I just can’t … The reality of Japanese society as seen by Ukrainian refugees | NHK | News Up

Anton Mikalkov (29), who is evacuating to Osaka, told me that.

Anton is from Mykolaiv, about 100 kilometers east of Odessa, the largest port city in southern Ukraine, and although it wasn’t usually in a conflict with Russia, things got worse after the Russian invasion.

On March 29, the Mykolaiv State Capitol was attacked by rockets, killing 14 people (as of the end of March).

Anton, who has a chronic illness, was allowed to evacuate abroad and fled to Japan with her mother in April because her sister had lived in Japan for over 15 years.

In Japan, which has been evacuated, a group of Japanese language schools accepted me, and everything went smoothly from finding a house to preparing basic daily necessities.

However, it was the wall of words that stood in the way.

Anton has no experience learning Japanese and cannot read, write or speak.

While taking classes at a Japanese language school on a daily basis, I am gradually learning daily conversations such as greetings and shopping, but it is said that Japanese is still difficult. He answered the interview in English.

It’s been 3 months since I started living in Japan. What was even more deadlocked was “finding a job.”

Originally in Ukraine, Anton learned digital marketing skills and started an advertising agency as a venture.

I usually communicate in English and undertake requests from companies in Europe.

Even in Japan, I repeated interviews with IT-related companies to make use of that skill.

“can you speak Japanese?“

What was required at the interview was Japanese ability.

After a few months of learning Japanese, I haven’t been able to reach the business level, and so far I haven’t been able to accept requests from Japanese companies.

I gave up the skills I had cultivated and once considered recruiting an English conversation teacher, but I had to decline because I had to work in Tokyo, which is far from my sister’s Osaka.

As the war prolongs, it is unclear whether he will continue to study Japanese and continue to live in Japan, or whether he will use English to move to another European country.

Anton’s evacuation life is supported by the “Ukrainian Student Support Association,” which is formed by a group of Japanese language schools that mainly accept international students.

The association has accepted 32 young people nationwide so far, and is aiming to accept 100 young people by the end of this year, but it is said that acceptance is a little behind schedule due to the effects of soaring airline tickets. ..

It is said that the Japanese language school actively supports people looking for a job so that people who evacuate later can easily continue.

The first language barrier you face in your life in Japan.

To support Japanese language education for foreigners, the Agency for Cultural Affairs added Ukrainian and Russian to the website “Connecting Hirogaru Nihongo no Seikatsu” on June 30th, where you can learn Japanese for free. did.

This is because there were many requests from local governments that accepted evacuees.

In addition, the Agency for Cultural Affairs plays the role of coordinator when a person who has evacuated from Ukraine asks “I want to learn Japanese”.

A Japanese language class held by the local government according to the needs of the counselor and the goal of “what level to aim for” such as “I want to learn face-to-face”, “I want to study every day”, “I want to study on Saturdays and Sundays because I work on weekdays” We will guide you and recommend online courses in areas where there are no classrooms.

A person in charge of the Agency for Cultural Affairs said, “Since the evacuees have come to Japan from the beginning, the foundation of their lives has been improved, and the number of inquiries about” how to learn Japanese “is increasing. I want to make a suggestion. “

There are also moves to support children who have been deprived of educational opportunities in their homeland.

There is a group that has begun to make videos explaining calculation methods, formulas, etc. in Ukrainian so that children can learn subjects such as math and mathematics without stumbling on the language barrier.

At the “Kyoto University of Education Thinking about Education for Foreign Children”, in order to support the learning of children whose mother tongue is not Japanese, “math” and “mathematics” in five languages ​​such as Portuguese and Japanese I have made a learning video of.

After the military invasion by Russia, we raised funds for the production so that children who had evacuated from Ukraine could learn in their mother tongue, and started to release the Ukrainian version of the video little by little from April.

The translation into Ukrainian is done with the help of international students and Ukrainians who still live in Ukraine.

Remittances also provide financial support to those in difficult situations.

According to Professor Kuroda, for example, Japanese textbooks use brush calculation for addition and subtraction, but Ukrainian textbooks have a calculation style that keeps writing sideways.

