I'm in the United States for some family emergency, where I've met some amazing people who choose to offer help to a complete stranger. They will be examples I aspire to be in the rest of my life.
Here I'm pretty much tied up with solving family problems and haven't got much time to keep up with the current events, but I did learn about the death of a young boy at the Mexican border, which I guess implies that at least the news is given enough coverage by the mainstream media to inform the public.
Which has not been the case with the death of a Ghanaian in the hands of the immigration officers at Narita Airport, Japan, in March of this year. There were several tiny articles, and that's it. His Japanese wife was offered neither an apology nor a proper explanation from the authorities; in April, some Ghanaians and others, with APFS, marched in protest from Roppongi to Hibiya, shouting "We want justice," which they are yet to receive. Even his body has not been returned to her. A relatively minor journal reports this week that she will file an official complaint later in the month.
So what does this all mean? We have borders and Guantanamoes in Japan, and yet we don't even talk about it. The first step of a solution to a problem is an acknowledgement. We need to remember his death and insist on justice in public.
Which you can do by joining a demonstration to be held by SYI in Tokyo on June 20, the World Refugee Day. The Ghanaian's death and what has (not) happened since then are representative of what goes on inside detention centers and of this country's immigration policies in general. We need to change them if the word justice means anything at all. For the event's details, visit SYI's blog . I'm not sure I will make it as I have family issues, but if I do, see you then.
p.s.
APFS and SYI are different organizations. Neither SYI nor I represent the Ghanaian's wife.
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