Li on Angel Island

by Veeda Bybee

  One afternoon, Hon met Li at their usual spot in the courtyard. She was bouncing a ball between her hands when he came up to her. He looked pale.

  “I had more questions today,” he said.

  Li stopped dribbling and held the ball. Hon had been in questioning all week. “How did it go?”

  Hon couldn’t look at her. “I was so nervous. I grew up in the same village as my uncle, so I know everything about it. But they asked me where we keep the rice bin in the house, and I didn’t know. I’d visited my uncle, but I never prepared the rice.”

  He finally looked at Li. “I have to go back for questioning tomorrow.”

  Li took his hand in hers. “Then you still have time. I think it’s almost dinner. Let’s go together.”

  Every day, Li looked forward to going to the Chinese dining hall on Angel Island. Not because the food tasted good—Li thought it was actually very bland and soupy. The workers tried to make food from China. The cooks were even Chinese. But the food they made wasn’t anything like what Li used to eat at home. Mother said it was because the cooks didn’t have the proper equipment.

  Li liked going to eat because, during mealtime, the women and children could hear the footsteps of the men coming up the stairs. It was one of the only ways they could communicate with their separated family members. As they walked up, the men called out to their families, sometimes with a quick greeting of love or with a coded message.

  This was how Mother and Li learned that Puck was okay. The day before, Puck had passed them a message that he had started his test. It had lasted all day, and he didn’t know when it would all be over.

  Today, Li poked around at her plate of food. There wasn’t a good crispy fry on the rice. It was just as mushy and soupy as the rest of her food.

  Li laughed as Hon licked up his last grain of rice. “You must be really hungry,” she joked.

  Hon looked up from his plate. “Sometimes at home, we had to eat grass because there was nothing to eat. I’ll take this over weeds any day.” He paused. “It’s why my mother spent all our savings for me to come to America. This food is better than no food at all.”

  Li thought about what Hon was doing for a better life. She knew he would also work and send money back home to his family once he got to the mainland. He was risking everything just to put food on the table.

  Li placed her spoon down. “You will pass the test, Hon. Let’s practice some more.”

  Just then, they heard the steady stomping of feet. The men were walking by the dining hall!

  Li quickly got up. She pretended to throw something away and stood near the door so she could hear better.

  The rumble of deep voices filled the air. Li listened for Puck’s voice. She worried that she wouldn’t hear it. Maybe his test had gone badly yesterday. He could be on a ship headed back to China right now!

  Then Li heard a familiar laugh. She could recognize this voice across an island. Puck was here. Li felt relief that her brother was still being questioned and had not been sent back.

  “Don’t forget the oranges!” Puck said.

  Li leaned closer to hear more, but there was no other message.

  Oranges? she thought as the steps faded away. What is the importance of oranges?

  Chapter 4

  Hon

  The next day, Li went to find Hon. She wanted to ask his thoughts on Puck’s message. But Hon wasn’t at breakfast. By dinner time, Li still hadn’t seen him. She walked over to the dining hall alone.

  The dinner hour started, and Hon never came. Sitting next to Mother, Li ate her mushy rice and vegetables in silence. An uneasiness washed over her. It wasn’t like Hon to miss out on food.

  After dinner, Li walked quickly to the courtyard. Maybe Hon was waiting for her outside. She entered the Chinese courtyard area and made it to their spot on the field.

  There was no one waiting for her. Hon was nowhere to be seen.

  Li headed back to the barracks. She had to keep herself from running. When she got to Hon’s bunk, she gasped. It no longer looked like Hon’s bed. The bedding was stripped down, and there was no sign of his belongings.

  Li asked around, but no one knew what had happened to Hon.

  Li walked slowly back down to the courtyard. She bounced a ball around. Each thump against the pavement sounded hollow and empty.

  Maybe Hon had passed his test, she thought.

  It was possible his uncle had picked him up from Angel Island. Li hoped that was true, but a sinking feeling settled in her stomach. It was also possible that Hon hadn’t passed the test. He might have been sent back to China.

  Li drew circles in the dirt with her fingers. What had happened to her friend?

  Just then, an older Chinese woman came up to Li. She glanced around the courtyard, then huddled close to Li. “Are you Fong Li?”

  “Yes.” Li spoke quietly.

  The woman pulled out an orange from the folds of her shirt. She dropped the fruit into Li’s hands. “This is from your brother. What is inside is the sweetest reward.”

  Li quickly placed the orange in her pocket and bowed her head in thanks. She hurried to her barracks. The orange felt like it was burning a hole through her clothing.

  In the safety of her top bunk, Li turned toward the light of the window and held the orange in her hands. She ran her fingers over the smooth skin. And she realized the top of the orange was cut out like a lid.

  Li nudged her fingers under the orange lid. The orange was hollowed out, with a tiny roll of paper tucked inside. Puck had given her a secret message.

