As the Japanese reported to their centers and carried only the belongings they could carry on their backs, U.S. soldiers shouted "Out with the Japs!" Children were checked with identification cards, like luggage, as they moved through the processing centers, in case they were separated from their parents. All of the adults were silent, saddened and guilt-ridden fr being suspected of disloyalty to their country. They were being humiliated because they were unable to protect themselves and their families from losing their homes and livelihoods. They had no sense of when or whether they would ever be allowed to retur to their former lives. 























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Upon enterning the processing centers, Japanese evacuees remained under guard living in stables and animal pens, for several weeks, sometimes months, while the army looked for alternative sites for to relocation. The U.S. military was seemingly unprepared for the impact of the 110,000 evacuees upon the West Coast. They did not adequately prepare and the Japanese reaped the consequences. With a lack of relocation areas for the incoming internees, the Japanese suffered from poor living conditions (Robinson, 2001).

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The War Relocation Administration attempted to make life as normal as possible, but it was very difficult. Families were stuffed in one room apartments which in turn diminished property, strained relationships, and reduced the time children spent with their parents. Due to the low levels of privacy within the dormitories, children tried to stay outside the "home" as much as possible, and often times refused to eat with their families. The Japanese began to lose everything that they had. Not only had they lost all of their property, but they were now losing a sense of their heritage and individuality (Craughwell, 2008).

























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The living conditions for the Japanese were poor as they lived in barracks that measured 120 feet x 20 ft, which were then divided into six-one room apartments that ranged in size from 324-480 feet squared. Not only was space tight, but the amenities were far from superb. The barracks were equipped with army cots, straw mattresses, and each block of fifteen barracks shared bath, latrine, mess and laundry buildings. These facilities were far from ideal and unsanitary Not only were the living conditions poor within closed walls but the outdoor temperatures were also severe. The temperatures were at extremes when the Japanese were relocated, dipping below freezing in the spring and rising above the 128 degrees Fahrenheit mark in the summer (Craughwell, 2008).