Myanmar refugees in Japan find adjusting to new life difficult
CHIBA--Language barriers and unfamiliar work in a much different environment are making life in Japan very stressful for ethnic Karen refugees from Myanmar who were transferred from a refugee camp in Thailand to Japan last autumn.
These refugees have been accepted on a third-country resettlement program sponsored by the central government on a test basis. Among them, a husband and wife undergoing work training at a farm in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, said they doubt coming to Japan was the right decision.
Providing the refugees with support from public and private sectors is expected to promote the program.
The couple was among five families of 27 Karen who lived in a refugee camp in Mera, northwestern Thailand, and the first batch of refugees who came to Japan on the program.
They took a six-month language training program and then moved to Yachimata, or Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, in March, which are their designated settlement places.
Two men and their wives who work at a farm in Yachimata had been absent from work for a month from July 2 and just returned to work Monday. One of the men, 37, had been a rice and corn farmer in Myanmar while the other man, 46, was a carpenter.
After living in the refugee camp for about a decade, they are now assigned to do farmwork from early morning to evening using a mechanical cultivator.
They complained that they could not bear the work conditions with only one day off each week. They agreed to return to work after the conditions were improved by increasing the number of days off from one to two each week and also reducing work hours.
The 37-year-old man's four children, who go to primary or middle schools, said they could not keep up with their classes. Although they are given extra tutoring after school, the children struggle.
His 29-year-old wife sometimes shouts at a mountain behind their house to get rid of the enormous mental stress caused by raising children while doing farmwork.
The farm's 68-year-old operator, who accepted the two families, criticized the central government for leaving these refugees who speak such poor Japanese at the farm.
The operator also stated that the six-month training program is too short to acquire agricultural know-how in machinery operation and developing marketing channels.
Providing support to these refugees is necessary to help them live independently. However, as the Foreign Ministry has not made information about the refugees public, citing safety, the private sector has yet to offer assistance to them.
Under the third-country settlement program, third countries accept refugees who would be persecuted in their home countries and cannot settle in countries they have fled to.
The government decided in December 2008 to introduce the program, believing that the process is smoother than that of accepting refugees based on the international convention on the status of refugees, under which Japan has accepted 577 refugees through last year.
As part of the test program, the government will accept about 30 refugees from the Mera camp each year until 2012.
Link: :http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20110806-293052.html
These refugees have been accepted on a third-country resettlement program sponsored by the central government on a test basis. Among them, a husband and wife undergoing work training at a farm in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, said they doubt coming to Japan was the right decision.
Providing the refugees with support from public and private sectors is expected to promote the program.
The couple was among five families of 27 Karen who lived in a refugee camp in Mera, northwestern Thailand, and the first batch of refugees who came to Japan on the program.
They took a six-month language training program and then moved to Yachimata, or Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, in March, which are their designated settlement places.
Two men and their wives who work at a farm in Yachimata had been absent from work for a month from July 2 and just returned to work Monday. One of the men, 37, had been a rice and corn farmer in Myanmar while the other man, 46, was a carpenter.
After living in the refugee camp for about a decade, they are now assigned to do farmwork from early morning to evening using a mechanical cultivator.
They complained that they could not bear the work conditions with only one day off each week. They agreed to return to work after the conditions were improved by increasing the number of days off from one to two each week and also reducing work hours.
The 37-year-old man's four children, who go to primary or middle schools, said they could not keep up with their classes. Although they are given extra tutoring after school, the children struggle.
His 29-year-old wife sometimes shouts at a mountain behind their house to get rid of the enormous mental stress caused by raising children while doing farmwork.
The farm's 68-year-old operator, who accepted the two families, criticized the central government for leaving these refugees who speak such poor Japanese at the farm.
The operator also stated that the six-month training program is too short to acquire agricultural know-how in machinery operation and developing marketing channels.
Providing support to these refugees is necessary to help them live independently. However, as the Foreign Ministry has not made information about the refugees public, citing safety, the private sector has yet to offer assistance to them.
Under the third-country settlement program, third countries accept refugees who would be persecuted in their home countries and cannot settle in countries they have fled to.
The government decided in December 2008 to introduce the program, believing that the process is smoother than that of accepting refugees based on the international convention on the status of refugees, under which Japan has accepted 577 refugees through last year.
As part of the test program, the government will accept about 30 refugees from the Mera camp each year until 2012.
Link: :http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20110806-293052.html