  Li could barely breathe. She slowly unfolded the note. In her brother’s handwriting were notes about Taishan. It included the families that lived around them, the layout of the town, and details about where the Fong family home was—all things that Li might have forgotten.

  Li looked out the barred window. Even if Puck was in a separate area of Angel Island, right then, he felt close by. He had taken the test and made sure to help his sister.

  Before she went to sleep, Li showed Mother the note.

  Mother smiled as she read over the message. “Puck is very smart to communicate this way.”

  Li held her Mother close and thought about her brother. Puck always had clever ideas.

  Mother handed the paper back to Li. “I know all these details. Please memorize them for yourself, and then destroy the note. Your brother went through all this trouble for you, and we don’t want him to get caught.”

  As Li nodded off to sleep, she thought of oranges, her brave brother, and her missing friend. She was determined to memorize every word of Puck’s note. Otherwise, she might disappear like Hon.

  Chapter 5

  Questions

  The time for Li’s examination came sooner than she thought. The next morning, she was called for the test to prove her identity. She quickly read over Puck’s paper again. Li was grateful for the time she’d had to study last night.

  Before she left for her test, Mother pulled Li in for a hug and said, “May our ancestors be with you.”

  Li followed others who were being questioned and stood in a long line. Some people looked very confident. Others seemed to be nervous. Li was somewhere in between.

  After what seemed like hours, it was her turn for questioning. When she entered the room, Li saw four people. Two seated white men and a Chinese woman standing behind them. There was also a woman at a typewriter. Li knew the woman was there to record Li’s answers.

  One of the white men held a pen in his hand and wrote in a notebook.

  He must be the main interrogator, Li thought.

  The Chinese woman stood to the man’s right. She spoke to Li and said she would be the interpreter for her test.

  All the adults looked at Li. Suddenly, she felt very small. She wished Mother was with her, but parents and children were questioned separately. The officials didn’t want the Chinese adults to help any of the children.

  The interrogator pushed up his glasses. “Fong Li,�
� he said as the Chinese interpreter translated. “Shall we begin?”

  Li could not find words to come out of her mouth. She nodded quickly.

  The man shuffled his papers and read the first question. “What are the names of the people in your family?”

  Li swallowed. She forced her mouth to speak. She answered in Chinese. “Fong Tom is my father. Fong Shee, my mother.” When she thought about Puck, her voice grew stronger. “Fong Puck is my older brother.”

  The questions continued.

  “Who is the oldest person in your village?”

  “What is your father’s profession?”

  “Is your house one story or two stories?”

  These questions went on for more than an hour.

  Li’s head hurt. Trying to remember details about her life was tiring. She tried to separate what she could recall from her own memory from the things she had studied on the paper her brother had sent her in the orange.

  Eventually, Li was taken into the hallway for a break. Minutes later, she was called back again.

  The exam lasted into the afternoon. When Li came back into the room after another break, there was a set of wooden blocks on the table.

  The white man with the notebook spoke. “Recreate your village using these blocks,” the interpreter translated.

  Li froze. It had been so long since she’d been in China. And talking to these adults made her nervous. She stared at the blocks and tried to picture them looking like the buildings back home. It was no use. They just looked like blocks.

  She thought of her brother doing this same test. Li wondered how Puck had arranged the blocks. She remembered Puck’s words in the dining hall: Don’t forget the oranges!

  Li looked up. That was the key! Puck knew Li would not forget about the oranges. If she could remember where the orange tree was in the family farm, Li could center the village around the tree.

  Li closed her eyes for a moment. In her memory, she could see the water buffalo in the fields. She saw the dirt path leading up to the front door of her old house. Just to the right of the house was the orange tree. Sunlight poured down on the tree, shining on the bright green leaves. Big clusters of bright orange fruit hung heavy from the branches.

  Seeing the tree so clearly in her mind, Li felt like she was home. There was her grandparents’ house. She could see the neighbors and the market.

  Li opened her eyes.

  She remembered where she came from.

  Li took the wooden blocks in her hand and arranged them on the table. “Here is my home,” she said. “This is where the orange tree is.”

  She laid the other pieces out quickly. This part of the test was like a game—one she knew she could win. For the first time, Li felt confidence flow through her as she completed the layout of her village.

  The adults took notes. Li heard the clicking of the typewriter. She knew that whatever they wrote up, her memory was true. She was a Chinese daughter. Sister of Puck. The orange tree clue painted a picture of her home in China. It helped her remember where she was from.

  After creating her village from blocks, the questions were fewer. The interrogator seemed satisfied. Li was finally free to go.

  Walking out of the room, Li felt much different from when she’d entered. For the first time since arriving on Angel Island, dread did not weigh on her. She’d answered the questions as truthfully as she could. Whatever the outcome would be, she’d tried her best.

  Back in the dormitory, Li waited for Mother. A guard would let them know if they would be leaving Angel Island on a boat to San Francisco, or back to China.

  Mother came in. She had been taking her own exam. Mother looked tired, but also hopeful.

