- W
For 14 years, Biafran refugee Gloria Onyekweli has been in dreadful limbo in Japan. Denied refugee status, incarcerated nearly 3 years and denied the right to work, she’s been in a living hell that shames Japan. Mercifully, Canada has stepped up to resettle her under system that allows citizen groups to sponsor refugees.So, Gloria may soon fly off to a new life in a beautiful Rocky Mountain town where a caring community awaits her. But first we must first raise $25,000 CAD (about ¥2.3 million) for her 1st-year support. After reading Gloria’s story below, we hope you’ll join us in helping to send her off to a new, much better life. Here is…
Gloria’s sad, painful tale… and path to a happy ending
In October 2006, Gloria’s fiancé was assassinated in an extra-judicial killing due to his involvement in the Biafran separatist movement that has simmered on since Nigeria’s 1967-70 civil war . Alerted that the authorities had detained her mother and were looking for her, Gloria, then 26, fled Onitsha, her hometown, and eventually flew to Hong Kong.
Gloria then made a fateful mistake. Unaware that Japan singles-out asylum seekers for shamefully harsh treatment (flouting its treaty obligations), she acted on bad advice and flew to Narita on December 22nd 2006.
At Narita she was immediately incarcerated and eventually transferred to the notorious Ushiku detention center, remaining there for almost a year until granted “provisional release.”
As asylum seekers on release have no right to work, are not entitled to healthcare, and cannot leave their assigned prefecture, they depend on meager handouts from NGOs and church groups. Every two months they must report to authorities who can throw them back inside without notice – as they did twice with Gloria, who spent 30 months behind bars up to 2010.
Since then, she’s been on precarious release never knowing when she’ll be detained again. Living on handouts in tiny, shoddy rooms, through many winters she’s been forced to choose between heat and food.
Over the years she says she’s been through periods of intense depression and “feeling devastated,” sustained only by her deeply held Christian faith. Still, along the way she’s learned to read/write Japanese and passed an elder-care course that should have qualified her to work in Japan’s chronically understaffed long-term care homes.
The first glimmers of Gloria’s current hopes came in 2015 when Irish journalist David McNeill wrote about her plight in The Economist . Horrified by her story, David phoned a Canadian friend (John Harris, me), asking: “I think Canada is the only country that might take her. Do you know anyone at the embassy? Could you meet her?”
When we met, Gloria said she was going to an evangelical church in a Tokyo suburb, but mentioned by-the-bye she’d attended an Anglican girls’ school in Biafra. “Aha, Anglican, eh?” said I. “Now, I see the path!”
So, I introduced her to a fellow Canadian, Christian Howes, son of the late UBC missionary historian John F. Howes, and anchor of the choir at Tokyo’s St. Alban’s Anglican Church. Ever since, Gloria has been cocooned by the love of the generous St. Alban’s community. And when Christian put out the word to his father’s Anglican network in British Columbia, the path led to a church-affiliated refugee support group in the beautiful Rocky Mountain town of Kimberley .
After the St. Alban’s folks helped Gloria prepare and submit her application to Canada there was a long silence as officials worked through a huge backlog to vet it. Finally, late last year she was called into the embassy for an interview.
On the big day, we were all anxious even though no one expected more than, “Thanks, we’ll get back to you.” But the wonderfully compassionate Canadian official surprised us. When she phoned, it took Gloria two minutes to stop crying long enough to blurt out, “He told me, ninety percent you’re in!”
Canada could see that Gloria is a refugee who genuinely fears for her life. As she puts it: “If I’m an ‘economic refugee’ I’m the biggest fool ever because I’ve been in poverty for 14 years. Given the chance, anyone in this hell would have gone home – but I’ve been trapped.”
There are still some procedural hurdles to overcome, mainly pandemic travel-related, but it seems Gloria, now approaching age 41, may fly off to her new life as soon as June. That puts the pressure on us to raise the C$25,000 to support her through her first year.
If you’re a compassionate person who cares about social justice, we hope you’re moved to help. If you’re a Japanese taxpayer, citizen or otherwise, we hope you’ll want to help undo the dreadful oppression that’s been funded by our taxes.
If you’re Canadian, we hope you’re proud that our country – government and community alike – has stepped up to help Gloria. We have our original sins to reconcile, but I’d say this is us at our best. And we will do well by doing good since Gloria’s ambition is to work with seniors in a long-term care home. Lord knows we need more kind souls willing and able to help with that.
Whatever motivates you, we hope you will give generously, ¥1,000 or 10 bucks, ¥10,000 or 100 bucks… or more. As Gloria would say, “God bless you!”
