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On 16th December 2021, Ms. Nacken, Deputy Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Japan office, and JISR participants had a meeting at Hiroshima University. 12 JISR participants, including 10 from 5th batch, joined this meeting and discussed various topics such as the reason why they applied for the JISR program, their life in Japan and future prospects.

JISR participants and Ms.Nacken (the 5th from the left)

Ms. Nacken firstly asked the participants about their impressions of Japan and Hiroshima. One of the participants shared that he was surprised only a few Japanese speak English in town, the other added that it is hard even going to shopping without translation app. On the other hand, another participant who have been in Japan longer gave assuring comment to them, saying that the path everybody gets through, no need to worry too much as they would get used to Japanese language as well as life sooner or later.

The participants were also asked the reason why they chose Japan as a destination for their study. Their interests varied from Japanese AI technology, TV shows, novels, and beautiful places. It shows "Cool Japan" helps Japan to be attractive in Syria!

When the question went to their life in Lebanon and Jordan, where they fled from Syria, there were moments when they lost smiles as it reminded them their hard life. However, in the end, they expressed their hopes for the future when Ms. Nacken asked their future prospects after completing JISR program. Many of them answered that they would like to get a job and improve their skills in Japan. Some added a strong will to return to Syria one day and contribute to the development of the home country while the others mentioned a hope to continue their research in Doctoral course.

JISR participants may face several challenges: studying Japanese, doing research work, and thinking about their career paths. JICA will continue to watch over them so that the JISR program will lead a better future of each of them and their loved country Syria.