hankyoreh

an official tries to call somewhere as the victims and their families sit-in at Incheon Airport

Foreign survivors of the fire which broke out at the Yeosu Foreigners' Detention Center in February left Korea on April 11. The fire killed ten foreigners and sparked public outcry about the poor treatment of undocumented workers in South Korea.

There was no one at the airport to see off the 17 wounded in the fire, leaving with their families two months after the conflagration. At that time, here were a large number of reporters covering the accident in Yeosu, but the situation was completely different on the surviving workers' final day in Korea. They still had wounds from the fire, and 10 million won (US$10,700) in compensation provided by the Korean government.

According to memorandum of understanding signed by those wounded with the justice ministry on March 30, each wounded would recieve 10 million won in compensation and leave the nation within 7 days after their initial treatment period ended, but can reenter Korea for additional treatment if they have a medical certificate to prove they have continued symptoms. They can stay in Korea for 3 years at the longest.

"I am suffering from nightmares and my hands shake uncontrollably. I have chronic, serious headaches and dizziness," said Park Cheol-yong, an ethnic Korean from China.

"However, I really want to come back to Korea,'' said Park. He plans to return to Korea to earn money as soon as he gets married in his hometown in Jirin Province, China. However, Park's eyes were red and bleary. "Due to the memory of the fire, I rarely sleep these days."

A number of the survivors have complained of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after the fire, but the South Korean government has not let them receive proper medical treatment for their trauma. Instead, the government had consistently demanded they leave the country as soon as possible.

Ahead of several major national events, the government seemed to want to sweep the Yeosu disaster under the rug. An on-site Inspection team from the International Exhibitions Bureau arrived in Yeosu on April 9 to evaluate the city as the possible host of the 2012 World Expo, and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao came to Korea for a visit on April 10.

An official of the Justice Ministry said on a condition of anonymity that the government inevitably had to make them leave the country because of events which are connected with the national interests.

The immigrant workers' distrust for the Korean Justice Ministry is deep-rooted. They staged a sit-in at the Incheon International Airport for about one-and-a-half hours on their day of departure, urging the ministry to provide a written certificate guaranteeing their eligibility to reenter the country and receive proper medical treatment.

Kim Hae-seong, head of a civic group that helps foreign workers, said, "The workers worry that the memorandum of understanding cannot guarantee their reentry to receive medical treatment.''

But the Justice Ministry couldn't help but accept the workers' demands in a hurried fashion. An official of the ministry, who witnessed the immigrant workers' sit-in, said, "Traffic accidents also are settled by giving an agreed amount of money. They shouldn't protest after receiving compensation."

While the wounded and their families were leaving South Korea, the World Expo team headed for Yeosu. Nearly 20,000 citizens enthusiastically welcomed the team to Yeosu. As the workers were removed from Yeosu under escort of justice ministry officials at dawn on the same day, the World Expo team did not cross the workers' path, nor did the crowd of 20,000 citizens. On that morning, there were no Koreans to see them off on their journey.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]