Author Topic: Living in the shadows in the 'Land of the Rising Sun' (Read 822 times)

Scarb · « **on:** December 12, 2007, 12:00:30 AM »

Living in the shadows in the 'Land of the Rising Sun'
AUBREY MAKILAN, Bulatlat
12/11/2007 | 09:30 PM

Having been a â€œBilog" (a term used by Filipinos working in Japan to refer to undocumented workers) himself in Japan for 13 years did not prevent Lian Santos from helping fellow undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), exploited Filipina entertainers, and abandoned Filipino-Japanese children in the Land of the Rising Sun, and until now that he is finally home in the Philippines.

A bilog in Japan

Fifteen years ago, in 1992, Lian decided to work abroad to provide for a better life for his family of four, especially for his two growing daughters who were then three and seven years old.

At that time, Lian was among the many aspiring OFWs who were forced to engage in a risky scheme to facilitate their entry into Japan.

Lian recalled that invitations were sent to an association of handicraft business firms for a trade exhibit in Japan. Instead of giving the invitations to the business owners, some personnel in the association decided to use these to earn money. They sold the invitations to illegal recruiters who in turn used these to facilitate the entry into Japan of aspiring migrant workers who would pretend that they would be participating in the exhibit.

Although the interviewer from the Japanese Embassy suspected that something was amiss because Lian did not look like a businessman with his sun-burned complexion and simple bearing, he nevertheless granted a visa to Lian.

Lian was given a visa under the name of Rodolfo Sola, Jr., the businessman to whom the invitation was addressed. Those who did not pass the interviews, Lian said, were provided by the recruiters with â€œescorts" to â€œfix their problems" with immigration authorities.

From 1992-2000, Lian worked as a house or building painter, nickelsmith, and a welder in Japan. After he developed eye problems from his work as nickelsmith and also as welder and when he got bored of his â€œanti-social" jobs because, he said, he had no companion aside from his tools and machines, Lian decided to look for another job. Lian worked as an all-around staff in a club, doing the jobs of a cook, bouncer, table setter, and janitor from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m..

â€œAko ang unang papasok at ang huling uuwi," (I was the first to arrive and the last to leave.) he said. â€œPati suka sa CR, ihi, lilinisin ko lahat â€˜yun." (I cleaned even vomit and urine in the comfort room.)

Aside from his exhausting jobs, Lian also battled homesickness. He felt lonelier when he was confined in a hospital for a week due to ulcer. His friends could only visit him during their day off, if they had one. Unfortunately, they could not visit him after work hours because visiting hours were limited.

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Scarb · « **Reply #1 on:** December 12, 2007, 12:02:45 AM »

Entertainers

According to Lian, OFWs in Japan usually work in construction, factory, hotel service and baby-sitting jobs. Aside from these, Filipinos are also visible in the â€œentertainment" business, he said, referring to what is known in the Philippines as Japayukis.

Lian personally saw the plight of Filipina entertainers, who included minors, when he worked at the Diamond and Haliparot clubs. Since competition between clubs lining a street is tough, Lian said, women entertainers wore only thongs and stringed bras where only the nipples are covered to attract customers. Other Filipinos work as bouncers and yobikomi or those who call for customers in the streets, even when the nights were very cold or during strong rains.

Veteran-entertainers have a monthly earning quota of 35 lapad or 350,000 Yen ($3,136 at an exchange rate of $1=Â¥ 111.59), he said, and 15 lapad or 150,000 Yen ($1,344) for beginners. Entertainers who failed to earn their quota were scolded by the Mama San and humiliated in front of fellow entertainers. Those who were hired through agencies, Lian said, were given their salaries only after six months to prevent them form running away.

Lian said some Filipina Mama Sans and their Japanese husband would adopt a girl from the Philippines. He said that once the adoption papers are in order, the girl, frequently a minor, has to work in the Mama Sanâ€™s club for three years. The girl could only work outside the club after her â€œcontract."

â€œDapat madiskarte, game lumabas, makarinyo," (She should be shrewd, willing to go out, and flirtatious.) Lian said, as he described how the girl should act to earn money from tips.

Some single parent Filipinas, who were abandoned by their Japanese partners, also work in clubs on a part-time basis, Lian said. They usually work at the club after their working hours in factories, Lian added.

Some Filipinas, Lian said, resort to marrying or living in with old well-off Japanese men to survive in Japan.

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Scarb · « **Reply #2 on:** December 12, 2007, 12:04:35 AM »

Organizing OFWs

Although Lian had his own problems and is also trying to earn a living in Japan, he still found time to help other Filipinos who encounter problems or run into trouble in Japan. Helping others is not new to Lian. Before working abroad, Lian was the vice president of the Food Terminal, Inc. (FTI)â€™s union, the Nagkakaisang Bisig ng Manggagawa sa FTI (NBMFTI or United Strength of Workers of FTI) which is under the militant federation the Association of Democratic Labor Organizations-Kilusang Mayo Uno (ADLO-KMU).

