Migrant-support group to provide orientation for Myanmar refugees

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TOKYO, Feb. 22 Kyodo -
An independent organization supporting migrants will provide language and
cultural orientation for refugees from Myanmar scheduled to arrive in Japan
later this year on a resettlement program, officials of the International
Organization for Migration said Monday.
The IOM made the announcement on the orientation program to be held in a
Thailand refugee camp as Japan is set to accept 30 Myanmar refugees a year from
the camp over the next three years as a pilot resettlement program. Earlier
this month, Japanese government officials finished interviewing refugee
candidates for the program in the camp on the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Pindie Stephen, a senior migrant training officer at IOM, said the organization
will hold three to five days of cultural orientation and three weeks of
language training. She expressed hope that this would serve as a stepping stone
for the post-arrival training they will receive in Japan necessary for their
independent living.
''Pre-departure services should be linked with post-arrival orientations. They
should very much be in concert with the receiving community's goal,'' Stephen
said.
The IOM will also give Japan-bound refugee candidates in the camp lectures on
housing, education, and money management, as well as how to deal with cultural
differences.
Established in 1951, the IOM is a Geneva-based independent international
organization dealing with human migration and related issues.
==Kyodo
2010-02-22 23:11:46