On Feb. 19, 1942, FDR signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the imprisonment of more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor’s tragic events.

Seventy years later at UMass Boston, on Feb. 22, Paul Watanabe, associate professor of political science and director of the Institute for Asian American Studies (IAAS), and historical archaeology graduate student Laura Ng, hosted the screening of a film that documents the oral histories of the people who lived in the confinement camps.

In the film, nine men and women who were students before and after their internment were interviewed. They spoke about dealing with the problems of living in the camps, and trying to re-assimilate back into society upon returning to school.

Kodjo Agblekpe, junior and political science major, attended the event and explained why he thinks this film is important. “You can’t dismiss an eyewitness account,” he said. “This is something that should be remembered. We don’t want history to forget the truth. We need to know about the past so we can shape the future.”

To find out more about the Institute for Asian American Studies (IAAS), please visit www.iaas.umb.edu.