At a press conference after the city council meeting, Elizabeth expressed her joy, saying, "Today is the best day of my life." "I always pray, God, that someone would find me. Thank you so much today."
Elizabeth, who has been in Japan for 32 years, has not been recognized as a refugee Elizabeth came to Japan in 1991 to escape forced female genital mutilation (FGM). In addition, because she is a member of a regional ethnic group called "Biafra," she is at risk of being arrested or executed if she is forcibly returned to Nigeria.
Although she has applied for refugee status twice, she has not yet been recognized and is on provisional release, which restricts her daily life. However, she is devoted to activities to support foreigners detained at the East Japan Immigration Center in Ushiku City. The driving force behind the passage of this opinion letter was the feelings of the people of Ibaraki Prefecture. People who watched the documentary program "Elizabeth: Love in This World" (ETV Special / January 2), which featured Elizabeth, started a citizen group "with Elizabeth". This spring, they submitted online petitions (total of about 2021 signatures to date) twice to the Minister of Justice, requesting special permission to stay. However, since there was no movement at all, in October of this year, they collected signatures (1 signatures) mainly in Ushiku City, where Elizabeth lives, and petitioned the city council.
Yumiko Yanagisawa of "with Elizabeth" said at a press conference, "We are very happy and thrilled that our petition will be delivered as a letter of opinion to the Minister of Justice and the Immigration Bureau."
Comment
Comment list (1)
Is forced female genital mutilation really happening in Nigeria?
Isn't the organization "Biafra" a terrorist group?
I'm sure the Ushiku City Council has thoroughly investigated this matter.
Surely that's not just what he himself testified about?
Please stop being such a "nice guy" and supporting people just because you feel sorry for them.