The latest #BlackEye is up and atcha!
This month’s piece tackles the question of opportunity in Japan, and how viewing this country as such (or not) might just be a matter of where you’re coming from…literally and figuratively.
Here’s an excerpt:
In my time here I’ve met and spoken intimately with my fair share of non-Japanese Westerners. Most of them were Caucasian, but quite a few were of African descent. Many of these black folk — that is, those originating from countries where English is the official language (Canada, Britain, Jamaica, the U.S., etc.) — initially worked as English instructors in some capacity. However, to teach English is rarely the reason they left friends, family and familiarity behind. Doing so just happens to be the surest way to get situated on these islands.
However, this is often not the case for people originating from countries where English is a secondary or tertiary language. The lion’s share of black people I’ve met from African nations have shared with me that they arrived in Japan, day one, with the strategic intent of owning and running a business here. By comparison, I can count on two hands the number of black Americans I’ve met who’ve expressed similar ambitions on day one in Japan — and I would not be one of those fingers.
There was a moment in each of my conversations with African folk where they expressed some version of a common theme: that of Japan being a land of opportunity — the opportunity to earn money that can then be sent to family members back home to further their prosperity and increase their opportunities, or the opportunity to raise a family in a safe environment, or the opportunity to access advanced educational facilities, etc.
Oh I see, that makes sense … wait!
Japan? Really?
To Read the rest of this article, Click HERE
Hope y’all dig it and share it with your peeps.
Best regards,
Baye