The ANNOTICO Report

While no Italian Americans or German Americans interred in the US during
WWII, Japanese Americans were awarded  $20,000 for each of 100,000 Japanese
Americans for a total of $2 million, and an Apologies.

600,000 Italian Americans were labeled Enemy Aliens, 300,000 German
Americans, and 100,000 Japanese Americans.

The Camps were in the nature of Refugee or Displacement Camps, Not Prison
or Concentration Camps.

'They treated us like bandits'. Those living in Montreal were assumed to
have fascist sympathies

The Montreal Gazette
Elizabeth Thompson
Thursday, May 26, 2005

For Antonio Capobianco, June 10, 1940, is a day etched forever in his
memory.

That day, the Canadian-born son of Italian immigrants came home from his
job at the Port of Montreal to find two police officers waiting for him at
his door.

Capobianco, a volunteer organizer at the time for a Liberal member of
Parliament, was whisked away. Days later he found himself interned in Camp
Petawawa, northwest of Ottawa, with hundreds of others whose only crime was
their Italian heritage.

"They treated us like bandits, like criminals," recalled Capobianco, now 92.

For years, Capobianco has fought for the federal government to make amends
for declaring him an "enemy alien" and keeping him behind barbed wire for
14 months. Now, 65 years later, Capobianco and other survivors of one of
the darker moments in Canadian history may be about to get a measure of
justice.

Massimo Pacetti, MP for the riding of St. Leonard-St. Michel, has tabled a
private members bill recognizing the injustice done to those of Italian
origin at the time. His bill calls for restitution and the promotion of
education on Italian-Canadian history.

At the same time, the government is quietly working on a $25-million
package to make amends for wrongs done by the government to a variety of
groups over the years, including Italian-Canadians interned during the
Second World War, Ukrainians interned during the First World War, and
Chinese-Canadians forced to pay a discriminatory head tax in the early
1900s.

But while the government is moving to right the wrongs of its predecessors
with funding for such things as commemorative plaques and educational
programs, an outright apology like the one Capobianco would like to see and
individual compensation is not contemplated.

During the Second World War, Italian-Canadians suddenly found themselves
singled out by Canadian authorities who feared they would work within
Canada for Italy's fascist regime, which had allied itself with Adolf
Hitler's Germany. Hundreds were wrenched from their homes and interned at
Petawawa in Ontario, regardless of whether or not they supported the
Mussolini government. Others were the victims of widespread prejudice, lost
their jobs or saw their shops vandalized.

Among the families hit by the decision to round up Italian-Canadians was
that of Heritage Minister Liza Frulla, whose father, grandfather and
great-uncle were all arrested and detained for periods ranging from 24
hours to eight months.

One of the cities hardest hit by the measure was Montreal, said Pacetti.

"Mainly in Montreal it happened where guys were assumed to be fascist
sympathizers and were just thrown in jail or in prison for no apparent
reason because they were of Italian descent."

While his bill calls for restitution, it does not outline what form it
should take.

"I'm not looking for money for individuals and I'm not even looking for a
big sum of money for the community," he said. "It's more symbolic and a
sign not to forget."

Pacetti said that commemorating the internment will also serve as a
reminder to younger members of the Italian community of what their
ancestors had to go through.

I think we're losing it in our generation. I think we take it for granted.
Everybody thinks everybody came here driving Ferraris and wearing soccer
shirts and eating pasta in restaurants."

Nino Colavecchio, president of the National Congress of Italian Canadians,
said an apology would be welcomed by the community but may not occur.

"This has been going on since the '40s. Fifty years later many of the
individuals who were interned have already died. There are a few of them
left. So at this point (for the government) to at least recognize that what
they did was wrong would be a good step forward."

ethompson@thegazette.canwest.com

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