at first, not some larger cultural trend. But then I started Despite knowing that the silence must working in the Japanese American community. It was only then that I realized how end for the sake of future generations, even often talking about emotional trauma and taking small steps to change myself and my other deeply personal issues is avoided, family hasn’t been easy. My brother never told me he was gay, and my mother didn’t

In the heat of the moment, I called myself a coward. Since I’m privileged with a stable job and living space away from home, I felt too easily defeated by the comparatively minor fear that my parent would dismiss my identity as a flight of fancy before changing the subject. But that fear had a source; everything about my upbringing and history told me that there was no space in our relationship for that kind of discussion. Silence is easier than confrontation, and the conversation might be unproductive and unpleasant, and I would be a bad-mouthed and ungrateful child if I attempted to rectify her ignorance.

Despite my mother doing her best to raise me as a “normal” American, the cultural specters of silence and filial piety won out over my desire to be my authentic self with those I care about most. I felt extremely alone – but more determined than ever to take action for myself and for others like me.

I started by coming out on Facebook (which neither of my parents use) and have been fortunate to receive nothing but unequivocal support from friends and extended family. This year I attended an Asian Pacific Islander Pride event and didn’t feel out of place. I’ve discovered that there are many organizations nationally and locally committed to creating safe gathering places and communities for gay, transgender and other “not-straight” Asians and Pacific Islanders to talk, heal and thrive together. I’m also planning on volunteering with a local LGBTQ organization with the hopes of mentoring or opening paths for others to mentor LGBTQ youth of color.

It’s been a long journey, but I want to believe I’m on the right track. Slowly, I’m working towards becoming a bigger, braver version of myself. Someone with the strength and self-respect to call :my own mother and ask her to use my pronouns, and be unafraid to talk about it.

14 — June 6 - June 19, 2018

ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Graphic novel humanizes gay people for Japanese audiences and beyond

By Stan Yogi IE Contributor Beneath surface friendliness that Japanese may display to foreign (especially white) visitors, is a deeplyrooted belief that gaijin (foreigners) are irreconcilably different from natives of the archipelago nation.

Perhaps less articulated is Japanese perplexity and confusion, if not outright discrimination, towards gay people, whether Japanese or foreign, because they fall outside the norms of a highly conformist society.

What happens when anxieties over foreigners and homosexuality converge in the presence of an affable, burly Canadian?

The answer to that question is at the heart of Gengoroh Tagame’s earnest and touching graphic novel My Brother’s Husband (Vol. 1).

Initially released in Japan in 2014 and published in English last year, My Brother’s Husband focuses on Yaichi, the single father of a curious elementary school-age daughter, Kana. Estranged from his twin brother, Ryoji, who years earlier emigrated to Canada, Yaichi receives a visit from Mike Flanagan, a barrel-chested, friendly Canadian, who is Ryoji’s widower.

Mike’s appearance in their home sets into motion Yaichi and Kana’s education about Ryoji, gay relationships and the nature of family.

Yaichi is initially uncomfortable by Mike’s physicality (Mike envelopes him in a bear hug on their first meeting) and fearful that he might be coming on to him (Yaichi is, after all, the twin of Mike’s late husband). But Yaichi struggles to understand Mike and, through the bearded foreigner, his late brother.

Yaichi’s guide to opening up is his

daughter, Kana, who at first is fascinated

by Mike’s physical differences from anyone she has ever met. She finds his hairy chest and red hair exotic.

But she soon becomes besotted not because of his differences but because he is a genuinely kind and loving uncle.

Yaichi’s journey from disgust to respect is one that Tagame may have intended for his Japanese readership to parallel. It’s an emotional and intellectual movement from false assumptions and fear to the reality of knowing a gay person who counters stereotypes.

When Kana innocently asks Mike of his relationship with Ryoji, “Which of you is the wife and which the husband?”, she most likely mirrors a question straight Japanese (and non-Japanese) have wondered. Mike’s simple answer (appropriate for all ages) underscores the fundamental nature of marriage – a loving partnership between two people – regardless of the nomenclature we assign to each partner.

