yoshidamayuko Now, On This Human Earth (No.21)
Life-saving “Refugee Recognition” and “Special Permit for Residence”
Considering the issue of long-term detention and repatriation of foreign nationals
Many so-called “undocumented foreigners” live in Japan for various reasons. However, the Japanese government has been detaining them indefinitely in the detention facilities of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Law) or deporting them because they have already been issued a deportation order under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Law). In this 21st installment of our series on human rights violations against “undocumented foreigners,” we introduce Arrupe Refugee Center, a non-profit organization that opened a temporary shelter for refugees (hereinafter referred to as “the Center”) in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, a little more than six months ago. The following is an update on the Center (introduced on April 26).
A Society Where Refugees Can Live Comfortably
The Center is located on the grounds of the Jesuit Monastery of the Japanese Martyrs, a 15-minute bus ride from JR Kamakura Station. Currently, eight people, including young children, are living together. For the past six months, Mr. Kenji Arikawa, the NPO’s secretary-general, has been going through a process of trial and error to find the best way of communal living, but after M, a Myanmarese who entered the center in September, took on the role of a meal attendant, he was able to find a way for all the residents to live together and it has become possible for all residents to sit together around the dining table, and the facility is gradually becoming more like a “community.
Many of the people living here are on “provisional release,” meaning that they live outside the immigration detention facility and are prohibited from working, so they spend their daytime cleaning the building and grounds or working in the fields. On Sundays, they attend church or other religious services according to their religious beliefs.
Refugee Backgrounds Are Diverse
The backgrounds of the residents vary, but many bear scars of trauma. Mr. B, a Ugandan who has been in Japan for 20 years, had once studied in Japan and was a teacher at a national technical school. However, he was fired for criticizing the government and was subjected to repeated harassment, and he left his country because he feared for his life. He spent ten years on parole in Japan and once spent two weeks homeless in a park with no money or place to live.
F, a Sri Lankan, was a bodyguard for a minister in his home country when an armed group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), attempted to kill him and shot him. His father and brother were killed, he said. He has been living in Japan for 20 years but suffers from insomnia due to the trauma in his home country.
On the other hand, Mr. A, an Iranian, was persecuted for his admiration of Christianity, left Iran, crossed the Mediterranean Sea by boat, and received refugee status in Greece. However, he lost his job due to the economic crisis and came to Japan, relying on a friend. He has been living on provisional release for 12 years and is anxious about his situation with no clear future.
When such applicants for refugee status who have fled their home country are detained in an immigration facility due to a lack of status of residence, they need (1) an address (living base), (2) a guarantor, and (3) a deposit in order to apply for “provisional release”. For them, having a place like the Center, which provides a place to live free of charge, is a source of “safety and security.” The Center’s residents unanimously say, “This place is heaven because it is safe.”
Providing A Place to Meet and Connect
Many refugees say they are lonely and need someone to talk to. They are eager to connect with people outside the community, integrate into it, and make more friends. However, with the COVID19 pandemic, it is difficult for them to go out and socialize in the community.
While working as a refugee aid worker at the Catholic Tokyo International Center (CTIC), Mr. Arikawa created “places where people can meet refugees” through Japanese language classes and lunch services at Meguro and Hongo churches in Tokyo.
“If you’ve never met a refugee, the refugee issue can seem like a story from a distant land. But if you become friends with refugees, just hearing news about Myanmar, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Iran, and so on, your heart will be moved. Then the refugee problem becomes your problem, and you start thinking, ‘What can I do to help? The person in front of you is no longer a refugee but a friend with a name,” says Arikawa.
Therefore, the “Center” is also a place for local children’s choirs to practice and for civic groups to interact, providing a “place to meet refugees.” In addition, the center goes with refugees (residents) to training sessions of monastic associations and accepts university seminar classes to help them feel closer to the refugees and promote their understanding of refugees.
Refugee Recognition Rates are an Indication of the Human Rights Situation
There are more than 80 million refugees worldwide, and more than 10,000 foreigners apply for refugee status in Japan every year. Mr. Arikawa has something he wants to convey to the refugees.
If the Center’s residents were to apply for refugee status in another developed country, they would meet the requirements and be fully recognized as refugees. In Japan, however, their applications are rejected no matter how often they apply. Mr. Arikawa gives the following example.
In Iran, converting from Islam to Christianity is punishable by death, and people like Mr. A. who are interested in Christianity are put under surveillance by the authorities just for talking about it. But the Japanese immigration authorities recognize that even if you convert, it’s okay if you pray quietly and don’t let others know. Because they make judgments based on their own knowledge, there are a lot of unsubstantiated claims of ‘okay,’ resulting in a refugee status rate of 0.4%.
The Refugee Convention is a system of protection by the international community for those whose human rights are not protected in their home countries.
“It is said that the criteria (level) for admitting a person as a “refugee” are determined in each receiving country, and these criteria indicate each country’s awareness of human rights and human rights situation. I believe accepting refugees is an opportunity for us to reconsider our awareness of human rights (respect for others). I feel that accepting refugees is essential to make our Japanese society more prosperous as a member of global citizens,” stressed Mr. Arikawa.
November 8, 2020, at the Arrupe Refugee Center in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Refugees (residents) sharing their experiences with Sophia University students
The Catholic Newspaper, December 6, 2020