Tsuru For Solidarity Campaign

Tsuru for Solidarity was conceived as a way to give voice to the moral outrage of the Japanese American and Japanese Latin American community at the ongoing mass detentions in the United States. This project was initially created for the March 2019 Crystal City Pilgrimage and Protest at the Dilley Detention Site both located in Texas, organized and led by Dr. Satsuki Ina, Nancy Ukai, Mike Ishii, and an ad hoc committee. The Dilley detention site (South Texas Family Residential Center) is where thousands of asylum seekers, mostly women and children and infants from Central America and Mexico have been incarcerated. 

A call was issued for people to fold 10,000 origami cranes to be hung on the fences surrounding the Dilley detention center. The crane is a unique symbol in Japanese cultural for transformation, healing and nonviolence. Over 30,000 cranes were sent to Texas from around the world and were hung on the fences at Dilley at the protest. 

Tsuru for Solidarity is now working to end detention sites and support front-line immigrant and refugee communities who are experiencing injustice and oppression under the current U.S. administration. With a group of Japanese American survivors and descendants of the WWII prison camps, we joined with Indigenous leaders, immigrant rights advocates, and racial justice and other groups to stand up against the incarceration of 1,400 children at Fort Sill. 

We are beginning to plan a larger action in Washington, D.C., where we will meet with other advocates to call on our leaders to stop the cruel and inhumane immigration policies of the Trump Administration. We will hang 125,000 cranes on the fence of the White House, representing each of the Japanese Americans and Japanese Latin Americans who were incarcerated during WWII and the current mass detention prisoners in U.S. mass detention sites. We will stand with allies from front-line communities and use our moral authority to support the communities currently being targeted as we were targeted during WWII. 

We cannot stand by while children and families are going to be incarcerated across our country. Please join us and support us, as we build our capacity and infrastructure to take our actions onto a larger scale. Thank you so much - we are so grateful for all your support.

"No Ban, No Wall, No Camps, No-No!"

#TsuruforSolidarity

Twitter: @TsuruSolidarity
Facebook: Tsuru For Solidarity

How Will Your Donations Be Used and Distributed?

Tsuru For Solidarity members will use the funds to pay for the out-of-pocket costs and expenses of organizing actions to call on the U.S. government to end family separation and to close the camps for migrant families and children - including travel costs for survivors and descendants of U.S. concentration camps, permits and other location-related costs, and event materials. This GoFundMe is organized and managed solely by Tsuru For Solidarity members, including: Dr. Satsuki Ina, Nancy Ukai, Mike Ishii, Carl Takei, Linda Morris (GoFundMe page organizer), Tsuya Yee (Tsuru For Solidarity treasurer), Lauren Sumida, and Becca Asaki. All funds will be withdrawn in Tsuya Yee's name in her personal bank account, and then distributed directly by cash or check to Tsuru For Solidarity members upon request for reimbursement (accompanied by a receipt or other proof of payment). We are incredibly grateful for all your donations, support, and encouragement. Without it, our work would not be possible. If you have any questions, please contact [email redacted]. Thank you!