前のエピソード――Part II Hisako's Note (5-3) Relatives

1.　Visit to Labor Standards Inspection Office

2. The first visit to Brazilian Embassy

1. Visit to Labor Standards Inspection Office

At Labor Standards Inspection Office, they said it was the first request for compensation for a foreign laborer. To make the request it was necessary to submit Brazilian documents of resident registration, family registration as well as birth registration and marriage certificate.

I had to return to Brazil for these documents which I mailed to Tomi-san in December of 1995. It was required to attach a Japanese translation to the documents which was made by the Japanese Cultural Center in Brazil. Tomi-san submitted them to Labor Standards Inspection Office on my behalf.

The application for worker's compensation took nearly half a year after the funeral. It also took long time to open an account at the Brazilian Japanese bank to receive the compensation because banks were reluctant to open accounts for Japanese Brazilian persons.

2. The first visit to Brazilian Embassy

Then we (Tomi-san and me) walked wearily to the Brazilian Embassy where a green and yellow flag of Brazil was billowing. It was located a little got in from the Aoyama street. It was 10 days after the accident. By that time tears had dried out. Death notification and cargo visas wee submitted . In the embassy we were called after waiting a while and led beyond the reception counter.

A tall and handsome gentleman started to talk quietly in Portuguese. He introduced himself as Brazilian ambassador Orlando. "Your son was buried alive, wasn't he? Tell me particularly how it happened. "To hear this, I could not help tears come out but

manage to explain the circumstances. Then the man said, "Mm.... As a government we can't leave the matter as is." And he took up the telephone and called the police (possibly Gumma Police Station) and he continued to hear the circumstances from the police for more than half an hour.

"From Brazil many young people come to Japan. for those people, it is not good that you should go home leaving the matter unsolved. If you have any difficulties, you may connect me directly", saying this he handed me a written note. I thought that it was very kind of him, but I was so tired and at any rate would like to go back to my house in Brazil.

Meanwhile we had to make a list of Kazuo's personal effects (which were coming to over a hundred items for their return by sea together with an estimate of their value in US dollars and submit to Brazilian Embassy for inspection. The items included a cassette player, PC games, recorded tapes, and some pieces of cakes of soup.

As the days passed my desire to complete necessary procedures as soon as possible with ambassador Orlando's kind help became more and more stronger. With the embassy's reassuring support departure formalities, cargo visas, which were usually time consuming, were quickly made.

(End of 6 )