Saturday, July 17, 2010

Participating in a workshop for practical support for refugees

Hello. My name is Jinno, a staff member of volunteers.


I participated in a workshop for practical support for refugees held on July 17. Mr. Katsunori Koike made a clear and comprehensive lecture.
The workshop started with a case study; three actual cases were presented by Mr. Koike. Participants tried to verify for approval as refugees.

Afterwards Mr. Koike explained if the three cases are in compliance with international laws and domestic laws and how the problems were practically solved. At the end of session participants reviewed the cases.

I was very interested in learning after detailed explanations using application format that certain limits are caused by unclear definitions of refugees in refugee law and deportation and repatriation are strictly prohibited under even in such limits, and there are reluctancy and complexity in application for refugees at immigration office at airports in Japan since frequency of such cases are extremely low.
 
At the end of workshop Mr. Koike was kept busy in answering questions raised by participants until time up.


The workshop helped me fully understand support of refugees although I had no knowledge before. Since the workshop was so fruitful that I would like to further study to deepen my understanding. Thanks to Mr. Koike I made a valuable experience in the workshop which also gave me a chance to talk to people who are practically handling refugee support.