Tagame packs a lot into My Brother’s Husband. He weaves into the story reflections of Japanese confusion about and intolerance towards homosexuality, fascination with foreigners, a nontraditional heterosexual relationship, and even Japanese attitudes about tattoos.

Because of Tagame’s hypermasculine illustrations of Yaichi and Mike, readers do not have to be astute to pick up on his background as an author and illustrator of gay erotica. Nevertheless, My Brother’s Husband is intended not just for adults. The book won the Japan Media Arts Award for Outstanding Work of Manga. And NHK, the Japanese broadcaster, adapted the book into a three-part television miniseries, Otouto no Otto, that was aired in March 2018.

My Brother’s Husband is full of moving moments through which Tagame depicts grief that translates across cultures: Yaichi accidentally sees Mike caressing the tatami floor of the room formerly occupied by Ryoji, as if the mats harbor a presence of his late husband. Mike’s eagerness to learn about Ryoji’s past in Japan, to see places he’s only heard about in sepia-toned stories of his partner’s childhood.

My Brother’s Husband counters Japanese notions that equate homosexuality with transgender identity. Tagame humanizes gay people beyond caricatures. And in doing so is hopefully opening minds, in Japan and beyond, that love and families come in different forms.

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ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 15

Searching for a sense of belonging in The Return

By JaeRan Kim IE Contributor Over the past 60 years, South Korea has sent an estimated 200,000 of its children to other countries for adoption. What started as a humanitarian project to address children displaced or orphaned by the Korean War has over time morphed into a de-facto child welfare response. Since the mid-1990s, these adoptees have increasingly returned to their birth country searching for both family and cultural identities and demanding answers for their exile.

Danish-Korean adoptee Maline Choi explores the subject of returning adoptees in her film, The Return.

At the center of The Return is Karoline (Karoline Sofie Lee), in Korea to search for information about her birth mother. At Koroot, a hostel-style guesthouse specifically for Korean adoptees, Karoline meets Thomas (Thomas Hwan), a fellow Dane, and adoptees from the U.S. The Return follows the fictional Karoline and Thomas through their individual birth family searches while also giving the audience a South Korea’s adoptees have been at the foreglimpse into the various real-life stories of the front of a growing body of art and scholarship other adoptees at Koroot. that questions and counters the prevailing ideIn many ways, The Return mirrored my own ologies and practices that led to the displaceexperiences. I was adopted from South Korea ment of so many of its citizens via intercountry to the U.S. and have written about the experi- adoption. I, along with both the real-life and ences of Korean adoptees in my blog, Harlow’s fictional Karolines, have struggled with this Monkey, since 2006. As an assistant professor sense of being in-between; feeling estranged in at University of Washington Tacoma, I also re- our countries of birth because of the loss of our search intercountry adoption. cultural knowledge, and often rejected or seen

Image from the movie, The Return. Photo credit: Catherine Pattinama Coleman

as foreigners in our countries by adoption because of our racial and ethnic status. In combining real-life Korean adoptees’ stories with the fictionalized storyline of Karoline and Thomas, The Return thoughtfully explores the lifelong experiences of Korean adoptees and provides a window into our evolving identity development and search for belonging.

natural. You could tell it was a scripted scene.

[Choi] wanted it to be very realistic.

JRK: As an adoptee, what was it like to portray another adoptee in this film?

KSL: Well, it felt kind of natural because I’ve been through a similar journey. But it was also kind of difficult trying to live out another person’s life and story. I had to try to play the I sat down with lead actor Karoline Sofie Lee, scenes as if it were me in the situation but still in town for the Seattle International Film FestiI was in character. At some points I could be a val, for a conversation about the film, adoption bit confused about who am I and who is Karoand identity. The following is an excerpt of our line in the movie. So, it got mixed up. It took conversation. a while after the filming before I “landed” in JaeRan Kim: In a way I felt like I was part myself again [laughs]. of the film because I’ve stayed at Koroot.

