Filipino couple in Japan immigration row seeks gov't help
By TJ MANOTOC, ABS-CBN News | 04/14/2009 8:00 PM
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Less than 24 hours since they arrived, Arlan and Sarah Calderon still have not slept a wink. Arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Monday night, the couple is now bracing for a new life back in the Philippines while leaving behind their 13-year-old daughter in Japan.
Arlan said he still can't believe he is back home in Tondo, Manila after 16 long years in Japan. Since immigrating in 1993, Arlan and Sarah admit they fell in love with life in Japan where hard work and discipline are instilled in citizens.
The couple said they were barely in their 20s when a broker offered to give them tourist documents and tickets to Japan for a little over P200,000. There was not even a promise of a job, a fact which only sunk in when they arrived in Japan with absolutely no prospects for employment.
Like any enterprising Filipino, Arlan eventually found work in a demolition company while Sarah helped out in a shop selling Japanese street food. In 1995 they were blessed with a baby girl whom they named Noriko.
Despite their jobs, the two were constantly worried about getting caught by immigration authorities since they were forced to use the fake names indicated in their passports. It was only when they sought help with the Philippine Embassy to get legally married that they underwent the process of getting their real names back.
The Calderons said they purposely decided to raise Noriko the Japanese way, with the Japanese culture and language as her own. In fact, the child had no idea she was Filipino until the day the Japanese government came knocking on their door to arrest Sarah for overstaying. Only then did Arlan admit to Noriko that they were, in fact, Filipino.
It has been five long years since the Calderons decided to fight Japanese immigration authorities for a chance to stay in the country. Their case has moved from the trial courts to the appellate courts and all the way to the Japanese Supreme Court even as international support for their plight began to grow.
Through the ordeal, the Calderons said they were confident that they would win the case and finally be allowed to stay legally in Japan. They even hired an experienced lawyer who has won refugee cases. Friends, neighbors and employers threw their support even as they took to the streets and gathered more than 20,000 signatures.
The Japanese courts, however, stayed firm in their decision to deport Arlan and Sarah. They also gave the 13-year-old Noriko a choice: go to the Philippines with her parents or stay in Japan but without her parents. She decided to stay.
On Monday the couple finally left Tokyo's Narita airport for the Philippines, seen off by their daughter and a crowd of reporters. Arlan said Noriko is staying with her aunt and Japanese husband.
Arlan said he will ask various groups including the Philippine government to help him in their quest to return to Japan and be reunited with Noriko. He said they are looking forward to a planned two-week trip to Japan a year from now.
But for now, the couple will have to face reality and get accustomed to life in the Philippines away from their one and only daughter.
