Looks like there are efforts to help Ukrainian refugees integrate into Japanese society...
I'm conflicted unless they want to stay there permanently.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/08/93675dd4ff0e-japan-recognizes-turkish-kurd-as-refuge.html
Tokyo officially gave a Turkish Kurd who lives in Japan as a refugee. Kinda unusual as they rarely give this status, albeit some from Iran/Syria were also given the same designation.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I think it's fair for Japan to welcome the refugees and hope that a lot of them will want to stay and get jobs. Obviously, as Ukraine's survival as a state is not guaranteed, it's definitely not bad for the refugees to plan for that (hope for the best, prepare for the worst).
The fact that Japan can really use some immigrants about now and has a free pass (internally) to accept these guys is frankly a very minor consideration, since they won't make a dent in the bottom line. But it's a worthwhile investment for the ones who will.
Edited by Ramidel on Aug 10th 2022 at 9:19:33 AM
I remember someone in Japan wrote an op-ed to say this was hypocritical considering the Ukrainian as white, anglo-saxon while the others who come from Asia/Africa/Middle East don't get accepted all the time as refugees.
Although they're sorta improving with the Kurds.
Edited by Ominae on Aug 11th 2022 at 7:26:17 AM
That person is too deep in US political culture of uncritically applying concepts to other situations where they don't apply if they use terms like "white anglo saxon" in the context of Ukraine, but they are making legitimate points nevertheless about the double standard involved.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Here's the op-ed I was talking about.
Naoko Hashimoto, associate professor at the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University mentions even Afghans who assisted Japanese diplomats also had a hard time seeking refuge in Japan. She also worked in the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration and as a refugee examination counselor at the Immigration Services Agency (formerly Immigration Bureau), the latter agency having much controversy like the IB for how it "treats" foreigners who are arrested for non-serious immigration violations aside from overstaying...
Note that the Ukrainians are given "Designated Activities" status, so they don't have generous aid packages unless a refugee status is granted.
Greece searches for dozens after migrant boat sinks off Karpathos - Greek coast guard rescue 29 migrants and search for dozens more after their boat sinks east of Karpathos island. The Massacre of the Mediterranean continues into its what year?
Allegations that some Afghan refugees who were allowed to seek refuge in Japan were supposedly pressured by Japanese MOFA officials to leave.
Not sure how reliable this specific site is, but then it's not the first source I've seen discussing this gulag system: Europe’s Black Sites - December 8, 2022 - How refugees are being arbitrarily detained and tortured at secret facilities along EU borders before being illegally forced back across borders
https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/14847192
Asahi Shimbun ran a story on Mariia Gudzii, a 69-year old woman who got evvaced to Japan with help from her daughter, Kateryna, who lives in Mitaka.
Mariia, sadly can’t cope living in Japan even when her daughter wanted to help by serving her Ukrainian food. She also has a language barrier issue with her Japanese son-in-law and grandchild that she’s considering to go back to Kyiv.
Edited by Ominae on Feb 25th 2023 at 4:41:29 AM
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/migrants-roxham-heartbreak-1.6791113
Safe Third Country Agreement has been changed. This means those being driven to the "unofficial" crossing between Quebec and New York State are not allowed to enter and will be forced to go back to either place, depending on where they first came from (eg if someone from Quebec tries to enter NY, they'll be told to turn around ASAP).
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14862602
A Chilean man is seeking asylum in Japan after some initial complications...
Basically, he worked in Japan as a chef with a Japanese partner. After the earthquake in Fukushima, the Japanese man moved to Australia to try his luck. Basically, he was the Chilean's immigration guarantor.
He got some help while waiting to see if the ISA will accept his application to seek asylum since his family was targeted by pro-Pinochet and left-wing groups in the 1990s.
Cringe but free
New York Times: At Least 79 Die as Boat Carrying Migrants Sinks Near Greece. The boat was travelling from Tobruk, Libya to Italy when it developed engine problems off the Greek coast. About 100 people have been rescued; an unknown number remain missing.
Fennekin
That sucks. (Prays for the dead)🙏
An immigration reform bill went through the Diet.
