Understanding the impact of migration on children
13 Jan 2017

Understanding the impact of migration on children

by | posted in: JCAP News, Migration, Social Justice | 0

Much has been written about migrant workers and their lives and trials working in foreign country.  What is often overlooked, however, is what happens to the children who are left behind by their migrant worker parents.

How do the children cope with the absence of one or both parents? How are these children perceived by a society that still values traditional family and gender roles? To what extent does migration change the idea of child welfare or parenthood?

Called to be companions, not just problem solvers
13 Jan 2017

Called to be companions, not just problem solvers

by | posted in: JCAP News, Migration, Social Justice | 0

Eka Tanaya of the Australian Province was one of 39 participants in the Scholastics and Brothers Circle (SBC) workshop held from December 19 to 28, 2016 at the Jesuit Apostolic Center in Seoul, South Korea.  He shares his reflection on the workshop, which was themed “Understanding Migration: The South Korea Experience Guided by the Ignatian Teaching Paradigm”.

The day after the last term of my teaching regency at St Ignatius’ College, Adelaide, I immediately flew to Seoul for the SBC workshop. Seoul was my second SBC, after the one in Cambodia in 2012.

The ordeal of a foreign spouse in Japan
14 Nov 2016

The ordeal of a foreign spouse in Japan

by | posted in: Migration, Province News, Social Justice | 0

Anastasia* is from Latin America. A few years ago, she married a Japanese man in her country and in April 2015, they took their toddler son to Japan to visit his grandparents. While they were in Japan, they took their son for a general medical check-up and found out that he had a heart problem. They went to the United States and Latin America for second and third opinions, but could not decide on the best treatment for their son.

The most heart-warming Mid-Autumn Festival
20 Oct 2016

The most heart-warming Mid-Autumn Festival

by | posted in: Migration, Social Justice | 0

The mooncakes might have been hard and the lanterns dim but this celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival was the most heart-warming one the migrant workers have had in a while.

The Rerum Novarum Centre in Taiwan had invited Vietnamese and Indonesian migrant workers to celebrate the last day of the Mid-Autumn Festival with Taiwanese friends at the Jesuit theologate.

Reuniting families separated by detention
4 Oct 2016

Reuniting families separated by detention

by | posted in: Migration, Province News, Social Justice | 0

Seeing divided families is a painful sight and this is often the case in immigration detention centres where women and men are held in separate detention cells. For 25 years, the Jesuits have been working closely with the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) in Bangkok to facilitate the release of detainees and help them return to a life of dignity and freedom with their families. Two years ago, Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific handed over responsibility for this work to the Jesuit Foundation – Prison Ministry Thailand.

Jesuits in Korea and Japan confront ethnic reconciliation
27 Sep 2016

Jesuits in Korea and Japan confront ethnic reconciliation

by | posted in: Migration, Province News, Social Justice | 0

August is a symbolic month dedicated to peace movements in Japan. Seventy-one years have passed since the defeat of Japan in the Second World War, but the dropping of the first two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) are still vividly remembered.

A group of 34 Jesuits, half of them from Korea and the rest from Japan gathered in Shimonoseki, in the west of Japan from August 23 to 26 to heal wounds occasioned by the worst historical relationship between both countries and to search for closer cooperation.

Opening our minds to unlock our potential as a society
22 Jun 2016

Opening our minds to unlock our potential as a society

by | posted in: Migration, Social Justice | 0

This World Refugee Day, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has called for everyone to embrace refugees as part of their communities by providing them with opportunities to grow and contribute to society. This means not only giving them a safe place to stay but also ensuring that they are protected from all forms of evil, including poverty, isolation, exploitation, misconception and neglect.