The Japan Ordeal
Two weeks before Alma Moreno and Company figured in a detention and deportation, I was at the very same immigration counter where they were also queuing up to finally get their passports the confirmation stamps allowing them to stay in Japan.
The place is not the best you can have for an immigration counter. Just like the famed string cords often seen on Philippine offices that anticipate long lines of taxpayers, bank depositors or passport applicants, it is also used to divide the long lines into a series of shorter ones to efficiently manage a large number of people in a relatively small room.
When I arrived at Narita Airport it was about 1pm local time as my Dragon Air flight from Hong Kong got delayed for an hour. Our group was already occupying the end of the queue and with the looks of it I will probably take 20 minutes to reach the counter. We were in the waiting line for non-Japanese which is similar to what tourists to Hong Kong might have experienced standing for quite a while when the Hong "Kong Residents" or "Permanent Card Holders" lines have half a dozen in each queue.
The guy in front of me spent his waiting time equally mumbling of the long line and staring at a pocketbook. There were many Taiwanese and a handful of Americans but no sight of a Filipina entertainer, Japan's counterpart to Hong Kong's Filipina household worker.
Along the line, I can see signs in Korean and Japanese but no English nor Chinese. On the other end I saw an African man asking questions to young Japanese attendants and by the look of their faces they don't seem to understand each other. I never saw a heavily armed man on deck for a possible subduing of an unauthorized person trying to enter Tokyo. All I see visibly enough was the elderly guide who shows the people what immigration counter they should go to.
The memory was still vivid. I cannot imagine if one actress or actor can receive such treatment if their offense was allegedly bringing someone who was a last-minute inclusion to the entourage and believing a hoodlum who sends fax as if Narita is going to explode once they are allowed to pass through the immigration. But that's how we see things go in Japan and in other countries. Celebrity or not, once you have been suspected of something sneaky, you'll never get off unscathed.
How embarrassing not just as a respected actress but as a citizen of the Philippines. That's the law. In the Philippines, airport employees from airline staff to cleaners have the privilege to see celebrities first hand. Guess who were the most pathetic fans who saw Taiwanese quartet F4 first land in Manila for a concert. You are correct.
Japan is a beautiful country. But with the history telling us that it used to be our staunchest enemies who brought our elders the jitters and the pains of a traumatic childhood. Remember though that the younger generation of Japan asked for forgiveness for the "mistakes" of their elders and even lavished us with aid, financial, logistics and jobs.
What's important is that someone must know and admit he/she is at fault and avoid same occurence again. Whether it's the Japanese immigration or Alma Moreno's group, I do not know.
The place is not the best you can have for an immigration counter. Just like the famed string cords often seen on Philippine offices that anticipate long lines of taxpayers, bank depositors or passport applicants, it is also used to divide the long lines into a series of shorter ones to efficiently manage a large number of people in a relatively small room.
When I arrived at Narita Airport it was about 1pm local time as my Dragon Air flight from Hong Kong got delayed for an hour. Our group was already occupying the end of the queue and with the looks of it I will probably take 20 minutes to reach the counter. We were in the waiting line for non-Japanese which is similar to what tourists to Hong Kong might have experienced standing for quite a while when the Hong "Kong Residents" or "Permanent Card Holders" lines have half a dozen in each queue.
The guy in front of me spent his waiting time equally mumbling of the long line and staring at a pocketbook. There were many Taiwanese and a handful of Americans but no sight of a Filipina entertainer, Japan's counterpart to Hong Kong's Filipina household worker.
Along the line, I can see signs in Korean and Japanese but no English nor Chinese. On the other end I saw an African man asking questions to young Japanese attendants and by the look of their faces they don't seem to understand each other. I never saw a heavily armed man on deck for a possible subduing of an unauthorized person trying to enter Tokyo. All I see visibly enough was the elderly guide who shows the people what immigration counter they should go to.
The memory was still vivid. I cannot imagine if one actress or actor can receive such treatment if their offense was allegedly bringing someone who was a last-minute inclusion to the entourage and believing a hoodlum who sends fax as if Narita is going to explode once they are allowed to pass through the immigration. But that's how we see things go in Japan and in other countries. Celebrity or not, once you have been suspected of something sneaky, you'll never get off unscathed.
How embarrassing not just as a respected actress but as a citizen of the Philippines. That's the law. In the Philippines, airport employees from airline staff to cleaners have the privilege to see celebrities first hand. Guess who were the most pathetic fans who saw Taiwanese quartet F4 first land in Manila for a concert. You are correct.
Japan is a beautiful country. But with the history telling us that it used to be our staunchest enemies who brought our elders the jitters and the pains of a traumatic childhood. Remember though that the younger generation of Japan asked for forgiveness for the "mistakes" of their elders and even lavished us with aid, financial, logistics and jobs.
What's important is that someone must know and admit he/she is at fault and avoid same occurence again. Whether it's the Japanese immigration or Alma Moreno's group, I do not know.
posted by Unknown at
8:07 PM
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