CINA

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Evidence:

Seoul, Mok-dong Immigration Office - Detention Center

Following a short record by one of the surveillance cameras in the 5th floor in Seoul's (Mok-dong) Immigration Office where the detention center is located. It shows the preparing for lunch in the left part of the "common" room and the entrance to the biggest cell (right). The person with the yellow t-shirt (12:31:27 he's passing the main gate) is the producer of the stuff, he called "the meal". Some inmates called him "cook" (^^)..

An eye-witness testified some days ago about the conditions in Mok-dong detention center:

"~110 "protected" (*) foreigner in ~200m2 room.
No ventilation. No walks.
No beds -- raw floor and 2 thin blankets for one man. Blankets was never cleaned (1-2 years to the date).
No sanitary.
No chairs. No normal tables. ~50% Protected are eating from the flour. Terrible food and there is no way even to buy normal.
Light and strong noise from 8AM till 2AM. Peoples are screaming in nights because of wounds done during arrests by Immigration Officers.
No working fire alarm system. Only one grates door. (Recently 9 mans died from a fire in similar Yosu "Protection" center)
Total Ignorance of law. No judgment - only "administration" and raw force.
No lawyers. No doctors.
No human rights. And no way to protest -- the open case against Seoul Immigration Bureau is a legal ground for infinitive (until withdrawal the case) detention in THIS room.
Even hitting grates is prohibited. "Use the intercom". But officers are "busy" to answer.
Immigration officers "knows only Korean language", exempt situation, when they see personal interest/profit.

Some of protected are staying in this room months. I personally know 5 and 7 months cases."

* Officially, by the S.K. "authorities" the detention center is called: "protection" center (^^) 

Related reports:  

☞ Mok-dong "Holiday Inn", a.k.a. … (# 1)

☞ Mok-dong "Holiday Inn", a.k.a. … (# 2)

☞ Mok-dong Immigration Terror

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Following appeal for int'l solidarity was sent by MTU:

.. We write to inform you about a tragic fire that recently broke out in a foreigners' detention center in the city of Yeosu in South Korea's Southern Cheolla Province. We hope you will take serious notice of this incident and South Korea's inhumane treatment of migrant workers, which are at its roots, and organize a response in your area in solidarity withour efforts here in Korea..  ☞ Call for int'l solidarity..

S.K. "left"-liberal daily Hankyoreh published in the last days, in connection with the Yeosu tragedy several interesting articles:

☞ Illegal immigrants fear Korea’s detention centers

☞ Illegal workers often consider Korea a 'second home'

(BTW.. please read: so-called "illegal" migrant workers!!)

Yesterday (2.14) the bourgeois daily newspaper Korea Herald also started a series about the conditions of migrant workers in S. Korea:

☞ Maltreatment of illegals shocks Korean society

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What a "surprise": Only 24 hours after the death of 9 migrant workers in Yeosu Immigration Detention Center, S.K.media of the ruling class found out who is "really" responsible for that tragic incident. Of course THE VICTIMS! Or at least one of them.

Korea Times (online version) is headlining today on the top of its site:

"Arson Suspected in Yosu Detention Center Blaze

Police suspect that one of the nine illegal immigrants killed in Sunday's fire at an immigration detention center in Yosu started the blaze in order to escape."

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200702/kt2007021217400111990.htm

The Hankyoreh ("left"-liberal daily newspaper) wrote today following significant article about the inhuman conditions in facilities like Yeosu Immigration Detention Center:

Fire at immigration detention center points to rights abuses
No light, poor ventilation, violation of immigration laws cited

A predawn fire at an immigration detention center in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province on February 11 killed nine foreigners detained in the facility. The fact that foreigners at such centers in other regions such as Incheon and Hwaseong have been complaining about poor conditions suggest that similar incidents could occur.

Two Bangladeshis detained in the Hwaseong detention center said that their room was very dark because it did not get much sunlight or air. A Pakistani detained there said, "The room has no window, so I have not seen sunlight for the past 20 days."

