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Throughout at least half a century,
the quiet existence of the Chinese detainees could find no vent as resonant
as the poetry on the walls. Whether the poems were carved, visible today
and tomorrow - or written in pencil, never again to be read - in spirit,
they are all historical reminders of racial discrimination and humanity.
The concept behind writing these poems imparts the timeline of Chinese aspirations,
determination, rejection, and scorn. Across the small rooms of Angel Island,
the walls no longer symbolize imprisonment - they liberate the engraved
memoirs into America's future. |
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