Topic Index
Author Index
Page Index
Title Index
Main Index
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p. 21
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| Situation | Right |
| a. A young girl is unable to go to school as she must work for her family. |
1. The right to marriage. |
| b. A young boy is sold to a rich man who makes him work in his factory. |
2. The right to own property. |
| c. A woman is arrested for wearing a religious chain. |
3. The right to freedom of opinion. |
| d. A divorced woman cannot marry again. |
4. The right to freedom from slavery. |
| e. A man is beaten by the police. |
5. The right to freedom from torture. |
| f. A married woman is unable to own a house. |
6. The right to rest and leisure. |
| g. The post office reads your mail. |
7. The right to asylum. |
| h. A newspaper reporter is told what to write. |
8. The right to education. |
| i. A girl is forced to work ten hours a day, seven days a week. |
9. The right to privacy. |
| j. A refugee escapes to a second country and is jailed. |
10. The right to freedom of religion. |
[ p. 20 ]
Appendix 2: True Life Stories| Li-Peh: Burma |
Li-Peh hid in the jungles of Burma for three years with her three young children. The military government had forced her village to move to a place where there was no food or fresh water. Her family along with ten other families decided to hide and live in the jungle. While she was in the jungle soldiers found her and arrested her. They used her as a porter to carry 40 kgs of ammunition. Li-Peh was often beaten by the soldiers and was only given a little food. When she was released Li-Peh took her children and joined two other families for a dangerous trek through the jungle to a refugee camp along the border. The journey took her 15 days. Though she is happy to be safe Li-Peh worries about her future in the refugee camp as she has been living there now for three years.
| Alladin: Palestine |
Two years ago, Alladin used all his life savings to pay a smuggler to help him escape from the fighting in Palestine. After many long and dangerous journeys over land hidden in a truck with many other people he was put on a small boat. The boat was traveling to Australia. The boat was overcrowded with many families, there was little food and many people were sick. When the boat reached Australian waters the Australian government arrested all the passengers and placed them in special detention centers as illegal immigrants. As the centers were full, Alladin was sent to a prison on a small Island in the Pacific Ocean. At first Alladin was one of many but the others have now been allowed to leave and live in Australia or other countries as refugees. Now Alladin is the only one apart from his guards on the island, as no country will accept him as a refugee. It is a very beautiful place but he is a prisoner and he doesn't know when he will be allowed to leave.
| Nobuko Kyo: Japan |
Nobuko Kyo's parents were born and raised in Japan and so was she but she does not have Japanese citizenship and cannot vote. Instead she must carry an alien registration card, which identifies her as Korean. There are about one million people with Korean ancestry living in Japan but only about 20% of these people are Japanese citizens. Without citizenship one cannot vote. Nobuko's father studied law at university but without citizenship he was unable to practice. To become naturalised the Japanese government suggests that people change their name to a Japanese name (in the past this was compulsory) and so people refuse to become Japanese citizens. Even though her name sounds Japanese Nobuko has suffered discrimination because she is Korean. She believes the reason why she was unable to get a job after graduating top of her class from the University of Tokyo was because of her nationality. Nobuko has written a book about her life as a Japanese Korean and hopes that one day citizenship for Japanese Koreans will become automatic.
| Mr. and Mrs. Sato: Japan |
Mr. and Mrs. Sato wanted children very much, but Mrs. Sato was 55 and could not have children. They decided to go to the U.S.A and use a surrogate mother. The surrogate mother gave birth to twins and the family came back to Japan. When they went to register the children the city hall said that Mrs. Sato could not have given birth to the children and so the babies could not be registered as Japanese citizens. If they were not registered the children also could not obtain a Japanese passport. The Sato's are unsure what to do.