Snow and migrant challenges

This is being written this Friday, February 14, 2014. Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Here in Japan, it is a white Valentine's day! Again, from today, heavy snow and winds are forecasted to last till tomorrow, Saturday. Even before last week's snow has totally thawed, more snow will be falling and alerts for all to be careful have been and continue to be issued.

Heavy snow is challenging for all pedestrians and travelers. Maintenance staff is also kept very busy as well as health workers to respond to those in need. Let us pray everyone will be ok and safe, not only in Japan but elsewhere, like in some parts of America, which are also experiencing heavy snowfall and the attendant risks and dangers that heavy snow bring.

Snow is just one of the many challenges facing our migrants here in Japan. Winter, of course, is always a new experience for all who come from tropical countries. This year's winter particularly has been very cold, with much and frequent snow fall. There are Filipinos, however, who reside in "snow communities" in Japan and they experience not only days but months of thick, heavy snow! Their first encounter must have been chilly and difficult but a number have hurdled this cold experience and have moved on with their lives in the mountain communities. A few gave up, now only because of the winter cold and snow but because of many interrelated factors, including the difficulty to penetrate the cold wall of cultural misunderstanding and non-acceptance of foreigners in their communities in Japan.

The number of foreigners in Japan is still low compared to other developed countries. The positive news, however, is that a growing number of Japanese are cognizant and open to the development, to the collaborative construction of a multicultural and gender sensitive society within this country.

Too many to mention here, let us cite the exemplary work of Ms. Kazumi Manabe-san, for example, Special Projects Manager of the Okayama City Gender Equality Promotion Center, who continues to encourage Japanese and foreigners to interact together more often and more meaningfully. Already 70+, she has seen the expanding Japanese-foreigner network, with many inspired by her untiring efforts to encourage a happier community for all, despite so much cultural diversity.

In spite of the presence of many supportive Japanese, it will take some more time, however, to build that much-desired multicultural harmonious society. Meanwhile, foreigners, including Filipinos, will need to hurdle challenges wherever they are in Japan. Depending on the age, gender, occupation, education, class status of the migrants and their location and community in Japan, the challenges can range from emotional, to schooling, language hurdles, employment and economic concern as well as discrimination and non-acceptance yet in their neighborhood, their work environment, even in church.

While foreigners, especially Filipinos, constitute the majority in many churches all throughout Japan, sadly, there is still a very observable divide between the Japanese and foreign community despite their sharing the same religion. Efforts are now being made to overcome that barrier with more joint activities being planned to allow for more interpersonal interaction from now on.

Children of migrants also experience challenges in their play group and in school. They are teased and even bullied for being "ha-fuu ( half) ", having a foreign and a Japanese parent, or for being "gaijin ( foreigners)" whose parents are both not Japanese. There are, of course, those who have positive experiences during their childhood days but a number of our Filipino children are affected by the lingering negative perception of being from a poor society that continues to be unable to take care of their own people. The decades where Filipino women entertainers dominated the migration stream from the Philippines are past over but the entertainer image and stereotypes are still very much alive and sadly affecting Filipino children now trying to find their identities and to find their way through the Japanese society.

Over time, many of these children grow up and a number of them advance professionally and smoothly later on. Unfortunately, there are also those who are unable to successfully tackle the challenges, people who need immediate and sustainable assistance to proceed with happier, more promising lives soon and in the future.

***

E-mail : [email protected]