Film looks at Asian Americans following 9/11

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Day of Remembrance, an annual observance held close to the anniversary of the presidential order authorizing the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II, yesterday became an occasion to note the economic and racial imprisonment of Asian Americans following Sept. 11.

The Honolulu chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League presented a screening of "Tribute and Remembrance: Asian Americans after 9-11," a documentary about the repercussions of the World Trade Center attack.

The film, commissioned by the Asian American Federation of New York, was shown at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa architecture auditorium.

Narrated by playwright David Henry Hwang and produced by Renata Huang, the film lays out the economic devastation of Chinatown, which lost business while the district, adjacent to Ground Zero, was blocked off to traffic for weeks. It also followed the grief of Asian families who lost loved ones; and the detention of Muslims in the aftermath.

The Day of Remembrance is held near Feb. 19, the anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt signing Executive Order 9066, which led to the interments.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.