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Essays from Members: Jayson S. Lamchek |
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Written by AFSJ News
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Friday, 14 March 2008 |
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Dying to Survive: The Clash Over the Health Rights of Japan's Undocumented Migrant Workers
Jayson S. Lamchek*
Imelda (not her real name[1]) has myoma in her left uterus. It has gotten so serious, the doctor said, it could become cancer if she is not operated upon as soon as possible. The problem, however, is that she needs 1.2 million yen for the operation, a huge amount which she can’t afford to raise with her salary.
That’s because she is a Filipino with no residence status in Japan and no health insurance coverage. Despite having worked in a packing company in Tokyo continuously for five years, she has only earned a fraction of the medical costs she’s required to raise. Moreover, since she has fallen ill, she’s currently unable to work in her usual job at a packing company which involves a lot of physical exertion. She turned to baby-sitting for her friends’ children from which she earns a very meager amount of about 30,000 yen a month. At any time, she could be deported by immigration authorities; hence, she could be sent home seriously ill. In fact, the very doctor she consulted offered to simply give her a medical certificate and advised her to come home to the Philippines. To Imelda, these possibilities (to obtain an operation in Japan at the rate of 1.2 million yen, or to be sent back home seriously ill) are just as bad. In desperation, she might simply ignore her medical condition (which she has done for a year since her myoma was detected), try to continue earning, and expend herself to death.
*Jayson S. Lamchek is a human rights lawyer, formerly with the Public Interest Law Center. He taught International Law at the University of the Philippines Manila. While studying for his M.A. at the International Christian University, he works as a counsellor at Kapatiran Gaikokujin Soudan Center, Minato-ku, Tokyo.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 16 March 2008 )
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Essays from Members: Carl Renan Estrellan |
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Written by AFSJ News
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Friday, 14 March 2008 |
Sustainability and the Environment: Back to the Definition
Carl Renan Estrellan*
In the words of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), sustainable development is: “A process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional changes are made consistent with the future as well as present needs.” (1)
The concept of sustainable development aims to bridge the gap between economic growth and environmental preservation. In developing countries, however, economic development and environmental conservation seem to remain as two diametrically opposed issues. The demands of the growing population for better standards of living drive nations in the developing world to exploit resources, endanger the environment and push it to the brink of collapse.
The exploitation of resources. The Philippines is profusely endowed with vast natural resources. These resources have been unsystematically exploited to the point that instead of allowing humans to reap their benefits, nature has fought back against their abuse. The Philippines has witnessed an appreciable number of environmental disasters, caused in one way or another by the abuse of natural resources. The flash floods that ripped through Ormoc City in the province of Leyte in 1991, and the more recent landslides in the town of Dingalan in the province of Aurora were assessed to be caused by illegal logging. (2) Commercially valuable logs were washed down from the mountains along with a clutter of debris. The rate of clearing of forest areas is much faster than nature’s ability to replenish the depletion. Clearly, sustainability is not met and in addition to environmental damage, the economic benefits that could have been brought by the logging industry can never recompense the loss of human life. More dangerous and intolerable is the unlawful practice of cutting trees in protected watershed areas where hardwood trees still abound. This illegal act imperils the source of potable drinking water.
Both the passage of the bill on total log ban and the amendments to the existing anti-logging laws for more stringent penalties should be considered urgent measures to be acted upon by the members of the legislature. Illegal loggers and their coddlers should be prosecuted aggressively to the full extent of the law. Their logging permits should be canceled and their bank deposits and other assets should be frozen whenever necessary, until they are convicted and jailed. Legitimate logging companies should be compelled to reforest the denuded forest areas as part of their logging contracts.
*Carl Renan Estrellan attends the Tokyo Institute of Technology as a Ph.D. student. This essay was one of the winners in the 2007 Asia and Pacific Student Essay Competition on the topic of sustainable development sponsored by the Asian Development Bank.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 16 March 2008 )
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Welcome Party and Miraikan Tour for October Students |
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Written by AFSJ News
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Thursday, 25 October 2007 |
It was a night of fun and sharing last October 20, 2007 as AFSJ threw a Welcome Party for Filipino students who arrived this October. The welcome party was attended by more than 20 new students from Gakkugei Daigaku, Hitotsubashi University, International Christian University, Keio University, Nihon Daigaku, Sophia University, Takushoku University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, the University of Tokyo, and GRIPS. Senpai Muji hosted the party at the lounge of his floor at the Tokyo International Exchange Center in Odaiba.
click here for more photos
Before the Welcome Party, sempais toured kohais at the Miraikan Museum and around Odaiba the whole afternoon.
Senpais Save and Muji (of STAC-J) graced the party by sharing their experiences and insights as Filipino students in Japan. They appreciated the Filipino organizations such as AFSJ which helped them get through the tough times. Save moreover underscored the value of seizing the opportunity to learn Nihongo while in Japan. While Muji emphasized the cost of sending back the dead body of a fellow countryman to the Philippines (it's 200,000 yen per day!), the point being that its much wiser to spend time and effort fostering community spirit among Filipinos than caring for each other when its already too late. Most of the sempais who also shared their thoughts agreed.
Sempais who volunteered help to make the party possible deserve thanks from the Executive Committee, viz., Bobet (TIT) who was the evening's master chef and Jayson (ICU) and John (Waseda) who stayed on until the end. Thanks also to Vivian who accompanied the kohais from ICU, and the "newly-surfaced" Hitotsubashi sempais for enlivening the evening with karaoke, Rhea being the new singing discovery.
Watch out for more upcoming AFSJ activities!
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 16 March 2008 )
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AFSJ Calendar |
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May 2008 |
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