5/24(목)-Maltreatment of migrant workers tends to feed anti-Korea sentiment

[sugarpowder]

5/24(목)-Maltreatment of migrant workers tends to feed anti-Korea sentiment

Commenting on the recent case of suspected arson at an immigrant detention facility in Yeosu, a 68-year-old Korean-Chinese woman identified only as Yeo said, "What that person did is understandable. Even I could be tempted to perpetrate such an act. You can easily go crazy if you are held in that facility for a month or two. Imagine what could happen if you are held there for years." She said that she stayed in Korea for 15 years as an illegal immigrant. She was caught in 1995 and forced out of the country. She was held under appalling circumstances in a locked detention center for two months, and remained handcuffed until she boarded the plane leaving Korea.

Many migrant workers have a similar tale to tell. Some form hard-line labor unions or turn to crime while in Korea, or become anti-Korea activists after returning to their countries.

Most come determined to endure all hardships, including insults and hard work. But when they are forced out of the country without getting paid for their work, all they feel is deep resentment. There has been a sharp increase in the number of felonies perpetrated by migrant workers.

 The anger of migrant workers toward Koreans, who treat them with contempt, has grown. In some areas, migrant workers from Vietnam stage strikes. There have been moves to form labor unions. Many deportees have become hard-line anti-Korea activists. A few years ago, Nepalese workers who had been in Korea distributed 12-page calendars containing photographs of those forced to return home after being injured or beaten while working in Korea, to make these atrocities known throughout the world.

In a pamphlet printed in Vietnam for job-seekers considering work in Korea, sentences in Korean such as "Why do you beat me? I am a human like you. I will report this to the police." are included.

However, most Korean employers still treat migrant workers inhumanly, exploiting their disadvantaged positions. A migrant worker holding a work permit cannot switch jobs without the previous employer's consent. Many employers delay paying wages and do not help workers get compensation for injuries suffered at work.

Han Gwang-sook, an official at the Indonesian Migrant Workers Center Korea, said, "Some Korean employers are using more cunning tactics day by day against migrant workers."

 The tactics include making it impossible for migrant workers to move to other workplaces, making them work beyond the statutory work hours, and making abusive remarks or when they try to protest against inhuman treatment.

 Their real tragedy is that they are trapped here. A Filipina worker identified only as "S" said, in tears, "I am the only hope for my family. I must provide for my kid brothers and sisters. Korea is my last resort."

 She said she is still waiting for a reply to a petition she submitted to authorities after she was verbally abused and her wages with held in a sock factory in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul.