Medium post 1
As the terms suggest, mutual aid is the helping between people in a collective way. One form of mutual aid we have study about so far in this course can be found in the Zainichi Korean community (Koreans living in Japan). As seen in Kang’s memoir, Zainichi Korean faces challenges and discrimination in Japan. When Japan lost the war, many were hoping to return to Korea, but only to have their dream shattered by the Korean war. With no choice, people stayed in Japan and endured ethnic discrimination. (Kang 271) As people living at the lowest part of the social ladder, Koreans in Japan formed their community and provide help to each other. When Kang moved to a new community as a kid, he felt alone like being trapped on a “remote island”. Despite Kang being born and raised in Japan, he had trouble fitting into Japanese society. (Kang 272) Amidst the harsh unfair treatment against them, the Zainichi Korean community showcases a form of mutual help between people for their survival. Moving forward in time, we see the protest of these communities against the government on unfair treatment, like the Fingerprinting Refusal Movement in the 80s. Mutual aid forms when there are a group of people sharing the same goal, situation, and need.
One group of people who could use this example to alleviate their precarity is the Burakumin community in Japan. Burakumin is to describe the Japanese people with occupations that were seen as unclean during the feudal era. Although the Burakumin status was abolished after the Meiji Restoration, descendants of these people still experience discrimination in Japan these days. Similar to the Zainichi Korean, these people are at the bottom of the society, living in ghettos, and are poorly paid. A form of mutual aid like the one demonstrated by the Zainichi Korean can be adopted here. If these people work together and make their voices heard, they could bring attention to their situation and exert pressure on the government to act in response. Like how the Koreans were able to get rid of the fingerprinting law, I believe Burakumin could stop the unfair treatment they are facing if they unite together.