Growing up it was difficult. I am from a very, How did you get involved with this film? very small town with only 300 people and my Karoline Sofie Lee: I saw this post on Face- brother and I were the only non-whites. But my book that they were looking for an actress for parents I think they just tried to forget the fact this movie and they wanted her to be adopted that we looked different. I was bullied a lot befrom Korea. It took me maybe a couple of cause of my looks. A lot of name calling, a lot of months to convince myself that I should [con- “you should go back to where you came from” tact the filmmaker]. Since I was a kid I wanted -- “you don’t belong here.” to be an actress, but in Denmark you don’t realThat was very frustrating because I felt I bely see any Asian actors in the Danish-produced longed in Denmark. I was adopted when I was movies. But then I just took this chance and a only five months old, so I knew nothing about week after the casting, they called me and were Korea and Korean culture. And the hard part like, “We really hope you’re gonna say yes bewhen you’re an adoptee is you can never feel cause we want you.” at home [in Korea] because you did not grow JRK: Because [the film is] kind of quasi- up there. When I went back as a teenager I had fiction -- there’s fictional characters -- and this hope that I would feel at home, that I would some documentary, some of the interviews feel at peace. but I didn’t. I felt like a complete with other people for example, were all of stranger and that shocked me a lot. I didn’t those real [stories]? What parts were script- know where I belonged. ed?

JRK: You said this was your first film. Are KSL: Yeah. [Choi] was counting on that you now looking for other roles? somebody would be [at Koroot] and agree to be KSL: I would love to do more, because that’s part of our movie. Fortunately, we met these remy passion. It’s a difficult business in Denally nice persons and they wanted to be part of mark. And since I’m a non-trained actress peothe film. And before we shot the scenes I had no ple don’t know me yet but hopefully this film clue on what their story would be so it’s actucan be a start. ally just, like, me and them talking and they’re Linda Ando contributed to the interview. For telling their true story. more information about the experiences of KoFor most of the scenes there were no script. rean adoptees, you can check out the following [Choi] just told me what kind of feeling my resources: character should have in the scene and where ● SideXSide: Out of a South Korean Orphanshe wanted it to go. We did some scripted scenes but most of them didn’t make the cut age and Into the World http://sidebysideproject. because we invited some Korean actors to par- com ticipate but it didn’t seem right, it didn’t feel ● Harlow’s Monkey blog https://harlowsmonkey.com/

16 — June 6 - June 19, 2018

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

ARTS

Crazy Rich Asians actor Jimmy Yang talks new memoir, assimilation Candace Kwan IE Contributor Jimmy O. Yang stand-up comedian, actor on HBO’s “Silicon Valley,” and now author Jimmy O. Yang recently came to Seattle to give a talk at Amazon for his memoir, How To American: An Immigrant’s Guide To Disappointing Your Parents. But he ended up hosting an impromptu meet-up at Nest, a mattress store of which Yang is a minority stakeholder.

Yang reconciles his Asian and American identity -- he wanted to have his Chinese turnip cake and eat an American pie too -- and comes to embrace his identity as a Chinese American Hong Kong-born immigrant.

International Examiner: I read your book over the weekend and thought it was hilarious! What inspired you to write a memoir?

Jimmy Yang: When I was writing it I really wanted to get it off my chest. There aren’t a lot of stories about us, in a very specific sense with how your parents are, how growing up the rules are different.

One of my biggest struggles as being Asian is being like, “Oh my god, it’s normal,” because what you see in media is what you assume is normal. I just wanted to write a very specific story to speak to

anybody who had the same parental pressure forcing you to do certain things and with the old country mentality too.

IE: What’s your favorite part of the book?