Here's the major things one needs to know:
First, it will establish a framework to accept "quasi-refugees" fleeing from conflicts such as the war in Ukraine. Japan currently only recognizes people as refugees who face persecution for their "race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." People fleeing conflict are often disqualified.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year highlighted some of the shortcomings of the current system. Japan has accepted some 2,400 people, mostly Ukrainians, as "evacuees," temporarily granting them resident status. The amendment would allow quasi-refugees to qualify for resident status, to work and to receive national pensions. Quasi-refugees would also face fewer hurdles to obtaining permanent residence status.
Second, the bill will enable authorities to deport people who apply for refugee status three times or more. At present, foreign nationals undergoing refugee screening cannot be deported regardless of how many times they have applied, their reason for applying or their criminal record. The number of people applying for recognition as refugees has increased in recent years, and authorities say some people are abusing the law to avoid deportation and stay in Japan illegally.
Third, foreigners undergoing exit procedures will be conditionally allowed to live outside detention facilities, while those detained will undergo periodic reviews on whether they should continue to be detained. Under the current law, foreign nationals subject to deportation due to expired or revoked resident or refugee status are usually held in detention. But incarceration periods can be prolonged if deportation procedures are slowed by legal actions such as applying for refugee status.
Edited by Ominae on Jun 15th 2023 at 11:20:45 AM
Cringe but free
CNN: Greek migrant boat wreck may be Mediterranean’s ‘worst ever tragedy’ with hundreds still missing. Testimony from numerous survivors indicate that Greek coast guards were towing the boat when it capsized, which is, uh, probably not what you ought to be doing with an extremely overloaded and unstable boat dead in the water.
Cringe but free
New York Times: Dozens of Migrants Bound for Canary Islands Feared Dead as Boat Sinks. The boat was carrying about 61 people: 24 have been rescued, while 2 have been found dead and the rest remain missing. Some papers and human rights groups are alleging that the bulk of the rescue operation was carried out by Moroccan authorities, despite the boat supposedly having begged for rescue for 12 hours in Spanish waters.
https://www.khaama.com/belgium-to-review-refugee-status-of-a-pro-taliban-youtuber/
Looks like Brussels is reviewing the refugee status of a pro-Taliban youtuber since he lived there in 2010.
Jamil Qadri pledged via Youtube to support the Taliban and one day to conquer Frankfurt.
Foreign Troper
Well, let him live in Afghanistan, if he loves it there so much.
Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/215674/imee-bare-ph-us-deal-on-afghan-refugees
Senator Imee Marcos (Sister of the current president) is asking on the Afghan refugees who are being resettled on a temp basis based on a request from Washington. This is to get them processed for refugee status.
Philippine intelligence AFAIK is treating this as a security threat due to concerns that terrorists can slip in and assume the identity of an Afghan refugee.
Foreign Troper
The EU and Tunisia finalize a 1 Billion Dollar Deal, designed to fight illegal immigration
https://www.dw.com/en/eu-tunisia-sign-1-billion-deal-to-fight-illegal-migration/a-66249005
I mean, it sounds like he was a refugee from the US-backed warlords, so that might be appropriate now that his preferred faction are in power.
He also had jihadi rhetoric added to his language, which is a no no.
Cringe but free
New York Times: Tunisia has pushed African migrants to scorching no-man’s lands along its borders with little food and water.
The president has rejected reports about migrants being expelled from Sfax, claiming that they received only “humane treatment.” But the president’s assertion contradicted testimony, photos and videos provided by the migrants.
Rights groups have also accused the Tunisian coast guard of abuses against migrants, including deliberately damaging their boats or beating the passengers, even as European countries rush to upgrade the force’s equipment.
The speech echoed the racist “great replacement” theory — popular with the European and American far right — which holds that there is a conspiracy to replace white populations with others. Almost immediately, Black migrants in several cities, some studying or working legally, were evicted, fired, assaulted, robbed or forced into hiding, migrants and rights activists said.
Moldovan PM Gavrilita speaks to DW about the Ukrainian refugee situation.
PS: She's not with the pro-NATO groups in Moldova, but she supports plan to join the EU.
Edited by Ominae on Apr 5th 2022 at 4:38:51 AM