Welcome to BASE21

By Kim Sun-hee, Asian Workers' News Staff Reporter

On Sunday April 21, at 2:00 p.m. in Jongmyo Park, Seoul, a public assembly of migrant workers, who are insisting on the rejection of comprehensive registration and obtaining work visas was supposed to be held. However, the National Intelligence Service, Immigration Office, and police formed a joint task force, threatening the arrest and deportation of all migrant workers who participated in the rally.

On April 7, about 1,000 migrant workers strongly protested to the Korean government over its deportation-based migrant worker policy. As a result, government officials thought that they shouldnt allow migrant workers to have freedom of assembly and association.

Nevertheless, the Equality Trade Union Migrants' Branch and Human Rights Solidarity for Women and Migration didn't back off. Even though migrant workers couldn't participate, the rally, Suppression of freedom of assembly and association of migrant workers, reflect Korean government, was held on Sunday April 21, at 1:00 p.m., in Jongmyo Park, with immigration officials hovering around.

About 150 Korean workers and students participated in the rally, and three teams were deployed at subway stations and bus stops around the venue to protect migrant workers who didn't know the situation.

The anniversary of the 112th May Day, Students' Solidarity for Radical Action declared that, "Migrant workers have been exploited by capitalists, just like Korean workers.

We will fight against the Korean government, which suppresses the rallying of migrant workers, along with worker and student solidarity."
The '112th May Day participation team, a new world is possible' shouted, "The Korean government has the responsibility of a number of undocumented workers by carrying out improper policies on migrant workers, under the name of the Industrial Trainee System, and now it wants to sweep them away. This vicious industrial trainee system should be abolished. Abolition of immigration control and free movement, without borders, is the right of workers. Victory is ours!"

In 2002, the joint strike committee on abolition of unstable work and gaining the right to work and to live showed its strength, saying that, "The May Day strike should be revived with international solidarity and spirit. We should fight together with the handicapped, unemployed, women, migrant workers and all irregular workers."

Kim Hye-ryeon, a member of the executive committee of the Democratic Labor Party, shouted, "All immigration officials here, get out!" He also confirmed that, "Its a time where we need a strong bond between the migrant workers movement and the whole workers movement."

Under the bright, hot April sun, which glared with anger over migrant workers who never fell down under the oppression of Korean government, we criticized the Korean government for depriving migrant workers of the freedom of assembly and association and then moved to a migrant workers' press conference with rally participants.

At 4:00 p.m., in the big conference room of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a press conference was given by representatives of migrant workers in Gyeonggi, Incheon region, denouncing the suppression of freedom of assembly and association of migrant workers and securing legalisation was held with Korean workers and students who attended the rally.
Firstly, blocked by the joint control of the National Intelligence Service, Immigration Office, and police, migrant worker representatives couldn't help but give up the public assembly with anger and frustration and strongly criticised the government for violating their freedom of assembly and confirmed they will continuously fight until gaining legalisation of their status.

Disclosing their names, Bangladeshi, Dun; Vietnamese, Chin shan doo; Filipino, Mami; Pakistani, Ahshipark; Sri Lankan, Ishaya; and Nepalese, Woodaya; firmly denounced the heartless oppression of the Korean government in the press conference and declared they will actively progress their strike to legalise their status with the help of Koreans. Lee, Joo-young, of SARANGBANG Group for Human Rights, then confirmed that suppression of freedom of assembly of migrant workers is a serious violation of human rights and a sort of racial discrimination policy.

One Filipino worker, Gari, showed his firm will, saying, "We migrant workers are a driving force in Koreas economic development, but the Korean government has tried to deny our existence. It has treated us as disposable things, like wooden chopsticks, and deported my friends while working. We will fight until the end to legalise our status."

Finally, a Nepalese worker, Woodaya, issued a statement. In this statement, the migrant worker representatives disclosed their miserable reality here, saying, " We are illegal stayers. Many employers we experienced thought they didn't have to give us our pay and abused us physically and verbally, without remorse.
Many of our friends were arrested by immigration officials, while leaving their workplace, working, or having their meals at home, and could never come back, so we have always lived here with an incessant fear. Under these circumstances, we are sometimes frustrated and ask ourselves whether we are really human or not."

The migrant workers also added other thoughts and confirmed that the Korean government should take responsibility for the increasing number of undocumented people because of its unreasonable policy on migrant workers, saying, "There is no one who came here to be an illegal stayer. We just came here to work. The Korean government accepts foreign workers, but it doesn't consider preparing visas for them. In this regard, we can't but become illegal stayers. As we can see, the truth is that 80% of migrant workers in Korea are undocumented. Fundamentally, we could say that this situation isn't caused by only us, but by the Korean government.

"We decided to inform the Korean government of our determination. It is necessary for us to find our problems and solutions by ourselves. Therefore, we have had discussions with migrant workers in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do and held a rally with about 1,000 workers on April 7. Even though we have different nationalities and languages, we shouted and insisted on our rights with the same hope. It is the happiest moment that we have had in Korea. During the rally in Myeongdong, we thought we aren't lonely any more, with so many citizens applauding and cheering, fighting. We wished that Korean government would consider our opinions, but there's been nothing. It's unbearable and unbelievable. We've been ignored more by the Korean government than any other employer.
"But, we will never give up. We will never lose this fight. Today's memories will be in many workers' minds and hearts. We will be together to protect and care for each other. The more we fight, the stronger we become. Finally, we thank KCTU, social associations for human rights, students, and Koreans who stand with us and support our fight. We will make sure that we will go this way of fighting. Victory!"

After the hour long press conference, Koreans who held the rally and migrant workers who participated in the press conference got together in a conclusion meeting and declared their continuing fight for legalising migrant workers' status, even though they couldn't hold the expected public assembly of migrant workers because of the harsh control of the Korean government. Korean workers and students determined to be together for struggle against suppression by government.