Workshop to consider Japan in five years' time: Wishes of a high school girl with foreign roots

On Saturday, May 23, 2015, we successfully held the "Workshop to Consider Japan Five Years from Now - Wishes of High School Girls with Foreign Roots"

A total of more than 20 people participated in this workshop, and listened to talks by Sara, a first-year high school student from Iran, and her mother.

Sarah came to Japan from Iran with her mother when she was two years old. Since she has always lived in Japan, Japanese is her first language. When she was in elementary school, she had a hard time making friends because she looked different from other Japanese people, but she always remained cheerful so that others would open up to her.

In her third year of junior high school, Sarah hit a big wall as an "irregular resident." She was informed that she would not be able to take the entrance exam for a metropolitan high school. While her friends around her were talking about taking the exam, she was shocked by the reality that she might not even be able to take the exam. Eventually, with the support of her teachers at school and support groups, she was able to take the entrance exam for a metropolitan high school. Due to financial reasons, metropolitan high school was her only chance to go to high school. Despite the pressure of having to pass, she studied hard and passed with flying colors. She told us that she was really happy when she received the news that she had been accepted.

Now that Sarah is a high school student, she is enjoying her new life as a student, but on a daily basis she feels the hardships of being an "irregular immigrant."

I chose the international course because I wanted to study English, but I am not able to participate in language training abroad...I feel that I have to work many times harder because I am not able to learn authentic English.

Sarah also knows that she will have to pay all medical expenses because she cannot get health insurance. She remembers how her mother had a hard time when she had oral herpes in the past, having to pay 50,000 yen for medical expenses and medicine.

Due to various circumstances, her mother decided to remain in Japan with Sarah even after her residence permit expired. While Sarah grows up, she is gradually getting older and worries about her health and the future are growing. However, above all else, she strongly wants to continue supporting Sarah as her mother so that she can have a bright future.

I asked Sarah the following question: "Being without a resident status must have caused you a lot of difficulties and sadness and pain, but what helped you overcome them?"

Sarah said:
"I respect my mother very much. She is my support."

In the group work that followed, all the participants shared their honest thoughts and feelings about what they had heard from Sarah and her mother. Here are some of their impressions.

⚫︎I felt the strong bond between parent and child. Sarah said that she needed to become stronger in order to overcome this difficult situation, but I think it is Japanese society that needs to change.

⚫︎When I talked to people around me about foreigners without resident status, I was told negative things like they were criminals. I think people have that kind of image because they don't have the opportunity to meet people like the parent and child in this case who cannot return to their home country for various reasons. In order to eliminate prejudice, I thought it was necessary to spread the word from the people around me, even if it was a small step.

⚫︎ Of course, there are problems with Japanese laws and systems, but even before that, there is a problem in the root of the decision to separate parents and children being made in Japan. I think it is strange that something as natural as parents and children needing each other does not apply to foreigners who do not have a resident status.

⚫︎ As human beings, regardless of whether they have a residence status or not, children go to school in the area where they live and adults work to support their families. Rather than excluding "foreigners" from the community based on their nationality or residence status, we must remember that they are also citizens.

⚫︎ I think young people in Japan today have a more flexible way of thinking than adults. I want to tell young people about the situation that families without resident status are in.

At the end of the workshop, Sarah's mother said to us with a refreshing smile:
"I feel so relieved today. I'm so happy that everyone listened to our honest feelings and we were able to exchange opinions."

There was a safe space for everyone to speak freely. We at APFS will continue to work hard to spread this space, even if only a little, throughout Japanese society five years from now.