  “How was the test?” Mother said.

  “I remembered who I am,” Li said.

  “That is all we can do.” Mom held out her hands. “I have good news. I heard from one of the interpreters that Puck passed the exam. Father will soon pick him up.”

  Li threw her arms around Mother. Just then, a guard opened the door. He wore a happy face. He pointed to Li and Mother.

  “Good fortune!” he called. “Go ashore!”

  Li smiled so hard it warmed her all over. “We passed too!”

  She hugged Mother as everyone in the room cheered.

  She was a proud Chinese girl, both feet pointed toward her new life in America.

  The History Behind Angel Island

  Located in the San Francisco Bay just about five miles north of San Francisco, Angel Island served as the United States immigration station for the West Coast for thirty years. From 1910 to 1940, it was the first stop for many coming to America.

  During this time, many people left their home country to seek a new life, Chinese immigrants included. With a poor rural economy in China and many natural disasters, they looked to opportunities in the United States for better jobs. The Chinese immigrants became an important part of building the American West, working in mining, railroad, agricultural, and other jobs.

  Of the almost one million people who came through Angel Island, 175,000 were Chinese. With harsh laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was put into place in 1882 to prohibit immigrants from China, it was difficult to come to America. This was the first time the United States restricted immigration based on race. Hatred and racism against the Chinese immigrants was very high. They were paid lower wages than white workers in the same jobs, and were then blamed for driving down pay and taking away jobs.

  The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, but immigration was still very limited. From 1943 until 1965, only 105 Chinese immigrants were allowed each year.

  The immigration station on Angel Island was built in 1910 in order to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act. This location was selected because it was an island. It separated immigrants from friends and family on the mainland.

  The average stay on Angel Island was two weeks for Chinese immigrants. Some were detained even longer, from several months to almost two years.

  The immigration station could handle 2,500 immigrants a day with sleeping accommodations for 1,000. The Chinese were forced to stay in crowded barracks. Sometimes as many as 200 people were packed into a room meant to hold fifty.

  Under the Chinese Exclusion Act, more Chinese men could enter the United States than women. On average, Angel Island held around 200 to 300 men, and thirty to fifty women.

  Early on, the Chinese American community complained about the unsanitary and hazardous conditions on Angel Island. In 1940, a fire burned down the administration building, ending the immigration station on Angel Island. The remaining immigrants were sent to different locations in the San Francisco Bay.

  Life on Angel Island was tough for the Chinese immigrants. Many people expressed frustration by carving poetry into the walls.

  In these poems, they wrote of the harsh conditions on Angel Island. Of the fear, sadness, and loneliness they felt.

  Lim, upon arriving in America,

  Was arrested, put in the wooden building,

  And made a prisoner.

  These poems were found in 1970 when a park ranger came across them in a building that was about to be torn down. Some poems have been saved and are on display today in the Angel Island Detention Barracks. Visitors can see the words carved on the walls about the hardships of those who faced the tests on Angel Island.

  Orange Cake Surprise

  Like the orange Puck gave to Li, this orange has a sweet surprise in the center.

  Supplies

  aluminum foil

  baking sheet

  sharp knife

  10 large oranges

  1 box of yellow or vanilla cake mix

  3 large eggs

  ⅓ cup canola oil

  Directions

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With help from an adult, create a lid from each orange by slicing off the top quarter. Using a large spoon, remove the fruit from the top and inside the orange. This will create an empty orange peel. Repeat this step fo
r all oranges. Using a juicer if you have one, or your hands if you don’t, squeeze one cup of juice from the oranges. Set aside the remaining fruit to make more orange juice or save for another use.

  In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, oil, and orange juice. Mix until smooth. Then spoon the cake batter into each empty orange, until about two-thirds full. Place the orange lid on top and wrap each fruit completely in aluminum foil. Place the filled oranges on a cookie sheet with the tops facing up. Bake for about 20–25 minutes.

  Ask an adult to remove the orange cakes from the oven. Let cool for 5–10 minutes. Once cooled, peel away the foil. Remove the tops and enjoy.

  Glossary

  ancestor (AN-sess-tuhr)—

  member of a person’s family who lived a long time ago

  authenticity (aw-then-TI-sih-tee)—

  the nature of being real or genuine

  barracks (BAR-uhks)—

  a large, plain building or group of buildings where many people live

  immigrant (IM-uh-gruhnt)—

  a person who leaves one country to settle in another

  imposter (IM-pos-tuhr)—

  a person who pretends to be someone else.

  inspection (in-SPEK-shuhn)—

  the process of looking over or reviewing something

  interpreter (in-TUR-pri-tuhr)—

  a person who can tell others what is said in another language

  interrogator (in-TEHR-uh-gay-tuhr)—

  a person who questions thoroughly, often for official reasons

  paper son (PAY-puhr SUN)—

  a child from China who tried to immigrate to the United States using fake documents