Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yuma]

On February 11, 9 people were killed in a fire at the Yeosu Immigrant Detention Center, on the south coast of Cholla Province. More than 40 were injured--many of them seriously. It was a small fire, but the people at the facility could not escape, largely because iron bars locked them in the cells and there was a total lack of safety procedures (something as simple as getting someone to get the key, unlock and get them out to safety).

The thing is, this is not incidental but systematic. There is serious injustice and indifference in Korea toward immigrant workers (especially those from the third world), whether documented or not. This is especially apparent at these "immigrant protection" facilities. Of course, this kind of ill treatment exists not just in Korea but in almost every country where foreign labor is imported.

The point isn't to bash Korea or Koreans, but to show our solidarity for these immigrants and to work for change, in this country where we happen to be living�Korea. We can do that by joining other immigrant workers and Korean supporters at a demonstration on Sunday, February 25, at 2:00 at Seoul Station. The demonstration, organized by the Migrants' Trade Union, will demand an end to the crackdown on migrant workers and legalization for all undocumented migrant workers.

See the Migrants' Trade Union website for posters (in Korean) about the demonstration: http://migrant.nodong.net/ver3/)
For more information, see the following interview with the Migrants' Trade Union. Or see an article explaining the details of the fire, on the Migrant Workers' TV page: http://www.mwtv.or.kr/zeroboard/zboard.php?id=migrant&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=1229.



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Beyond the "Protection Facility", Another Prison
[Interview] Anwar Hossain, Former President of the Migrants Trade Union

Byeong Jeongpil, Reporter [email protected]
February 14, 2007
http://www.newscham.net/news/view.php?board=news&id=38624


With the tragic incident of this past Feb. 11th in Yeosu at the Foreigners Protection Facility where 9 people were killed in a fire, attention paid to the situation of immigrant workers in Korea has suddenly increased. Nevertheless, its been noted that beyond the problem of the lack of human rights of the immigrant workers inside the Protection Facility, the deeper problem is that without any fundamental changes in the approach of the government and their policies towards immigrant labor, there is no way to bring about any fundamental solution. I recently met with Anwar Hossain, former President of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants' Trade Union, to ask about the realities of life inside these Protection Facilities and the specifics of what took place during this recent tragedy.

In May 2005, Anwar became a target of surveillance after stating the goal to move ahead in organizing migrant laborers into a single union. He was detained and then jailed in a Foreigners Protection Facility in Cheongju. He was released on March 26, 2006, when officials cited his deteriorating health, suffered as a result of his time in detention.

Go to the bathroom, change your clothes, and even shower outside where everyone can see

He said that when he first entered the facility, the surveillance cameras where the first thing he saw."There were two rooms, a big one and little one. In the big room, there were two bathrooms together. When you had to go, you could see everything above to here. (He raises his hand up to his chest). He noted that the Protection Facility was such that even if you went inside the bathroom, the people outside were right there and could see anything, so it made it difficult even to go to the bathroom. "The people outside the room could see everything that the people inside were doing. And there was only one shower room. You had to take your clothes off to shower. There were people of many different religions there, but most were Muslims who generally don't take all their clothes off to shower. So some people ended up not even taking showers. His eyes were thus opened to a difficult life where he couldn't find even the most basic consideration for him as a human in his daily life

Not allowed to talk and menaced with intimidation.

Anwar pointed out that an even more formidable problem was the language barrier and the lack of communication. Of those entered the Protection Facility, there wasn't a single person who didn't have at least one or two formidable problems like this. "Language is a big issue. Everyone's was different. There are people from every nation. Everyone in there has a problem of some sort. The haven't gotten their discharge allowance, or their back wages. They enter the facility in the midst of
having these problems. Because of the language problem, they face these problems but can't do much about it. They can't explain the details of the situation and they can't find a solution." If these migrant workers have a problem, if they don't know either Korean, English, or Chinese, they can't explain their problem and can't solve it.

