Expats upset by secretive gov't policy

By Yi Whan-woo, Kim Hyo-jin

Expatriates and members of multiracial families have criticized the Korean government for keeping them in the dark about the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak.

They urged the government to accurately and immediately update information about the efforts to contain the deadly camel flu virus, saying to date the process has not been transparent.

“This is the beginning of a possible health crisis,” a British man in his 50s said on condition of anonymity.

He attributed the government’s failure in preventing the outbreak of MERS to a lack of a control tower led by health experts.

“We don’t want to hear from the government leaders who are not the experts,” he said.

“I don’t want to hear what President Park Geun-hye has to say. We need to hear from health experts in controlling this type of situation.”

Pheuron Tay, 27, a Singaporean student, criticized the health authorities for being “very slow in taking action.”

According to Yin Boyao, a doctoral candidate from China at Seoul National University, the Chinese are upset with the Korean government for failing to block one of its nationals from travelling to China although he was suspected of being infected with MERS.

“Chinese people are really angry at the Korean government as it sent a potential MERS patient there,” Yin said. “They say Korea exported the virus to us.”

Foreigners also complained that the government is not openly sharing news about the spread of MERS that has killed two patients after being first reported in Gyeonggi Province in late May.

“Many of us actually have no idea what is going on,” Tay said.

“The Singapore government is very fast in controlling disease outbreaks. Hospitals in Singapore are open and transparent in terms of handling suspected patients.

“However, in Korea, I think a few days ago there were people speculating about five or seven other hospitals that might have suspected MERS patients.

“But some of the hospitals are very reserved when it comes to sensitive issues like this, so that causes a lack of information.”

Pham Quynh Hoa, a Vietnamese migrant wife, echoed a similar view. She said the Vietnamese government publicly announced the names of hospitals that had patients with suspected or confirmed cases of measles when it hit her country in 2014.

“As a mother of the two children who get sick quite often, I would feel safe if Korea took the same measures as Vietnam did.”

The British expat said he had to rely on his own sources to decide whether to travel to Anseong and Pyeongtaek, both of which are in Gyeonggi Province.

“I’m worried because my relatives are from the Anseong and Pyeongtaek area where MERS started,” he said.

“As there’s no advice or recommendation from the government, I had to make my own personal decision whether to travel to that area or not.”

They, however, said they are not in panic and instead are closely monitoring the case in a calm manner.

They also said members of their respective communities are keeping each other informed about the situation.

“Expats here are taking prudent precautions,” said Steve Miller, an American who is the host of the Asia News Weekly podcast. He said he lived in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi province for the past seven years.

“Make sure that they wear masks and wash their hands. If they see people who are not washing hands, they are extra careful around them. People who have allergies are now staying at home,” he added.

Sion Kim, 36, a naturalized Korean from Sri Lanka, said he explains guidelines to his customers to prevent them from being infected with MERS. He runs a travel agency.

“My customers include immigrants, students and manual laborers from overseas. And whenever I take their phone calls, I don’t forget to say they need to wash their hands and avoid going to crowded places,” Kim said.

Pham said it is her parents in Vietnam who are more concerned about her health.

“I’ve lived in Korea for more than 10 years and I feel and think like Koreans regarding concerns over MERS,” she said.

“I’m busy repeatedly telling my parents that my health is just fine whenever they ring me and check on my condition.”