Maneki Neko
10-29-2007, 11:33 AM
Foreigners awaiting deportation at the West Japan Immigration Detention Center in Osaka Prefecture went on a hunger strike after they were served a menu with added extras including cockroaches, plastic, elastic bands and hair, according to Shukan Asahi (11/2).
"We're not animals," one inmate tells Shukan Asahi. "We want them to give us proper food."
About 60 foreigners incarcerated in the center went on a two-day hunger strike in early October, perhaps deciding it was better not to eat than try and get down what they'd been served up.
Among the unexpected discoveries foreign inmates have made in their meals include cockroaches in miso soup, bugs among their broccoli, plastic wrapping in rice, moldy mini-tomatoes, cooking paper, elastic bands, hair and threads.
Since April, there have been about 30 complaints of foreign particles found in meals served to inmates. The center responded by setting up an inspection team consisting of three inmates, a center official and a representative of the caterer that supplies the center with food.
Things progressed smoothly until Oct. 8, when there were another two complaints of bugs in food. When an inmate pointed this out to a center official, they were told to pick the insect out and eat the food because they had checked it. When the inmate urged the official to eat the food and the offer was declined, a huge ballyhoo broke out that led to the hunger strike.
Center officials are not letting the food problem eat away at their consciences.
"The 'foreign particle' found in rice on Oct. 8 was a leaf flavoring used in a stew," a center official says. "The food had been checked by three detainees and we didn't get the complaint until 20 to 30 minutes after the food had been dished out, so we weren't having any of it."
Caterers are also bewildered by the situation.
"The center is divided into four wings. About 70 percent of complaints are coming from the one wing and 80 percent of those claims are about hair being in food," one of the caterers tells Shukan Asahi. "We supply food to center officials, too, and have never had a complaint from them. The 30 complaints that have come in about our food is an inconceivable number for our company."
The center official says the foreign inmates should just bite the bullet.
"Many of the complaints are about finding hairs and I get the impression that a lot of them are instances where the hair has either fallen in or been placed there. It really is impossible in most cases to determine how they got there," the official says.
Inmates' supporters, however, are adamant that something is fishy.
"I've spoken to the Nikkei-Brazilian directly involved in the Oct. 8 incident and they assured me that it wasn't a flavoring leaf in the rice but a bug," a member of refugee support group Try tells Shukan Asahi. "They said the bug had burrowed its way into the food and they discovered it while they were eating. Is it any wonder why it took half an hour to discover?" (By Ryann Connell)
Mainichi Daily News (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/news/20071026p2g00m0dm002000c.html)
"We're not animals," one inmate tells Shukan Asahi. "We want them to give us proper food."
About 60 foreigners incarcerated in the center went on a two-day hunger strike in early October, perhaps deciding it was better not to eat than try and get down what they'd been served up.
Among the unexpected discoveries foreign inmates have made in their meals include cockroaches in miso soup, bugs among their broccoli, plastic wrapping in rice, moldy mini-tomatoes, cooking paper, elastic bands, hair and threads.
Since April, there have been about 30 complaints of foreign particles found in meals served to inmates. The center responded by setting up an inspection team consisting of three inmates, a center official and a representative of the caterer that supplies the center with food.
Things progressed smoothly until Oct. 8, when there were another two complaints of bugs in food. When an inmate pointed this out to a center official, they were told to pick the insect out and eat the food because they had checked it. When the inmate urged the official to eat the food and the offer was declined, a huge ballyhoo broke out that led to the hunger strike.
Center officials are not letting the food problem eat away at their consciences.
"The 'foreign particle' found in rice on Oct. 8 was a leaf flavoring used in a stew," a center official says. "The food had been checked by three detainees and we didn't get the complaint until 20 to 30 minutes after the food had been dished out, so we weren't having any of it."
Caterers are also bewildered by the situation.
"The center is divided into four wings. About 70 percent of complaints are coming from the one wing and 80 percent of those claims are about hair being in food," one of the caterers tells Shukan Asahi. "We supply food to center officials, too, and have never had a complaint from them. The 30 complaints that have come in about our food is an inconceivable number for our company."
The center official says the foreign inmates should just bite the bullet.
"Many of the complaints are about finding hairs and I get the impression that a lot of them are instances where the hair has either fallen in or been placed there. It really is impossible in most cases to determine how they got there," the official says.
Inmates' supporters, however, are adamant that something is fishy.
"I've spoken to the Nikkei-Brazilian directly involved in the Oct. 8 incident and they assured me that it wasn't a flavoring leaf in the rice but a bug," a member of refugee support group Try tells Shukan Asahi. "They said the bug had burrowed its way into the food and they discovered it while they were eating. Is it any wonder why it took half an hour to discover?" (By Ryann Connell)
Mainichi Daily News (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/news/20071026p2g00m0dm002000c.html)