It appears to me the early Asian immigrants did not know what was in store for them as they traveled across the Pacific Ocean with hope of great opportunity and good pay. Had they known what life would be like for them living and working on the plantation, I doubt many of them would have chosen to move there from their countries. The plantation workers were treated like slaves in the fields and paid very little in compensation.
As described on pages 135 & 136 in Takaki’s Strangers From A Different Shore, laborers recalled the lunas riding around on horseback carrying whips, while keeping an eye on the workers. “They had to keep their bodies bent over. They wanted to stand up and stretch, unknotting twisted bodies and feeling the freedom of arched backs.” It surprised me to read how inhumane the rules on the plantation were. The book, also stated that on the plantation the laborers wore bangos around their necks, which were small brass tags that had a number stamped on them, so the lunas could identify individuals. “The lunas never called a man by his name. Always by the bango, 7209 or 6508 in that manner. I wanted my name, not the number.”
It breaks my heart to think these people were treated so terribly, but unable to leave Hawaii because the contract labor system until 1900. Although I’m glad the Asian immigrants showed perseverance and stuck up for what they believed. They fought for their rights and that helped them to become a stronger group.
3 comments:
I think that's crazy and ridiculous how they weren't even able to stretch or do any of that stuff. Sometimes your body do need a quick break. especially by the way they work, I little stretching wouldn't hurt.
There were so many things that surprised me when I was reading the book. You made a very good point that if the immigrants knew what they were getting themselves into when coming to Hawaii, they probably would've never came and I agree with that very much. It did make me happy to read the part where it talked about the workers going on strike and standing up for themselves.
That kind of hard field labor is called "stoop labor" because you had to stoop over all day in the fields. Amazing isn't it, the type of work that any immigrant will do in order to survive and provide for his/her family. Do you see any parallels with groups that immigrate to the U.S. today?
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