Africa NOW #113

Issued on 29th February, 2020 by Africa Japan Forum (AJF)«Contents»

pp. 2-11
Special Topic: Living together with Africans in JapanNowadays, Africans who reside longer or permanently in Japan are increasing in number, and so are Africans who make afamily with a Japanese. In addition, the cases are often seen in which Africans organize their own organization for mutual support, operate a company or restaurant, manage various types of shops, or hold an event such as African Festival in Japan. In
response to these situations, AJF started an activity of African Kids Club in 2006. Since then, AJF have continued the activity
for connecting or reaching out to families or communities of Africans who stay in Japan. Considering AJF’s development ofthese activities, the current issue of “Africa NOW” presents special feature articles ‘Living together with Africans in Japan’.
pp .3-7 ‘Mobility and social network among Africans living in Japan: Self-help organizations

formed by Nigerians’ by Matsumoto Hisashi

Matsumoto Hisashi, an anthropologist, analyzed the statistics released by the Immigration Office. According to hisanalysis, it revealed that the number of Nigerians residing in Japan has increased since the ‘90s, their settling-down inJapan is going on, and their cross-border activities are getting active. In addition, he found that self-help organizations
formed by Nigerians living in Japan are also getting active, which continue an activities for connecting to their native
country or state with the generation of their children involved, and consequently, their own network for self-help is becoming more diversified.
pp .8-9 ‘What I have gained and can do as a Ghanaian Japanese’ by Sena VoncujoviThis article was made up based on Sena Voncujovi’s presentation at “Meeting for study and exchange to live together
with Africans in Japan”. Sena Voncujovi, whose father is Ghanaian and mother is Japanese, was born in Tokyo. When hewas two, his family moved to Accra Ghana. Then, he went on to high school in Costa Rica and college in the US. After
graduation from college, he started to work for Ashinaga Scholarship Society in Japan. Now he is doing an activity there,‘African Diaspora in Japan ( Jaspora), to disseminate information on Africa. In the article, he talked about how he had
lived, and emphasized the significance of acting positively as a ‘Double’ of Ghanaian and Japanese.
pp .10-11 ‘My refugee journey, hope for others’ by Oumer Abdulahi Kassim
The article is written, following Oumer Abdulahi Kassim’s presentation at “Meeting for study and exchange to live together with Africans in Japan”. Kassim from Oromia Ethiopia applied for refugee status after he arrived in Japan to gaina training program organized by JICA in 2014. He was recognized as a refugee at the end of 2016. At the meeting, hereported various difficulties he faced during the application period, support from Japanese organizations for refugee assistance, and his efforts to bring his family (his wife and three children) over from Ethiopia to Japan. At the same time, heexpressed his determination to change existing stereotyped images of refugees.
pp. 12-13‘My experiences and African Youth Meetup’ by Miura Ark
This is the sixth installment in a series of “Essay Relay - African Kids Club”. Here’s an essay written by Miura Ark in the firstyear of high school whose father is Ugandan, and mother is Japanese. She found through her experiences that she had beenfeeling as a biracial in Japan since her childhood that she was different from others around her, and had lived in two worlds– international educational environment and Japanese life environment. She started ‘African Youth Meetup’ as one activity
organized by the youth having roots in Africa, and talked about what she thought over through the activity.
p. 14‘In memory of Kalubi Bukasa : A board member of SESCO and a medical doctor’ by Fukao Koichi
Kalubi Bukasa, born in Leopoldville, the capital of the Belgian colony of Congo (currently, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic ofthe Congo) in 1950, came to Japan after graduation from medical school of Kinshasa university. He was concerned with medicaleducation at universities in Osaka and Tokushima, and committed himself to various activities: for instance, in SESCO (Send
Schools to Children of the World), one NGO. However, unfortunately, he died in November 2018. In honor of his activities
and himself, Koichi, a board member of SESCO, talks about his memories of Kalubi Bukasa and association with him.

‘Book review: Shingo Keiko “Teiko no Wadachi : Last Colony in Africa, Western Sahara” ’by Matsuno Akihisa
p. 15

Here’s Matsuno Akihisa’s review of the book “Teiko no Wadachi : Last Colony in Africa, Western Sahara” written by Shingo
Keiko. Matsuno Akihisa finds that the book presents a long history of Saharawi’s (people in Western Sahara) struggle forindependence with Morocco keeping on invasion and occupation of Western Sahara and the international community, andit describes Shingo’s own history - Shingo Keiko has been concerned with solidarity movement for Western Sahara for someforty years in Spain.
Back coverAttachment

Postscript (‘Hitotsu no musubime to shite’ in Japanese) and record of activities
Africa NOW 1131