CINA

본문

Almost one month ago Wol-san Liem, MTU's Int'l Solidarity Coordinator wrote the article "The Migrant Workers’ Struggle in South Korea and International Solidarity". One day later it was published in the U.S. based Immigrant Solidarity Network.  Last week (2.29) the Austrian no-racism.net re-published the text. But only because LabourStart published y'day a link to no-racism.net the - in my opinion - significant article got (a kind of international) attention(*)..

The Migrant Workers’ Struggle in South Korea and International Solidarity

by Wol-san Liem, International Solidarity Coordinator, Migrants’ Trade Union

February 9, 2008

1. Introduction

As the issue of immigration has come to center stage in policy debate in the United States over the last several years, grassroots organizations, NGOs and labor unions have put forth strong calls for increased rights form immigrants, pathways to citizenship and an end to raids and deportations. While organizing, public education and lobbying efforts have been lively, however, as with many movements in the U.S., discussion of the issue’s international dimension has been relatively lacking. In fact, the issues of immigration policy reform and undocumented immigrants/migrants are central to countries across Europe and Asia. At the same time struggles against raids and deportations and for immigrant/migrant workers’ labor and human rights are growing in many of these countries. Of these, the struggle in South Korea is significant for the central role played by undocumented migrant workers organizing as part of the labor movement.

The purpose of this article is to introduce the U.S. immigrant rights movement to the migrant workers movement in South Korea. It focuses on the development and current work of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union, a union build by and for migrant workers regardless of visa status, whose entire leadership is made up of undocumented migrant workers. It also covers the heavy government repression against MTU and ends with a call for solidarity actions in timing with the commemoration of a tragic detention center fire in February of last year and, more widely, greater international solidarity in the immigrant/migrant workers movement worldwide...

The complete text you can read here:

http://no-racism.net/article/2461/

* There is one point, I really don't understand: Why we must read stuff like that just by chance - for example in LabourStart (well, of course it's THE place "Where trade unionists start their day on the net"^^)? And about one month after it was released the first time?
In my opinion MTU's web site should be THE main tool for people/activists (across the world!!) who are interested in the struggle of migrant workers in S.K.!
But it means that there should be regularly updatings, at least once a week, about MTU's activities.. And because the fact that only a very tiny minority outside Korea can read and understand Hangeul.. it may be somewhat helpful if the news, etc.. would be published in ENGLISH!!?? Hmm~ that's just my (likely stupid?) idea!!