JY: The best part about it is reading the reviews or Instagram messages. People are so nice, they’re like, “This is so relatable, I’ve never read a story like this, thank you so much for writing it.” One kid on Instagram sent me a message on Instagram saying that he’s 15, that he just came from China last year, and that my book was the first English book he’s read without anybody’s help. He’s like, “Please keep doing it, please keep inspiring people.” I never set out to be inspiring, I just want to be funny and be good at my job, whatever byproduct that comes from that, if people find it inspiring, that if it inspires other people, that’s great.

IE: In “How To American,” you wrote a lot about the pressure to assimilate, but also how you came to terms with your identity. Can you explain how that came to be?

JY: [The process] was non-stop. Even when I got to the point where I didn’t speak English with too much of an accent, I was watching American television only, I was in five different fantasy football leagues,

I still felt deep down like that 13-year old kid that came here and wasn’t accepted.

For the longest time I tried to be as American as possible. There was no physical literal milestone that changed me. I felt the same even when I became a U.S. citizen.

It’s just a piece of paperwork that I’m very proud of...but I didn’t feel different.

When I shot Crazy Rich Asians, I was just so proud. I got to visit Hong Kong for the first time in 17 years. I just felt normal again. That was huge, something clicked mentally and now I know I’m American, I know deep down I’m Asian, it doesn’t have to be black and white. I’m very okay in being both.

IE: How much of you can we expect to see in the movie?

JY: Constance and Henry are in most of the movie, but [the director] Jon M. Chu was saying that we have a very deep bench, we like to go on the state tours where everybody can come on and shoot some threes. It’s a big ensemble movie.

I’m in some parts of it, hopefully some very memorable parts. Ken Jeong is on one scene and it’s one of the funniest scenes in the movie. It’s a great movie and I’ve seen it twice already.

IE: Crazy Rich Asians is a very important movie as it has an all-Asian

cast, but there’s some criticism online saying that it only features east Asians, and that it isn’t necessarily representative of the Asian American experience.

What are your thoughts on that?

JY: This is an extremely great step. It could be a watershed moment if it does well, that gives us way more opportunities as Asian Americans. We can’t just have our own Hollywood overnight. It’s step by step.

Everything we do as Asian American actors gets scrutinized because there’s five of us, but this is a big moment where all of us get to shine. I didn’t feel that I was being scrutinized for what kind of Asian I’m representing because it represents a spectrum. I’m sure those people haven’t even seen the movie. It’s so easy to have a knee-jerk reaction when you’re behind a computer on Twitter and I don’t think it’s healthy.

If you like the movie, go celebrate it.

It’s a great milestone for all of us. I’m sure there will be a minority of like Asians that feel negatively or whatever. I think that they may be missing the big picture, I think this movie’s going to be big.

Crazy Rich Asians will be in theatres August 15. Check out Jimmy’s website www.jimmycomedy.com for tour dates and more.

Sikh Captain America fights intolerance with exhibit Wham! Bam! Pow!

By Pinky Gupta IE Contributor “The massive six-lane highways in L.A., the big groceries stores and so many choices of cereals available in one store, this was a cultural shock for me,” said Vishavjit Singh.

Singh came to the U.S. with high hopes and wanted to continue his studies and live an American dream. However, his goal was shattered when he was treated like an outsider despite the fact that Singh was born in the U.S. Singh was born in Washington D.C., grew up in India and came back to his birth country to continue his studies. However, he looked like an outsider.

“I was 18 years-old with a turban and thin beard; I was made to feel very out of place right away. I felt very uncomfortable.

People use to call me names; drag head, genie, clown. People used to laugh in my face, and it was excruciating. The looks were like, ‘You are not from here.’ Very uncomfortable under the skin. That was difficult phase,” said Singh.

Singh was bullied while he was in the U.S. studying. Students made racially based remarks. The entire episode made Singh so uncomfortable that he wrote letters to his parent in India about the discrimination and bullying. “With this, my parents were so worried that they regretted sending me in the U.S.,” Singh said. He added that he didn’t want to be stand out from other students so he decided to cut his hair and get rid of the turban.

