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Syrians urge Korea to grant refugee status
A group of Syrian asylum seekers hold a rally in front of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in central Seoul on Sunday, calling for the Korean government to grant them refugee status. / Yonhap
By Kim Se-jeong
By Kim Se-jeong
A group of Syrians seeking refugee status gathered in front of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in central Seoul, Sunday, calling for the government to help bring their families here.
Adnan Alyataka, 32, from the capital Damascus, arrived in Korea in January 2012. He applied for refugee status, but does not know whether it will be granted or when he will be told.
His family is now living in Egypt. He tried to bring them to Korea by contacting the Korean embassies in Lebanon and Egypt, but the attempts failed. If he is acknowledged as a refugee, he will be able to fly to Egypt and bring them.
“I just need a refugee status,” he said. “I would not ask any other support from Korea.”
Alyataka is one of 768 Syrians seeking refugee status in Korea. Only three have been recognized so far. The rest have humanitarian status, under which they can work, but are not entitled to social welfare benefits.
Gbran, 27 from Aleppo, said he missed his wife and new-born baby.
“Please help me. I want to see my wife and daughter,” said Gbran, who applied for a refugee status two years ago.
But his chances of bringing his family to Korea are low because he has not been granted the status. The unity of families is guaranteed only for those with the status according to the 1951 Refugee Convention, but not those with humanitarian status.
“These people also have the right to unite with their families,” said Lee Jae-rin from Refuge pNan, which organized the rally. “We are asking the Korean government for help.”
It was the second gathering by Syrian refugee status seekers and support groups here since the refugee crisis in Europe made headlines around the world.
The first was held in Seoul on Sept. 6 to commemorate Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned when his family tried to get to Greece on a boat.
Alyataka said two of his friends who became frustrated with the slow refugee process here flew to Turkey last month hoping to go on to Germany.
“Korea, as a member of OECD, is expected to act, and giving them refugee status would be one good action," said Kim Seong-in, director of Nancen, a Seoul-based NGO helping refugees in Korea.