Wild Daisies in the Sand

This book reopens a chapter in Canadian history. The book is a series of diary entries beginning in 1941, when author Tom Sando was imprisoned in concentration camps, first in Petawawa and then Angler, Ontario -- a young Japanese Canadian imprisoned only because he was willing to stand and fight for his rights as a Canadian. The Japanese Canadians relocated to Petawawa and Angler were imprisoned in maximum security penitentiaries: compounds encircled by three layers of barbed wire fences, and under constant surveillance by rifle-armed guards stationed in watchtowers. These people were not prisoners-of-war or even criminals, but Canadian civilians deemed dangerous by the Canadian government because of their race. This is a unique first-hand look at a part of the Japanese internment that many Canadians are still unfamiliar with. Tom Sando relates his story of loneliness, fear, and eventually friendship and hope, candidly and with careful thought.