In consequence, if a fire breaks out in the facility, ventilation for prisoners would be quite poor.

Jo Jeong-hwan, an official at the Hwaseong center, agreed that there was no sunlight available for the detainees.

An official of Incheon’s immigration detention center said, "Three sides of the rooms are walls and a remaining side has only a small hole for distributing food, like a concentration camp," adding, "I know it would be dangerous if a fire were to occur." The official asked not to be named.

A report released by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea noted, "Foreigners in such centers are detained in an average space of 1.84 pyeong (1 pyeong equals 3.3 square meters) space per person. Unlike criminal correction facilities, which are often equipped with sports facilities, conditions at immigration detention centers are poor considering the fact that those detained must spend 24 hours a day there."

According to a survey of those detained at 16 immigration detention centers nationwide, 79.7 percent out of 184 respondents replied that they had been forced to wear handcuffs or other restraining devices.

Such detention centers hold people waiting to leave South Korea after being caught illegally staying in the nation. As soon as problems such as passport preparation and wage payment are resolved, these detainees are deported. But according to legal experts, there are not sufficient legal grounds to detain behind jail bars foreigners who have only violated immigration laws.

According to Lee Jeong-won, an official of the Alliance of Migrant Labors, the background of the tragedy in Yeosu is South Koreans’ way of thinking, which holds that those foreigners violating rules of sojourn should be detained without a warrant, he said. In addition, rules enforced at such shelters have no basis in existing immigration laws, said Lee. Rules at such shelters are based on many arbitrary factors and result in human rights abuses, he said.

The Yeosu immigration detention center where the tragedy occurred last week held long-term detainees. Besides Yeosu, Cheongju and Hwaseong have such large foreigners-only detention centers, and there are 21 small short-term detention centers inside of immigration centers. In total, up to 1,410 persons can be held in both types of facilities; currently, 897 foreigners are detained in South Korea.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/190097.html

*****

An editorial in today's Korea Herald about the same issue ended with following sentence:

"We all should blame ourselves for these deaths and the tragedy in Yeosu Sunday morning."

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/02/13/200702130011.asp

Oops~ for a S.K. bourgeois newspaper - just a surprising idea/opinion!!

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2.11: THE LETHAL END

OF THE "KOREAN DREAM"

S.K. policy of crackdown, human hunting, mass detention and deportation is killing migrant workers!

Today in the early morning in Yeosu Immigration Detention Center a fire broke out and killed at least 9 migrant workers.

When I was detained in Mok-dong immigration detention center I already worried about such an incident, because there - also - is complete nothing to prevent such incidents or even to save lives! If something like in Yeosu would be happen in Mok-dong, I'm sure that dozens or more migrant workers would/will be killed!

S.K. bourgeois daily newspaper Korea Times in its tomorrow's edition is reporting following:

Fire Kills 9 Detained Foreigners
18 Others Injured at Immigration Detention Center

A predawn fire at an immigration detention center in South Cholla Province on Sunday killed nine foreigners and injured 18 others, police said.

This is the largest number of foreign victims ever in a fire in South Korea. The deceased were eight Chinese nationals and one Uzbek. The death toll is expected to rise as some of the injured are in critical condition.

The fire started at around 4 a.m. and most of the victims are believed to have suffocated from the fumes. About 55 foreigners were detained in the facility, including 42 Chinese, four Uzbeks, two from Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, and one each from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, India, Vietnam and Iran.

About 120 firemen and 27 fire trucks rushed to the scene but failed to put out the fire early because each detention room was blocked with iron bars to prevent detainees from fleeing. It is believed that the high number of deaths was due in large part to the detention center's floors, a fireman said. The floors, which were said to have contained urethane, emitted toxic gases when on fire.

The Chinese Embassy, which saw the most victims, and the Uzbekistan Embassy are investigating the exact cause of the incident.

``We cannot comment on our position now. We need to further investigate the case and then we will respond to the Korean government officially with the result,'' said Chen Junle, a secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Korea.