While in Japan, Lian became an active member-organizer of the Kapisanan ng mga Filipinong Nagkakaisa (KAFIN or Association of United Filipinos) and Migrante-Japan, member organizations of the OFW alliance Migrante International.

During his free time every Monday and Tuesday, especially during the lean season from February to May, Lian discussed migrant concerns with club girls. To be able to reach out to Filipina entertainers from other clubs, he even sometimes asked his Japanese friends to accompany him.

He said that Filipina entertainers could easily relate to the problems and concerns he discussed with them but are too busy to allot time for migrant organizing work. The spare time the entertainers have, Lian said, they use for other jobs.

Among the concerns usually expressed by Filipina entertainers is their fear of getting pregnant. While pregnant, the entertainer had to stop working and would have no means to pay her bills and rent. She would be in a worse state if the Japanese father abandons her child or refuses to give support. Women, in this situation usually seek the help of Migrante-Japan.

Migrante-Japan, with the help of allied Filipino migrant groups, provides temporary shelter and coordinates with public hospitals and other non-government organizations to access free health services for the entertainer until she delivered her baby. Often, Filipina entertainers who get impregnated receive negative comments from hospital workers such as, â€œnagpapabuntis lang sa Hapon para manatili sa Japan," (You purposely got impregnated from a Japanese man so you would be allowed to stay and work in Japan.) said Lian.

After giving birth, these women would have to go back to the club to work not only for themselves and families in the Philippines, but also for their newborn. Migrante-Japan said that children of Filipinas from Japanese men could be given visas if the fathers recognize them in paper. If the child is immediately recognized by the Japanese father before birth, s/he would automatically become a Japanese citizen. If the child was recognized after birth, s/he becomes a â€œtaiji ninchi." Ninchi children could choose their preferred nationality when they reach the legal age of 18.

If the parents of a child are Bilogs, Migrante-Japan said, the child remains a bilog even though s/he was born in Japan, and thus, could be arrested and deported anytime.

According to the Commission on Overseas Filipinos, of the 258,977 Filipinos in Japan, 30,700 are considered irregulars or "Bilog" as of December 2006 despite the countryâ€™s stricter policies in accepting entertainers. Migrante-Japan and KAFIN are campaigning for the granting of special permits to stay in Japan for Bilog children.

KAFIN and Migrante-Japan also help solicit plane tickets for jailed OFWs who are being deported.

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Scarb · « **Reply #3 on:** December 12, 2007, 12:06:15 AM »

Struggle back home

After several performers at the Expo 2005 Aichi in Japan failed to return to the Philippines after the event, a crackdown on undocumented workers in Japan followed suit and Lian was among those arrested in December 2005. Through the help of Migrante and its network groups in Japan, he stayed in jail only for five days. An undocumented worker who is arrested usually stays in jail for up to four months while the papers are being processed. In jail, he saw OFWs who were crying. â€œUmiiyak sila kasi hindi â€˜yun â€˜yung expectations nila, hindi pa sila prepared umuwi dahil wala pa silang ipon," (They were crying because they didnâ€™t expect to be caught so soon. They were not yet prepared to go home because they had no savings yet.) he said.

Back in the Philippines, Lian continued helping OFWs and their families through Migrante International, taking the position of deputy secretary general.

Recently, a former Pinay entertainer who was deported in the Philippines together with her child, who was born out of wedlock with a Japanese, sought Migranteâ€™s help. Her daughter is already 14 years old, has never met her father and has not received any support from him. Lian accompanied them to the Japanese Embassy in Manila. But Lian said, an Embassy official told them that they only process visas for those who want to go to Japan and do not intervene in family problems.

Meanwhile, in a gathering of Japanese-Filipino children in Pasay City in September, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel, Jr. called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to take the initiative to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the Japanese government to address the plight of Filipino children who have been left behind by their Japanese fathers.

"It is better to immediately raise this issue as a concern of the government of the Philippines by directly talking with the foreign office of Japan and suggesting that we should have some agreement to help these children of Japanese parents in the Philippines," said Pimentel, noting that there are about 200,000 "abandoned" children of Japanese parentage sometimes called "Japinoys" or â€œJapino."

He promised to help those in the gathering secure the necessary papers with the National Statistics Office (NSO) to establish their birth and nationality since, he said, they are considered Filipino citizens under Philippine laws because their mothers are Filipinos. -

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swakee · « **Reply #4 on:** December 12, 2007, 01:29:12 PM »

Hala thanks kaau ani Blue... diha baya koy gikasakay nga mga pinay sa japan airlines adtong march... mga sexy sila kaau & ingon sila nako daku daw ilang sueldo...

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Author Topic: Living in the shadows in the 'Land of the Rising Sun' (Read 822 times)

Scarb

Living in the shadows in the 'Land of the Rising Sun'

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Scarb

Re: Living in the shadows in the 'Land of the Rising Sun'

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Re: Living in the shadows in the 'Land of the Rising Sun'

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Re: Living in the shadows in the 'Land of the Rising Sun'