We Are Not Free

It’s a Friday in April, and Shig Ito is walking to school with Twitchy. The building that used to house the Japanese American Citizens League has recently been replaced with an outpost of the War Relocation Authority. Shig and Twitchy see an evacuation notice, and it misses Shig’s house by a block, but people he knows are in the evacuation area. They climb the fire escape of a nearby hotel and look out over all the people who will be relocated, including Tommy and Shig’s girlfriend, Yum-yum. 

Tommy joins Shig and Twitchy on the roof, and they reluctantly tell Tommy that his family is in the evacuation zone. Later, that night, Mas tells Shig and Minnow to start considering what to pack for when their own time to evacuate comes. By the weekend, several local shops are having evacuation sales before their owners leave. Shig goes over on the day when Tommy and his family have to sell almost all their possessions, getting only a few hundred dollars.

The night after the first evacuation, Shig and his friend Frankie walk through the emptied-out neighborhood. The sight makes Shig angry. The two of them break into an empty noodle house and tear the place apart. After leaving the noodle house, Shig and Frankie run into the Kitano brothers, Jim and Shuji. Frankie starts running after Jim, saying he owes Frankie money. Shig is eager for an excuse to fight, so he follows and starts beating up on the Kitanos with Frankie. The leave when they hear sirens, and Shig spits blood, barely feeling pain from the fight.

When Shig gets home, he has to admit to his mom that he got in a fight with Jim and Shuji Kitano. She warns him that as frustrated as he feels, he won’t change anything by punching the Kitanos. A few days later, the notice comes that Shig’s own family has to relocate. While out with Twitchy, Shig takes one of the flyers and folds it into an origami bird, holding back the urge to crush the paper bird in his hand. Mr. Ito was the one who originally taught him paper folding. Shig and Twitchy go back home because they have to help their families pack.

Shig and his family have five days to pack up their whole lives. When his family has to sell may of their possessions, he notices Mas getting emotional as they sell an American flag that their dad always used to fly. Then Mrs. Ito  has to sell some lacquer from her own mother that she brought over from Japan. The woman who buys the lacquer seems to feel pity and offers another dollar for them, but Mas refuses, saying they’ve already agreed on a price.

Yum-yum’s family owns their house, so they can rent it while they’re gone. However, the deed has to be in her name, because as Issei (immigrants), her parents can’t legally own property in the U.S., but as a Nisei (child of immigrants), Yum-yum can. When Shig comes to see her, Yum-yum looks particularly sad as her family sells their piano, although she manages to hold it in. She plays the piano one last time before it’s taken away.

Shig gets a letter from Tommy telling about conditions at his camp, Tanforan. He says the food is bad with long lines. He recommends driving to the camp, if possible, instead of taking the official buses, in order to be able to transport more food.

On the night before departure, Shig and Minnow lie on the floor of a bare room of their house. Shig shows Minnow a box of old origami from their dad that he secretly collected. They debate whether there’s room to take it with them, then Shig says he has an idea.

On departure day, Mas drives the family car while the rest of them get ready to take the bus. At the bus station, Shig and Minnow make paper hats for themselves and hand out their dad’s origami as gifts to everyone else at the station. They want to try to make it a joyous occasion. Shig’s family is the last called. When he’s on the bus, Shig looks back at Twitchy, waving from off the bus. The bus goes to Tanforan, and the first thing Shig notices is the barbed wire. Shig is determined not to let anyone break his spirit. He holds an origami rabbit that he kept from his dad’s collection.