Civic groups have criticized the government for their lukewarm efforts in protecting the rights of detained foreigners. Last year the immigration center was criticized for housing 18 foreigners in a room designed to accommodate only 10. But a Justice Ministry official said due to a tight budget and a sudden influx of illegal foreigners, the government has been unable to expand facilities for housing those detained.

The victims were taken to three nearby hospitals _ five to Songshim Hospital in Yosu, three to Chonnam Hospital in Yochon and one to Chonnam Hospital in Yosu.

Most of the foreigners in the detention center had been arrested for having entered into South Korea illegally for work.

Meanwhile, police are investigating the cause of the fire. If it was caused by arson, the government will pay out minimum compensation to survivors and family members. However, if the fire was caused by negligence of the center's staff, the compensation awarded will be significantly higher.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200702/kt2007021117284311990.htm

For more, please read this: 

☞ 창살 갇힌 ‘코리안드림’ 비상구는 없었다 (Hankyoreh)

☞ Nine foreigners killed in fire at immigration detention facility (Yonhap)

☞ 출입국관리소, '분향소 설치 못한다' (VoP, incl. links to several related articles)

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AFTER TWO YEARS OF STRUGGLE:

A FIRST STEP ON THE WAY TO

THE LEGALIZATION OF MTU

Statement Welcoming the Seoul High Court’s Decision Overturning the Rejection of MTU’s Application for Union Registration

- The Korean government must now grant official union recognition to MTU immediately!

- We welcome the decision of Seoul High Court to overturn the rejection of MTU’s application for union registration!

Today, 1 February the 11th Special Division of Seoul High Court (Justice Su-hyung Kim presiding), issued a judgment calling for the cancellation of the rejection of MTU’s application of union registration.  This judgment overturned the previous ruling (Feb. 2006) which had upheld the original rejection of MTU’s application.

MTU presented application for union registration to the Seoul Regional Labor Office on 3 May 2005.  However, the Labor Office rejected our application on 3 June 2005 on the basis that undocumented migrant workers do not qualify as workers, and based on unjust requirements such submission of the name of each workplace represented, the names of union representatives and a complete list of union members.

Following this, MTU filed a suit with the Administrative Court protesting the Labor Office’s unjust decision and asking that the rejection of our application be cancelled.  However on 7 February 2006 the Administrative Court turned down our request, claiming again that undocumented migrant workers do not have the same status as other workers.

We against protested this clearly unjust decision and filed an appeal to the High Court.  Now, after waiting no less than one and a half years, the justness of our claim has finally been proven.

We welcome today’s decision with great joy!

We believe that the high court’s ruling is the outcome of our long and difficult struggle for the human rights and labor rights of migrant workers.  We also believe that it is the result of the warm solidarity of our Korean comrades who have defended and supported us this whole time.

We hope that today’s decision will give new hope and spirit to the 400,000 migrant workers who have been suffering under the relentless crackdown and deportations.

We believe this judgment provides a new opportunity for us to deepen our organizing and strengthen our struggle for migrant workers’ rights.

The road before us is still long.  Right now, many migrant workers who have been caught in crackdowns are suffering from shock and the horrible treatment inside foreigner dentition centers, which are worse than prisons.  They are unable to receive the severance pay and back wages justly due to them.  Those who are sick are unable to get medical treatment.  Instead they are being forcibly deported.  We must struggle with even more determination to end this oppression and win the rights of migrant workers so that we may life freely and safely with the dignity of human beings. 

Now, the Labor Office must accept the Court’s ruling and recognize MTU as an official union.  If it does not accept the decision and instead appeals to the Supreme Court, we will condemn this ant-labor attitude of the Ministry of Labor and continue to struggle with even more conviction. 