In the video, you can also learn how to do long division in Ukrainian.

Professor Kuroda
Even from the teachers of the school using the video, the third grade children from Ukraine could not understand math in the regular class, but using this video, they raise their hands a little in the class. I’ve heard that you can now do things.

Children will shape the future when we think about 10 to 20 years from now, so I think that the country will not rebuild unless we firmly guarantee the academic ability of those children. In that sense, I would like to firmly support you so that learning will not stop.

This time, I hurriedly launched the production of the Ukrainian version and managed to get on track. Therefore, I think there is a possibility that we will be able to provide learning support for children in Myanmar and Afghanistan in a short period of time. I think that the future of children will be determined by education. We really want to think about it as the next stage.

There are windows in each area to support the acceptance of evacuees and troubles.

This April, we released a list of contact points for major local governments nationwide, and this time we will post the updated list again.

I think that there are people who are worried about new evacuation plans, and people who have unexpected troubles in an environment with a different culture and language. If you notice it, I hope that people around you will call out to you.

(Network News Department Akiko Shimizu Soraya Sugimoto Ayari Suzuki)

Saitama City
“Saitama Tourism International Association International Exchange Center”
Phone: 048-887-1506
Hours: Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm (closed on public holidays)
* Ukrainian and Russian are available with advance reservation
E-mail: iec@stib.jp

Chiba
“Chiba City International Association”
Phone: 043-245-5750
Hours: Weekdays 9 am-8pm, Saturdays: 9 am-5pm
* Ukrainian and Russian are supported by automatic translation, etc. (window)

Yokohama City
“Yokohama City Multicultural Coexistence General Counseling Center”
Phone: 045-222-1209
Hours: Weekdays 10: 00-17: 00, 2nd and 4th Saturdays 10: 00-13: 00
* Ukrainian and Russian are being adjusted
E-mail: t-info@yoke.or.jp

Kawasaki City
“Kawasaki City Multicultural Coexistence Comprehensive Consultation One-Stop Center”
Phone: 044-455-8811
Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 am-5pm
* Ukrainian is supported by a translator (window), Russian is supported by a translator / three-party interpreting service (window and telephone)
E-mail: soudan39@kian.or.jp

Sagamihara City
“Sagamihara City International Affairs Division”
Phone: 042-707-1569
Hours: Weekdays 8: 30-17: 15
* Ukrainian and Russian are supported by a translator

Shizuoka City
“Shizuoka City Multicultural Coexistence General Counseling Center”
Phone: 054-273-5931, 054-354-2009
Hours: Weekdays 8: 30-17: 15
* Ukrainian (reservation required) support

Hamamatsu city
“Hamamatsu City Multicultural Center”
Phone: 053-458-2170
Hours: 9 am-5:30pm (as a general rule)
E-mail: info@hi-hice.jp

Nagoya city
“Nagoya International Center Information Service Corner”
Phone: 052-581-0100
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 9: 00-19: 00 (excluding 12: 00-13: 00)

Kyoto City
“Ukraine Kyiv Kyoto Citizens Acceptance Support Network”
Phone: 075-752-3511
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 9pm
* Even if Ukrainian is available

Osaka City
“Osaka International House”
Phone: 06-6773-6533
Hours: Weekdays 9am to 7pm Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 9am to 5:30 pm

Sakai City
“Multicultural Exchange Plaza Sakai”
Phone: 072-228-7499
Hours: Weekdays 9 am-17:30am
* Ukrainian is supported by a translator

Kobe City
“Kobe International Community Center”
Phone: 078-742-8705
Hours: Weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00 (excluding 12:00 to 13:00, telephone calls are available from 9:00)

Kitakyushu
“Kitakyushu International Association”
Phone: 080-6445-2606
Hours: Weekdays 9:30 to 16:00 (excluding holidays and year-end and New Year holidays)
* Ukrainian is available with advance reservation
E-mail: helpdesk@kitaq-koryu.jp

* In addition to the listed local governments, some local governments are currently preparing to set up a window.