yoshidamayuko Arrupe Refugee Center Opened
The Arrupe Refugee Center (President: Katsuya Enokawa), a non-profit organization established by people involved in refugee support groups, opened on April 1 in the Jesuit Monastery of the Japanese Martyrs in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, to provide comprehensive support to refugees who have fled persecution in their home countries to Japan.
The center, made possible by the Jesuits’ free loan of the building and grounds, will engage in the following three activities, with Mr. Kenji Arikawa, a Tokyo Diocese employee who has long provided support for refugees at the Catholic Tokyo International Center, as its executive director.
The first is to support refugees to settle in Japanese society by providing (1) free shelter, (2) a place to learn the Japanese language and culture, (3) assistance with the application process for refugee status, (4) interpretation and translation support, and (5) employment support.
The second is to serve as a bridge between refugees and Japanese society, holding seminars and other activities to help Japanese people deepen their understanding of refugees.
The third is to work with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), which operates in 56 countries worldwide, to create a system to enable refugees to settle in third countries, both at home and abroad.
The shelter utilizes part of the “House of Meditation” on the premises, and Mr. Arikawa, the executive director, explains why the shelter was set up.
“In reality, there are many cases where people fleeing persecution in their home countries who wish to apply for refugee status at Japanese airports (immigration checkpoints) are sent directly back to their home countries or to facilities of the Immigration Bureau (Ministry of Justice, Immigration and Residence Management Agency), where they are detained for years. A public-private partnership system called “Alternatives to Detention” (ATD) allows such people to live in the community instead of being detained in an immigration facility. We hoped our shelter would serve as a place to receive such people.”
On the other hand, refugee status applicants detained in immigration facilities cannot apply for “provisional release,” which allows them to live outside the facility if they do not have a physical address in Japan. The Center intends to handle such cases as well.
Cooperation between Church and Society
Although Japan is a signatory to the Refugee Convention, the refugee status recognition rate is extremely low at 0.3% (FY 2018). Furthermore, it takes years to receive a decision on whether or not to grant refugee status. During this time, applicants for refugee status are placed in a mentally, economically, and legally precarious situation, and many are forced to live on the streets before they are connected with private assistance.
The Arrupe Refugee Center has taken the first step toward improving such a situation. The “Arrupe” used in the center’s name comes from Father Pedro Arrupe, a former Jesuit chancellor who founded JRS in response to the horrific situation of the Indochina refugees.
At the shelter, applicants for refugee status have already started living there. They are preparing for independence by learning Japanese culture and language while healing emotional wounds in a communal living environment. The shelter will also retain its function as a Jesuit “House of Meditation” where believers from various cultures can pray freely.
The Center is funded by donations. For support and more information, call 0467-55-5422 or visit the website at https://arrupe-refugee.jp/enまで.
Catholic Newspaper, 4/26/2020