The discrimination and racist comments gave birth to a graphic artist. “…I started to draw a cartoon; it’s a way of expressing myself which I couldn’t do another way. I’m an introvert, so it helps me,” he added. Singh became an accidental cartoonist.

Vishavjit Singh as Captain America. • Photo courtesy of the Wing Luke Museum

Recently, Singh was in the town to unveil his work in the exhibit at the Wing Luke Museum, “Wham! Bam! Pow! Cartoons, Turban and Confronting Hate.” This is an exhibit of his illustrations, on display through February 2019. Many people from the Sikh community gathered at the Wing Luke museum on opening night on May 4 to hear the journey of Singh’s becoming cartoon artist.

added Singh. “People started calling me names – Taliban, Osama Bin Laden – and gave me nasty looks,” recalled Singh.

An editorial cartoon by Mark Fiore on terrorism inspired Singh to draw and express his concern about the discrimination through graphic art. For the first time, Singh saw a Sikh represented, and this inspired him to be a voice for the unheard section. Singh started to draw, and he posted his cartoons on a “sikhtoons” website he The accidental cartoon artist created. Here he gained popularity among In the aftermath of 9/11, people at work the South-Asian community. and on the street gave Singh a nasty look and made him uncomfortable and scared. Sikh Captain America comes to life Singh was working as a software engineer Despite being the fifth most largest reliin a company in New York. gion in the world, many Americans don’t “People started making the connection know a lot about Sikhism. Most of Singh’s that people who have a turban and beard are cartoons are inspired by the news or somecommitting the crime. I worked from home times by his own experience. “I was creatfor two weeks and could not leave home,” ing the cartoons on my own experience and

stereotype remarks,” said, Singh. “I was well appreciated by South Asian section. I wanted to reach to other people,” and being in costume as Captain America helped him do that.

Singh as Captain America created curiosity among the onlookers at a 2005 Comicon Festival. “People started questioning about my identity. I said them that I am Sikh Captain America, and I fight intolerance” says Singh.

Singh’s friend approached him with an idea – he would walk around New York City for three days in full costume, and they would capture the experience on film. The idea worked and Singh got attention.

“People began lining up to take selfies, talk to [Captain America] and find out more about him. This gave him the opportunity to talk about the intolerance and talk about his story,” says Singh.

Singh was invited to schools to do talks to kids about the diversity and intolerance.

Singh visit school campuses dressed in character – complete with Captain America’s trademark shield and ‘A’ on his turban.

“Represent yourself and create your story and speak for yourself and don’t hold things inside. However, you should always do whatever you feel inspired by,” said Singh.

For his exhibit at the Wing Luke Museum, Singh has drawn his life-changing episode. It has the details where he was born and the reason to come to the U.S. The cartoon also depicts his experience during the 1984 Sikh riots in India, in which Singh was a victim,as well as his journey in the U.S. and how Sikh Captain America born.

Singh is working on a graphic novel, and it is expected to release his book in the year 2019.

ARTS

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 17

Shokunin: Five Kyoto artisans look to the future

By Susan Kunimatsu, IE Contributor Modern life bombards us with information, demanding more of our shrinking attention spans and reducing our relationships to clicks and bytes. Everyone needs a place where they can slow down and savor the passage of time. One such place, the Portland Japanese Garden is a natural and cultural oasis. This summer the garden hosts the exhibition, Shokunin: Five Kyoto Artisans Look to the Future. Through their work, these artisans expand our appreciation of time. More than a commodity, it is an investment in the past and future of a legacy.

The Japanese word shokunin translates as “artisan,” but its meaning is deeper, alluding to layers of knowledge and discipline going back centuries and generations. Hosai Matsubayashi is a 16th generation artisan whose family makes ceramic ware in a style known as Asahi-yaki. At the exhibition’s opening, speaking for all the artisans, he addressed the question, “What is shokunin?”