�One day they put a paper with some information on the wall. It was written in English, Chinese and Korean. It was just about some simple things. You can receive a discharge allowance, You can get counsel. Some things they can for you... etc. etc. They explained a few of these things, but they were only in these three languages, nothing else. There were people who didn't know any of these. The majority were like this. When the workers would give instructions and realize that we couldn't understand they just blow us off and leave it at that. There were lots of people who waited for a long time, but it was so tiresome that they just returned to their countries. They never go their money they were owed.�

If you to raise any complaint, solitary confinement

Anwar complained, that given the lack of communication, those in charge at the facility have a very limited ability to properly solve any problems, and as a result, it is very common that migrant workers who run into problems are basically forced to just leave. "They get so much stress. When the guards speak, they use coercion, they get annoyed, yell and swear. In the consultation room, you'd say that you are owed $1000 but then they'd try to force you to accept just $500, but the immigrant workers would budge, saying that they have to get all that they are owed. In those situations, there were even cases of beatings. There is no solution, more months pass, still no solution, you fight back. Hunger strikes. There's nothing you can do but stage a hunger strike. They put you into solitary straight away. They coerce you and put you into solitary. If you don't quit the hunger strike unconditionally, they threaten you with solitary." Without any means to communicate, they couldn't even begin to deal with getting proper instructions, because dealing with the threats and coercion was a daily occurrence.

Asked about the tragic fire,
"They've never even thought about the problem of safety at that Protection Facility"


I asked Anwar about the recent tragedy in Yeosu. Given his own experiences, I wondered what he'd think about this event. Surprisingly, he answered quite plainly that it was something that could have happened at anytime.

"I talked about these things when I was inside. And it became known when I was back outside, too. When I think of the workers, when i think of their safety there, there is nothing done for them. 'People will get by.' There are just two doors. Somebody's locked the keys tied. All areas of escape are blocked to the migrant workers inside. But the keys are in the office. If any problem arises, someone has to go to the office and bring them back and then open three separate locks. But it's not easy to call anyone anyways. When this kind of problem erupts, I have no idea how they could deal with it. I can't even think about it.�

In the Ministry of Labor, there are some who care a bit, but they only look upon the migrant workers with pity. The majority just ignore them as if they were less than human." In this incident, they spent a full 15 minutes just trying to find the keys. But they should have known, they should have given some concern to these people's safety, but they didn't at all, and so this kind of accident happened. A Protective Facility, this kind of place is suppose to protect, but that definitely
wasn't the case at all. It was worse than jail. Being migrant workers, and with no interpretation help, all the different languages, they didn't feel like human beings. They were ignored, as pathetic, poor people."

For Migrant Workers, it's jail outside of the Protection Facility as well

But Anwar wanted to say that there is a problem beyond what goes on at these facilities that must be paid attention to. Outside of the facility as well, migrant workers live lives that are just like being in jail. "It's really horrible. Even for those outside of the facilities, they live as if in jail. They just stay in their rooms all the time. They go to work, and then immeditately come right back home.

They are in a situation where they just can't go out. Then their bosses force them to do so much work. Their wage is already really low, but even after getting all this work assigned, they don't even get the money they were promised. If the worker complains about it, the bosses will threaten to turn them in. This just leads to even more coercion. "

After the implementation of the 2004 employment license system, there was a big push to get the system in to place, leading to a massive crackdown. The pain of these workers, struggling every day just to survive, was palpable. After this 2004 crackdown began, a number of workers killed themselves in fear of being deported, penniless. Some tried to flee in a rush, others jumped off the Immigration Office
building, killing themselves. And now, with the tragic fire in Yeosu, these victims were denied even the most basic of human rights. They are victims of a government that is solely concerned with making sure their employment license system is safe and sound.