Finally, please share Gloria’s story far and wide.
Important note: If you’re a Canadian taxpayer who wants a charitable donation receipt, please donate directly to the Kimberley Refugee Resettlement Group : www.kimberleyrefugees.ca – and tell them it’s for Gloria.
Gloria’s sad, painful tale… and path to a happy ending
In October 2006, Gloria’s fiancé was assassinated in an extra-judicial killing due to his involvement in the Biafran separatist movement that has simmered on since Nigeria’s 1967-70 civil war . Alerted that the authorities had detained her mother and were looking for her, Gloria, then 26, fled Onitsha, her hometown, and eventually flew to Hong Kong.
Gloria then made a fateful mistake. Unaware that Japan singles-out asylum seekers for shamefully harsh treatment (flouting its treaty obligations), she acted on bad advice and flew to Narita on December 22nd 2006.
At Narita she was immediately incarcerated and eventually transferred to the notorious Ushiku detention center, remaining there for almost a year until granted “provisional release.”
As asylum seekers on release have no right to work, are not entitled to healthcare, and cannot leave their assigned prefecture, they depend on meager handouts from NGOs and church groups. Every two months they must report to authorities who can throw them back inside without notice – as they did twice with Gloria, who spent 30 months behind bars up to 2010.
Since then, she’s been on precarious release never knowing when she’ll be detained again. Living on handouts in tiny, shoddy rooms, through many winters she’s been forced to choose between heat and food.
Over the years she says she’s been through periods of intense depression and “feeling devastated,” sustained only by her deeply held Christian faith. Still, along the way she’s learned to read/write Japanese and passed an elder-care course that should have qualified her to work in Japan’s chronically understaffed long-term care homes.
The first glimmers of Gloria’s current hopes came in 2015 when Irish journalist David McNeill wrote about her plight in The Economist . Horrified by her story, David phoned a Canadian friend (John Harris, me), asking: “I think Canada is the only country that might take her. Do you know anyone at the embassy? Could you meet her?”
When we met, Gloria said she was going to an evangelical church in a Tokyo suburb, but mentioned by-the-bye she’d attended an Anglican girls’ school in Biafra. “Aha, Anglican, eh?” said I. “Now, I see the path!”
So, I introduced her to a fellow Canadian, Christian Howes, son of the late UBC missionary historian John F. Howes, and anchor of the choir at Tokyo’s St. Alban’s Anglican Church. Ever since, Gloria has been cocooned by the love of the generous St. Alban’s community. And when Christian put out the word to his father’s Anglican network in British Columbia, the path led to a church-affiliated refugee support group in the beautiful Rocky Mountain town of Kimberley .
After the St. Alban’s folks helped Gloria prepare and submit her application to Canada there was a long silence as officials worked through a huge backlog to vet it. Finally, late last year she was called into the embassy for an interview.
On the big day, we were all anxious even though no one expected more than, “Thanks, we’ll get back to you.” But the wonderfully compassionate Canadian official surprised us. When she phoned, it took Gloria two minutes to stop crying long enough to blurt out, “He told me, ninety percent you’re in!”
Canada could see that Gloria is a refugee who genuinely fears for her life. As she puts it: “If I’m an ‘economic refugee’ I’m the biggest fool ever because I’ve been in poverty for 14 years. Given the chance, anyone in this hell would have gone home – but I’ve been trapped.”
There are still some procedural hurdles to overcome, mainly pandemic travel-related, but it seems Gloria, now approaching age 41, may fly off to her new life as soon as June. That puts the pressure on us to raise the C$25,000 to support her through her first year.
If you’re a compassionate person who cares about social justice, we hope you’re moved to help. If you’re a Japanese taxpayer, citizen or otherwise, we hope you’ll want to help undo the dreadful oppression that’s been funded by our taxes.
If you’re Canadian, we hope you’re proud that our country – government and community alike – has stepped up to help Gloria. We have our original sins to reconcile, but I’d say this is us at our best. And we will do well by doing good since Gloria’s ambition is to work with seniors in a long-term care home. Lord knows we need more kind souls willing and able to help with that.
Whatever motivates you, we hope you will give generously, ¥1,000 or 10 bucks, ¥10,000 or 100 bucks… or more. As Gloria would say, “God bless you!”
Finally, please share Gloria’s story far and wide.
Important note: If you’re a Canadian taxpayer who wants a charitable donation receipt, please donate directly to the Kimberley Refugee Resettlement Group : www.kimberleyrefugees.ca – and tell them it’s for Gloria.