America Shares Blame on Stateless Children
Re “Without a Country” (March 31): Stateless children are not a new phenomenon. While taking another disparaging swipe at Japan for not allowing children born of Southeast Asian prostitutes and Japanese businessmen to become citizens, you should also hold up your mirror to America.
Stateless children have been around since World War II when American soldiers fathered them in Japan (not to mention Korea, Vietnam, Okinawa, Thailand and the Philippines). Most Asian countries grant citizenship based on the patriarchal bloodline. This meant (and means) that Amerasians whose mothers are invariably Asian remain stateless. Japan recently extended the bloodline to matriarchal lineage as well, but it is too little too late for Amerasians in Japan, as most are now in their 40s, and the public education they once desired is an impossibility.
The Amerasian League, Multiracial Americans of Southern California and other multiracial/multicultural organizations strive to bring attention to the fact that the U.S. government has done very little to help Amerasians other than Vietnamese Amerasians. We weaken the honor of our citizenship by not extending it to those who should share it with us as their birthright.
VELINA HASU HOUSTON
president
The Amerasian League
Santa Monica
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