2007.2.01

Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants' Trade Union (MTU)

KCTU/Seoul Regional Council

About this important development even the S.K. bourgeois media is reporting:

☞ Court backs migrant workers' union (K. Herald, 2.02)

The S.K. "alternative" media - of course - is also reporting:

☞ 불법체류 이주노동자도 노조 만들 수 있다 (Voice of People)

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 add. 2:

1.24 이주노조 서울출입국관리소 집회 

 Source: 이주노동자방송국

www.migrantsinkorea.net

PS:

On the rally possibly maximally 50 people participated.. But at least 250 riot cops were hanging around there in "readiness"..

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함께 살아가기 위해

1.24 MTU RALLY IN MOK-DONG

The rally near the entrance of S.K.'s main Immigration Office (*)

Before y'day MTU activists - supported by some student solidarity groups, the KCTU, DLP, Da-hamkke.. - held a rally in front of Seoul's Immigration Office to protest against the continuing mass human hunting against migrant workers in S.K., for the introduction of the Work Permit System..

Well, comrade "Hong Gil-dong.."(숲속홍길동同志) made following video about the performance there by comrade Yeon Yeong-seok:

More about the rally:

☞ 1.24 이주노조 서울출입국에서 투쟁집회 개최함 

☞ [1월 24일] 단속추방 반대 및 미등록 이주노동자 합법화 집회

* The Immigration Office includes in the 5th fl. also the notoriously detention center for migrants

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Some days ago I had to check the old reports about our sit-in strike for an article about the struggle of migrant workers in S.K. And - oops!! - I found following, in my opinion very beautiful pictures.

In spring 2004, just few month after the beginning of our sit-in strike on Myeong-dong cathedral's compound, comrade Kabir gave birth(^^) to our new comrade: 우리 오리새끼同志^^ - as you can see on the first picture..

계속 보기...

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단속추방 중단, 자만 동지 석방, 모든 미등록

이주노동자 합법화를 위한 결의대회
    
Rally for stop crackdown,
release Jaman and legalize

all undocumented migrant workers

일시 : 2006년 12월 24일(日) 오후 3시

           2006. Dec. 24.(Sun.), 3 p.m.

장소 : 보신각 앞(종각역 4번 출구)  

(subway: Jonggak Stn, ex. 4)

주최 : 서울경기인천 이주노동자 노동조합(MTU)

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“한국정부는 단속추방 중단하고 이주민 협약 비준하라”

세계이주민의 날 기념 이주노동자대회

(by Voice of People/민중의소리)

(pic: VoP)

단속이라는 미명아래 진행되는 혹독한 인간사냥에 한 겨울이 더욱 춥고 시리다는 이주노동자들, 그들이 한 자리에 모였다.
  
17일 오후 방글라데시, 네팔, 필리핀, 버마, 태국 등 세계 각지에서 온 이주노동자들이 세계 이주민의 날을 기념하고 한국정부에 이주노동자에 대한 인권과 노동권 보장을 촉구하기 위해 대학로에 모인 것... 

Please read the complete article: here!

Another short report incl. several pics you can check out here: 2006 세계 이주민의 날 기념대회 열려.

(pics: http://blog.jinbo.net/chmanho/?pid=83)

이주노동자방송국 has made a long video report about the (nearly) entire event and you can see it here (harrharr../편집: not really..^^)

Korea Times wrote today: "On Sunday, hundreds (^^) of migrant workers gathered at the Marronnier Park in Hyehwa-dong in Seoul to celebrate their day." (*) 

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200612/kt2006121817205910160.htm

And last but not least MWTV (이주노동자의방송) produced a special video for the Int'l Migrant Workers' Day and you can watch it here.

In Daegu 12.18, the Int'l Day of Migrant Workers was celebrated with a small rally and demo, organized by Seongseo Industrial Complex Trade Union (STU):

PS:

In its today's article Korea Times (**) wrote following:

"The leader of an association that represents the country’s 470,000 migrant workers..

..Lee Chul-seung, head of the Joint Committee for Migrant Workers in Korea.."

Aeh~ did I miss something??? 

* pic also by http://blog.jinbo.net/chmanho/?pid=83

** http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200612/kt2006121817205910160.htm