PUT AN END TO THE "GAKUREKI" SOCIETY WHICH PUTS UNDUE EMPHASIS
ON ONE'S EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Society That Seeks Only Affluence
Everyday Life
When the children of Kodomo no Sato (children's home in Kamagasaki, a town of day laborers in Osaka) meet people from churches and mission schools, there is one thing which always impresses the guests; After a meal, the children voluntarily clear the table and do the dishes. It is something that we all do in our everyday lives.
Of course sometimes they are told to do so, but even small children often do the chores as play. Some wash their socks before going to sleep. For us living and surviving here, everyone takes care of themselves and others in a communal environment. It is only natural that they perform these tasks. We are astonished by the impression the guest always have.
People of many countries who visit Kodomo no Sato all express how happy they are to meet the children. When a person with a dark skin comes, the children ask such straight forward questions, such as "why are you dark?," or "why do you look different from us?" Then, they ask him to join them like this, "Let's play dodge ball" or " Please let me ride on your shoulders." There is no need for them to speak the language. They explain the rules in Japanese and invite him to play together. They also ask his name, the country where he is from, looking it up in the map. When it is the time for him to leave, the children say, "Please come back again."
When physically disabled people visit, the children ask questions like "why can't you walk?," "why are you like that?," even the guest has difficulty in speech. If they don't understand the answer, they ask an adult what the person has said. They also stick to him and try to explain Kodomo no Sato. Every visitor leaves with a smile. There is also a boy is physically disabled and comes everyday. Although he cannot speak at all, the children try to understand him through his body language. They play with him and when he bothers others they get angry with him. They know what kind of situation would be dangerous for him. They will scold him for doing it, and sometimes save his life from danger by sealing him.
I often hear mothers say to their children "If you don't study, you will be like one of them," pointing to people sleeping in train stations or working on the streets. Ten years ago, a group of junior high school students killed three homeless men and injured several others, saying "You are useless to society, so die!"
As soon as two young men of Kodomo no Sato came back from work as day laborers for the first time after graduating from junior high school, they immediately said, "Day-workers deserve more respect than the prime minister. The work is so hard."
The profit-first socio-economic structure of capitalism created "disposable workers" who are hired when they are needed and abandoned when they are not. If they are out of work, there is nothing they can do except sleep on the streets. The children of Kodomo no Sato understand well that they are not lazy and that they have no other choice. Among those homeless, the sick, elderly, disabled cannot get a job and are faced with death. In Kamagasaki alone, more than 100 people die on the streets every year in such an affluent society. These facts are not taught in schools.
During "Children's Night Patrol," which is carried out only during the winter, the children of Kodomo no Sato bring rice balls, miso soup and blankets to those who sleep on the street, who has built roads, buildings and underground waterways, and supported our life, in order not to let them die. By talking with these day laborers, the children learn that among them are even those who in the past held high social status, such as college professors, journalists and company owners. There are also dignified veterans who refuse to receive veteran's pension, claiming the war was unjustifiable. These are people who decided not to lose their humanity by joining a society where people step on others to be successful.
"Good evening. How are
you?"
"Fine, thanks. It' cold here, don't catch a cold."
"Yeah, thanks. Good night."
The children hesitantly say their good nights to these men,
wishing they would survive another night.
A third year junior high school girl gave birth to a baby girl. In her diary, she wrote, "If my mother had an abortion, I would not have been here. I thought of having an abortion, but I just could not kill the life inside of me." The media picked up this story, igniting the debate over teenage motherhood. An author Joji Abe criticized the mother for not being realistic. He said "Can this little mother be responsible for the life of the child? The dignity of life isn't something to be taken sentimentally." Another author, Fuyuko Kamisaka, said, "A person is entitled to be a parent only when he or she is an adult with a certain economic strength." And Toshiro Ishido, a playwright known to have deep a interest in educational problems, said, "They say life is important. But today, people only talk about a person being alive and not the quality of life. That means even senile person should be respected. A child born out of someone who is not qualified to be a parent is same as a dog."
Majority of public opinion is that to have a child, one must be responsible and qualified to be a parent. Being qualified, however, does not mean just being over 20 years of age or having economic means. There are cases of parents killing the children or children killing the parents in upper class families. Parents, who are financially well off, have put their children in institutions saying they have disabilities. There are parents who simply disappear leaving the children behind, or commit suicide killing the children with them. I don't know how many parents are out there who are not capable of responsibilities of parenthood.
In a society where pursuit of affluence and one's "gakureki," educational background, receive undue emphasis, humanity and personhood are often left out as criteria for value judgements.
In such a society, so called "common sense" has given birth to discrimination against those with physical disabilities and those without economic or social power as being unqualified to be a parent and a person with little worth.
Among various opinions raised about the junior high school mother, I think the one by a junior high school teacher reflects what Japanese parents in general really feel. She said, "They tend to think first of how the abuse the parents and their teenage mothers would receive rather than how the young mother can overcome social barriers and make a life with her child. It is regrettable that today's society is not ready to accept such a young mother and her child."
Society is not ready to accept what it labels as drop outs. So parents try very hard to ensure that their children do not become one, which usually means making them study very hard. To change such social narrow-mindedness, I think everyone of us must struggle.
Everyone at Kodomo no Sato helped to take care of the baby of the junior high school girl. While the mother attended school in the morning, adult staff and volunteers looked after the baby. When the children returned from school, they played with the baby like their own little sister. The mother's brother and sister helped the most in looking after the baby.