UNHCR Korea representative calls for more support for refugees

UNHCR Korea Representative Naveed Hussain talks about the unprecedented refugee crisis in the world, and asked for more support from the Korean government during an interview with The Korea Times. / Courtesy of UNHCR Korea

By Kim Ji-soo

One of the first order of business for Naveed Hussain, representative of U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)Korea, after taking office in May was raising attention to the Syrian refugees detained at the detention center at Incheon International Airport.

Twenty-eight Syrians were detained at the Incheon Airport Waiting area for as long as six months and subsequently denied entry. Recently, 26 of the refugees won the lawsuit to apply for refugee status. Permission for two was withheld after they were found to have stolen a tourist’s cell phone.

“We are very pleased that the court made the decision, and the government decided to allow them to enter the country. It was a positive step,” said Hussain, 57, at his office in downtown Seoul.

“It was our belief that the case could have been done in a different way. There was no point in keeping them in detention for a long time and in such conditions ... not very friendly conditions,” he said. He evoked the U.N. refugee agency’s reasons for existence, which is to help refugees and internally displaced people request and receive asylum.

Korean actor Jung Woo-sung, who is the goodwill ambassador for UNHCR Korea, talks with a boy at a refugee camp in Lebanon recently./ Courtesy of UNHCR/ J. Matas

“Everybody knows what is happening in Syria. It is very hard for people to live there. The country is completely destroyed. We just hope that compassion will prevail over other conditions,” Hussain said.

There is a growing awareness of the refugees’ plight as the numbers increase. According to a recent UNHCR report, the global refugee crisis has reached record levels, with about 65 million refugees or internally displaced persons. “That is more than the population of South Korea or New Zealand,” he said.

The crisis is expected to continue in the near future, and the refugee agency chief urged countries such as Korea to do their part.

The Korea chief pointed out how arguments against receiving refugees remain, despite the crisis.

“The refugees are people like us. If they do something wrong, they should be brought to justice. But to label the whole population, the whole group of people, may not be fair,” he said when asked about the spread of xenophobia and Islamophobia in many parts of the world.

The UNHCR office in Seoul plans to increase awareness of refugee issues in the country, including inviting high-ranking officials, such as Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly Clements.

“We want Korea to become members of the ‘$20-million club,’ the countries that contribute $20 million or more annually. It is not a question of money. It is a question of taking leadership at the global level,” he said. Other nations will look to the example of Korea in supporting refugees, he pointed out, adding that Korean individual donors are among some of the most generous in the world, so the compassion exists, he said.

The Korean government has increased its financial assistance — $16 million in 2015 from $8 million in 2014 — albeit it is still smaller than those of comparable economies. Since 1994, it has also granted refugee status to 592 people and “humanitarian stay”status to another 935 people, which also protects them from forcible deportation but provides limited privileges.

There are two important U.N. summits approaching, — the U.N. General Assembly meeting on Sept. 19 that will focus on refugees and migrants and the second one the following day called by President Barack Obama — in which the UNHCR urges Korea to take a more active role.

Hussain also asked people to join the agency’s #WithRefugees petition. By signing up at www.withrefugees.org, people can help ensure refugees have access to schools, shelters, job training and employment. To date, the campaign has gained 350,000 of its goal of 1 million signatures. Some of those who have signed the petition are U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UNHCR goodwill ambassador, Korean actor Jung Woo-sung.

Hussain said he met with Jung for the first time and talked to him about ways to approach the Korean people.

“We cannot reach the segment of the public that he can,” Hussain said.

On South Korea’s program to help North Korean defectors adjust to life here, he said there are positive aspects of how the Korean government embraced them. The refugee agency considers the defectors citizens of this country, he said.

Hussain joined the UNHCR in 1993 and has served in tough areas, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yemen, Sarajevo, Georgia, Albania and Sudan. He said one of his challenging but rewarding assignments was in Bosnia from 1993 through 1996. He said it was the first time since World War II that the United Nations was asked to lead an operation in an active war zone.

“The frontlines were shifting, we did not have access to all places (that need help), our planes (carrying aid) were shot at,” he said. “And it was also a challenge trying to help refugees in the cold, like in -10 degrees Celsius temperature,” he said.

He was in charge of a $200 million program during the Bosnian War, dealing with the logistics of how to help people, such as how to deliver food to people living on the upper floors of an apartment without electricity. He also saw a lot of deaths, he said. His advice for dealing with such extreme stress and stress in general: have a great team who can share the good and the bad, and also laugh at themselves.

“People who can laugh at themselves can reduce the stress, but there is no short cut,” he said.

He revisited Bosnia in 2007, happy that the country was not at war but saddened to see the impact that the war has left behind.

Despite the challenges of field work, Hussain stressed that not all UNHCR staff work in extreme situations in the field; there was also work that needs to be taken care of in the office. “Working for the U.N. is a privilege,” he said, where every country, from SouthKorea, to Nepal can stand up and talk.He said that however there is a price to pay in terms of being away from home and family depending on where one’s work.

“(But) it is very rewarding. It is work that gives some meaning to my life,” he said.