Church against the government over inhumane deportation of Filipino migrants

Tokyo, August 29, 2013: Japanese bishops accuse the Japanese government of "inhumane" behaviour towards Filipino migrants forcibly deported because they lacked proper papers. "We question and oppose the forced mass deportation of the 75 undocumented Filipino migrants because we found that their human rights were violated and their welfare was disregarded," said the Catholic Commission of Japan Migrants, Refugees and People on the Move (J-CaRM), a sub-commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan's (CBCJ) Commission on Society.

After taking them from their homes and holding in prison, Japanese authorities deported the 75 Filipino migrants on 6 July. Between 20 and 26 August, a joint delegation of J-CaRM and Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan (SMJ) interviewed the deportees one by one in the Philippines.

The deportees, the two groups said, all need medical attention and counselling. Most of them, they added, were suffering from symptoms of depression like "attempted suicide, insomnia, skin disorders, ulcer, aches and difficulty in breathing." According to sources within the Bishops' Conferences of Japan and of the Philippines, none of the returnees can provide for themselves without help.

All 75 migrants have lived in Japan for ten years. "They have no money to start a new life, or family to return to," the two explained. There are about 200,000 Filipinos living and working in Japan, plus 5,700 undocumented. On Tuesday, the organisations met with key Filipino government agencies and conveyed other findings from their research.

(Source: AsiaNews)