A need for the regulation of all migrant laborers through a suitable employment licensing system

Anwar sees this tragedy as a moment in which the necessity for an overall policy reform regarding migrant labor can gain attention. "The employment license system, the prohibition against the freedom to change workplaces, the year-by-year contract system are all problematic. All the rights are on the side of the employer." He
explained that under the current system, the right for contract renewal is totally within the hand so the companies, and if management suddenly decides to end a contract, this means the worker automatically becomes undocumented. In this situation, the single most important condition for survival here in Korea is making sure you don't upset your boss in any way. That means a worker is left with the choice either to work under horrible conditions, or secretly flee. In the end, the majority end up fleeing and becoming undocumented. "If you think about it in terms of the worker, the system and the policies have to give some kind of rights to the laborer. The contract period must be extended to five years, with a possibility for another 5 year renewal. There must be the freedom to move to other workplaces. These three essential rights for workers must be secured in order for this overall situation to be solved. If the current system just continues to go on as before, it
guarantees that further incidents like these will continue and get even worse.�

Anwar said that it would be good if this accident can serve as an opportunity, through which a legalized system of labor could be established, "Unregistered migrant workers need to be legalized, workers must be free to move to a different place to work, and a 5 year residence period needs to be established."

�A system for migrant workers needs to be created very quickly. I think that only then can these kinds of problems be solved." This spirit of criticism is not Anwar's alone. It's the spirit of all migrant workers who come to this land seeking to work and survive, without fear of death.

[W.T.Carl]

You sir are an arrogant, ignorant anus. You are a guest in Korea. Who are YOU to dictate how the Korean Government deals with ILLEGAL ALIENS. If you don't like how the ROKs deal with illegals, GO BACK HOME. IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, and every non Korean who attend such an event should be deported forwith.

[Zolt]

W T Carl.

Please clarify. How is it none of our business how we, foreign workers, get treated in korea? Considering how easy it is to run in trouble with immigration here - see the busan 9 - how can we NOT be concerned by the conditions in those lockups?

The guy writing the last article was an entirely legal resident in korea. His sole reason for ending up hear was to head a trade union (which is legal in korea) and to speak out for it. And as the article stated, many of his fellow inmates were legal workers who had overstayed their visa because they had an ongoing conflict with their employers: unpaid wages, severance or letter of release. They simply could not accept to just give up and go home unpaid. Does that make them as sub-human as you picture them?

Korea is a country with an aging population and workforce, and yet strong industrial and economical ambitions. To achieve these, Korea needs foreign workers more than foreign workers need Korea. There's plenty other countries to turn to - and they will if things continue this way.

[jaganath69]

[Zolt]

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Nuff said

[W.T.Carl]

It is NOT YOUR COUNTY. WHO are YOU to dictate how illegals are treated?
You are a GUEST in Korea. If you don't like it--GO HOME. It is THEIR COUNTRY. You or I or ANYBODY does NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO BE IN KOREA.

[caniff]

Going overboard with the lap-dog act a little, huh? Noone here, obviously, is in a position to DICTATE anything to the Korean gov't.

Does this mean we can't talk about what it does?

[gsxr750r]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Zolt]

Oops, so much for those on E2. How about a 'spousal visa rally'?

[jaganath69]

We all know damn well if you attended one of those finger-chopping-whacky 독도 는 우리 당 we-are-hate-the-Japan rallies you wouldn't be touched. Do something like this though, and that may change.

[jdog2050]

[jdog2050]

[lastat06513]

Well, it is an injustice for what happened because first and foremost, the Korean government is totally responsible for those foreigners detained, whether it be for their safety from fire or even during conflict, the government that was in power when the foreigners were detained must do all in their power to protect them...

But, unfortunate for foreigners living in Korea, any participation in any kind of demonstration will be against any good judgement just for the mere fact that if caught you will be deported.

I don't know about the OP, but I got a feeling that most foreigners are in Korea to work and to make and save money, why ruin all that by participating in what will be an illegal demonstration?

I sympathize with the OP and his ideals that foreigners should be treated differently, but not at a cost that will jeopardize YOUR stay in Korea.

[RACETRAITOR]

Now there's a good troll to avoid.

I think supporting migrant workers like the ones who died is very important. But I also want to caution any English teachers on this board from likening yourself too much to their plight. Their experience in this country is much different than ours, which is a good reason to help them.