As Japan eases up on Burmese asylum seekers, those in Tokyo's Little Yangon question the motive
By Jessica Ocheltree 18 October, 2010
asylum seeker burmese refugees japanThe first refugees are greeted by the press at Narita.
Over the past two weeks, 90 Burmese refugees have arrived in Tokyo as part of a United Nations-promoted third-country resettlement program. They are members of the Karen ethnic group and have been living in Thai refugee camps for years.
Some 18 ethnic minority refugees who had fled to a Thai refugee camp from military-ruled Myanmar arrive in Japan.
Japan falls behind other Western nations
Many analysts have applauded Japan's decision to participate in the program, saying that it represents a new turn in the government's policy on asylum.
Although they are one of the top providers of humanitarian aid, the Japanese have been criticized in the past for their reluctance to accept refugees.
Last year, they issued just 30 refugee visas, while the statistics for other wealthy, industrialized nations can number in the tens of thousands.
Burmese asylum-seekers who already live in Japan are watching the developments with a slightly more cynical eye, however.
As part of the program, the new arrivals were issued refugee visas before coming to Japan. They are also going to be provided with six months of language and culture training, as well as housing and job placement assistance.
Time in limbo
All of these measures are welcome and necessary, but they starkly contrast with the experience of conventional asylum seekers.
People who apply for asylum after entering the country often spend years in limbo waiting for their application to be processed.
Many of Japan's Burmese population came out to show support for the new arrivals.
Many report that immigration officers responsible for their case know very little about the political situation in Myanmar (previously known as Burma) and fail to understand why a deportation order could be a death sentence. Several refugees say they were accused of lying when they reported having been arrested and tortured by the Burmese military junta.
Meanwhile, the temporary visas given to applicants while their claims are considered make it difficult to legally work, to obtain housing or to travel, and so the vast majority of people end up in Burmese enclaves around Takadanobaba station, the only place where any assistance is forthcoming. It's known among the community as “Little Yangon.”
According to Saw Ba Hla Thein of the Karen National League, who was granted refugee status in 2006 and now consults with the UNHCR and the Japanese government on Karen issues, the system in Japan is simply not set up for refugees.
“Japan doesn't have a refugee council or refugee resettlement centers. When there's something wrong, we don't even know who we should talk to,” he says. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggests talking to Immigration, who pass them to the Ministry of Home Affairs, who send them back to MOFA, he says.
asylum seeker burmese refugees japan
A Myanmar refugee speaks to reporters upon her arrival at the Narita international airport on September 28, 2010.
Ulterior motives
Many Burmese question the motives of the Japanese government in accepting refugees as part of a high-profile UN program while remaining so unfriendly to applicants already within their borders.
As Phone Hlaing, vice president of the Federation of Workers' Union of the Burmese Citizen (FWUBC), put it, “There will be an election [in Burma next month], so if the Japanese government believes the 2010 election is the real answer for our country, they would not accept refugees now. Almost everyone thinks Japan wants to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council, so they want to show their leadership, their responsibility.”
Others suggest that Japan has economic motives.
While most conventional Burmese refugees are well-educated and middle-class, the people accepted in the new program are generally large families from rural areas, leading to speculation that the decision was motivated by the social reality of a Japan with an aging population and an understaffed agricultural sector.
Although it has not yet been decided where the new refugees will finally settle, the city of Matsumoto in Nagano has expressed a willingness to take them.
Tin Win Akbar speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
Contribution not profit
For Tin Win Akbar, president of FWUBC and a well-known Burmese activist, accepting refugees shouldn't be something you do because you expect something in return.
“[It] is not taking some opportunity, it's a contribution. It's a humanitarian consideration, a human rights consideration. [The Japanese] do not understand that,” he says.
For now, the Burmese community is happy that a few more of their number have escaped life in the camps and have come to a country where they are at least free to pursue their political activities.
But if the Japanese government would really like to help, they say, it should stop supporting the military government in Myanmar. Then they might have a chance at what they really want: to go home.
Read more: Thanks for the welcome, but do you really mean it? |
CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/life/burmese-refugees-in-japan-752414#ixzz12nC6b8K4
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