He defined it as more than a profession: A life dedication to making, drawing on the accumulated knowledge of past shokunin.

The use of natural materials, deriving energy from nature. But even as the shokunin strives for perfection “nature always surprises us!”

“Expressing our uniqueness is not our primary goal,” said Matsubayashi. “Our work is people’s life.”

The five artisans in this show work in four disciplines: ceramics, woodworking, basketry, and lacquer. Historically, these crafts have been practiced within family enterprises: parents train children; skills, workshops and tools pass from one generation to the next. Each family works in a specific medium and distinctive visual style. Design is driven by function before aesthetics. The shokunin values continuity and collaboration within the family and with the people who grow, forage or mine their materials; make their tools; and use the things they make.

The works in this show and the artisans who made them represent the vanguard in efforts to sustain this legacy of hand-making in an age of industrial manufacturing.

Shuji Nakagawa is a woodworker whose grandfather’s practice centered on a single object: the bucket.

He recalled, “When I was a child, my grandfather was making 200 wooden buckets a month! Wooden buckets were used in every household for everything from wash buckets to rice trays. By the time I was grown, plastic had replaced them and my father had fewer than 20 orders a month. I knew that if I was unable to think outside the box, our beautiful heritage would be lost.”

Nakagawa took the shape and technique that his grandfather used to make hinoki (cypress wood) buckets and adapted them to elegant champagne coolers and graceful elliptical stools. He also works in cedar, laminating hundreds of pieces of crossgrain wood into radiating chevron patterns on large circular trays. These are displayed alongside tall buckets traditionally used to display flowers in Buddhist temples.

Basketmaker Chiemi Ogura is the only woman in the show and the only artisan not from a shokunin family. She initially trained at a school for traditional crafts, but has refined her technique largely on her own.

“Having no one to show me the way, it has surely taken me longer to get there,” she acknowledged. “The time I have spent is brief, compared with the generations of accumulated knowledge and experience available to an artisan of shokunin lineage.”

Ogura works solely in bamboo, starting with whole stalks, splitting them over and over into ultra-thin strips that she weaves in delicate lace-like patterns of snowflakes and flowers. In addition to traditional baskets, she makes bracelets and rings, functional objects for a younger clientele.

In the collaborative spirit of shokunin, the artisans have created several experimental pieces combining materials and techniques from two disciplines. Keikou Nishimura ap-

Photo by Susan Kunimatsu

plied designs in lacquer over the glaze on Matsubayashi’s wheel-thrown tea bowls, creating dramatic contrasts of color and texture. Nishimura’s oversize lacqueredwood tray supports a single Cho-raku style tea bowl by ceramicist Hirotsugu Ogawa.

The mirror finish of the lacquer contrasts with the earthen texture of the hand-formed bowl, both the exact same black color, to make a striking serving piece.

Diane Durston, has been the garden’s Curator of Culture, Art, and Education for a decade. She developed the Art in the Garden exhibition series to highlight the relationship between art and nature, particularly

from the point of view of Japanese culture.

She hopes that this exhibition, like a walk in the garden, will encourage viewers to reflect on their relationship with time.

“This is an opportunity to slow down,” Durston said. “To experience things that are made slowly and carefully over a lifetime, multiple lifetimes. Things made over a lifetime, to last a lifetime. . . An appreciation of the past gives us a belief in the future.”

Shokunin: Five Kyoto Artisans look to the Future, at the Portland Japanese Garden, 611 S.W. Kingston Avenue, Portland OR, through July 8.

Monthly Health Tip from Amerigroup Your health matters! The International sudden unexpected infant deaths in the Examiner and Amerigroup are United States. partnering to bring you monthly health Prevention tips. You can also read Dr Akavan’s Health care providers and researchers Health Tips in the International don’t know the exact causes of SIDS. Examiner.

