I enjoyed the Nov. 3 article "Karen refugees snub farm, try luck in Tokyo," but am a bit surprised. I know that many Japanese work Saturdays and nearly 10 hours a day. A two-hour commute on a train to go to work and another two hours to return home is not uncommon. I know people who have done this for years and are well and alive. I am usually sympathetic to the refugee cause, but were the Karen in question better off in their own country? Would they fare better in Europe? In the United States?
Nowadays, if one has a job, an apartment and food, one should be grateful. These people get Japanese-language lessons, work training, a reasonable salary, yet they are complaining? Send them to Europe, if they can find asylum. Human conditions can always be improved, but one should not spit on the food offered.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.