However, research shows parents and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome caregivers can take the following actions (SIDS) to help reduce the risk of SIDS and other Sudden unexpected infant death is sleep-related causes of infant death: the death of an infant less than one • Always place babies on their backs to year old that occurs suddenly and sleep. unexpectedly. The cause of death • Use a firm sleep surface, such as is not immediately obvious before a mattress in a safety-approved crib, investigation. covered by a fitted sheet.

In 2015, there were about 3,700

• Have the baby share your room, not your bed. Your baby should not sleep in an adult bed, on a couch or on a chair alone, with you or with anyone else.

• Keep soft objects, such as pillows and loose bedding, out of your baby’s sleep area.

• Do not smoke during pregnancy, and do not smoke or allow smoking around your baby.

Amerigroup recommends that you write down all of your questions. Be sure to ask your doctor for the best advice for you and your family.

Thank you for being an Amerigroup Washington, Inc. member.

Shawn Akavan, MD, MBA, CPE Medical Director Amerigroup Washington

18 — June 6 - June 19, 2018

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY

COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

“

June 6 - June 19, 2018 — 19

I’LL HELP YOU FINANCE YOUR DREAM HOME

”

PAILINH SAIYADETH

MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER, MLO #1660777 206.377.9879 PAILINH.SAIYADETH@SEATTLECU.COM

20 — June 6 - June 19, 2018

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Building Partnerships A. Phillip Randolph Institute Airway Heights Corrections Center-Minimum Security Unit Airway Heights Corrections Ctr-MSC Unit Algona Pacific Church Of God Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church Amara American Ethnic Studies/University Of Washington American Indian Film Institute Asia Pacific Cultural Center Asian Counseling And Referral Service Association Of The United States Army Inc Atlantic Street Center Auburn Mountainview High School Auburn Riverside High School Booster Club Bellevue Community College Bonney Lake High School Panther Parent Pride The Breakfast Group Burned Children Recovery Foundation Businesses Ending Slavery And Trafficking Camp Korey Camp Ten Trees Capitol Hill Housing Foundation Catholic Community Services Of West Ern Washington Cedar Creek Corrections Center The Center for Women and Democracy Central Washington University Chief Seattle Club Children’s Alliance Children’s Home Society Of Washington Children’s Therapy Center Chinese Information And Service Center Chinook Elementary City Gates Ministries City of Auburn Clallam Bay Corrections Center Cleveland STEM High School PTSA Community For Youth Connectwerks Coyote Ridge Corrections Center - Main Unit Coyote Ridge Minimum Security Unit Corrections Center Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation Denise Louie Education Center Densho Eastern Washington University Scholarships Edmonds Community College El Centro de la Raza Elizabeth Home Emergency Feeding Program Of Seattle & King County Emergency Food Network Entre Hermanos Enumclaw High School Special Needs Transition Program Enumclaw Plateau Historical Society Etta Projects Evergreen State College Families For Effective Autism Treatment Feat Of Washington Filipino Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest Filipino Cultural Heritage Society of Washington Fire District #44 First Nations at University of Washington Food Action (formerly WSFFN) Food Lifeline Free Spirit Elite Friends Of Youth The Food Bank @ St Mary’s GD Association Goodthinking 4 All Our Relations Grays Harbor Youth Works Greater Issaquah Chamber Of Commerce Greater Lakes Mental Health Foundation Inc Green River Community College Hands On Children’s Museum Helping Link Heritage University Highline Community College Homeward Bound In Puyallup Hopelink Hospitality House Housing Development Consortium Of Seattle-King County Huchoosedah Native American Education Services Imagine Children’s Museum Imagine Housing Institute for Community Leadership Institute For Systems Biology International Community Health Services Foundation International Examiner InvestED It Takes A Village Japanese American Citizens League Japanese American Citizens League, Puyallup Valley JBLM Chemical Corps Regimental Association Chapter Julibee Women’s Center Kent Black Action Commission Kent Sister City Association Kin On Community Health Care King County Sheriff Larch Corrections Center Legacy Foundation Inc Lenny Wilkens Foundation Levis House Lifelong Aids Alliance

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Strengthening Communities

International Community Health Services The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe proudly partners with nonprofits, schools, churches and government agencies to share resources with their neighbors and those in need. Today, the importance of supporting the invaluable services of these organizations is more apparent than ever.

American Indian Film Festival From essential human services that nurture the mind, body and spirit, to the promotion and conservation of our natural splendors and human art and cultural creations, our nonprofit partners help create sustainable, caring and diverse communities.

Rainier Scholars In 2018, the Muckleshoot Tribe proudly donated $3,213,205.74 to almost 200 organizations to further their essential work. We list each of them in recognition of their dedication to enhancing lives and communities and we reaffirm our commitment to their work and our continued partnerships.

Loren Miller Bar Foundation Low Income Housing Institute Lummi Nation Service Organization Lupus Foundation Of America Make-A-Wish Foundation Alaska & Washington Making A Difference Foundation Marine Toys For Tots Foundation Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration Committee, Seattle WA c/o Urban League Of Metropolitan Seattle Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Endowment Fund Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women Mom and Me Mobile Medical Clinic Monroe Correctional Complex - Minimum Security Unit Monroe Correctional Complex - Special Offender Unit Monroe Correctional Complex - Twin Rivers Unit Monroe Correctional Complex - WA State Reformatory Unit Mother Nation (formerly Native Women In Need) Multicultural Alumni Partnership UW Municipal League Foundation National Indian Child Welfare National Indian Women’s “Supporting Each Other” NAN Native Action Network Neighborhood House Incorporated Neighborhood House Incorporated New Phoebe House Association Northwest African American Museum Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation Northwest Harvest E M M Northwest Indian Bar Association Foundation Northwest Indian College Northwest Indian College Scholarships Olympic Corrections Center Organization Of Chinese Americans Inc Orting Senior Center Organization Pacific Northwest Ballet Association Parents Against Sexual Abuse Peace For The Streets By Kids From The Streets Pediatric Interim Care Center Inc Pierce County 4 X 4 Search & Rescue Pioneer Human Services Port Of Seattle Firefighters Diversity Association Puentes Advocacy Counseling & Education Puyallup Valley St Francis House Rainier Scholars Rc24 Foundation Inc Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project Renton Technical College Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska The Rose Garden Rotary First Harvest Ryther Seattle Aquarium Society-Seas Seattle Art Museum Seattle Central Community College Seattle Children’s Hospital, Sovren Guild Seattle Counseling Service Seattle Symphony Orchestra Inc Secret Harbor Snohomish Artist Guild Siff Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Somali Community Services Of Seattle Sound Child Care Solutions South Sound Dream Center Special Olympics Washington Stafford Creek Corrections Center State Patrol Sunrise Elementary School - Enumclaw School District Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Puget Sound Affiliate Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska - Washington United Indians of All Tribes Foundation United Negro College Fund University of Washington Foundation Office of Minority Affairs University Of Washington Foundation Ethnic Heritage Center University of Washington Scholarships University of Washington, School of Medicine Urban American Indian Alaska Native Education Alliance Valley Cities Counseling &Consultation Valley Regional Fire Authority Vietnamese Friendship Association Vine Maple Place WA State Penitentiary - Delta/Echo Unit WA State Penitentiary - Fox/Golf Unit WA State Penitentiary - Medium Security Unit V/W Washington Corrections Center Washington Corrections Center for Women Washington DECA (Distributive Education Clubs Of America) Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Washington State Gambling Commission Washington State Penitentiary - Bar Unit Washington State Penitentiary - Medium Security Unit Washington State University Scholarship West Sound Treatment Center Inc Western Washington University Native American Student Union Western Washington University Scholarships White Center Emergency Food Association Willow’s Place Wing Luke Memorial Foundation World Vision