Airlift of Koreans from Cairo Airport causes dispute

By Lee Hyo-sik

The handling of the evacuation of Korean nationals from Egypt by the Korean Embassy there, at the height of the civil unrest, has prompted criticism. Some travelers are accusing the government of failing to adequately respond to the needs of those stranded at Cairo International Airport.

But other people and embassy officials are dismissing such claims. They argue Korea’s diplomatic mission in Egypt did everything it could for Korean nationals who had to spend several days at the airport before leaving the country.

Abandoned at airport?

Hundreds of Koreans residing in Egypt and travelers rushed to Cairo International Airport late January and early February.

But most had to stay there for several days, unable to secure airplane tickets. Many slept on the floor, and lived on water and other basic necessities provided by their respective embassy officials until flights were available.

On Feb. 3, one Korean traveler at the airport posted a series of messages on Twitter, which were critical of the Korean Embassy officials, creating a controversy of whether Korean citizens were mistreated or not.

Park Ye-won posted messages on her Twitter account (@moonlightyw), saying “I have been sleeping in the open at Cairo International Airport for three days. I’m hungry. I have seen Chinese, Japanese and American ambassadors stay all night with their fellow citizens at the airport. But I have not witnessed such a thing under the Korean flag.”

She also wrote that Japanese and Chinese travelers received a lunch box, a sandwich and fruit, while Koreans received only a few bags of chips. “Korean embassy officials indeed came to the airport but they gave us only bags of potato chips. The Japanese and Chinese had so much that some of them could not finish all of it.”

Park even claimed that some Koreans picked up and ate leftovers thrown away by the Chinese and Japanese, adding they flew back to their home countries free of charge on charter flights. “But Koreans had to pay some two million won out of their own pockets to get a seat on Korean Air charter flights. Some even decided to stay longer to leave Egypt on foreign airlines offering cheaper seats.”

Park then lamented the Korean government’s indifference to the plight of its citizens. “I am so disappointed at the Korean government. When its citizens sleep in the open and live only on water, there is no Korea for them,” she said.

Her comments have been retweeted and triggered rounds of supporting comments from other tweeters who also posted comments critical of the government.

Exaggerated complaints?

With Park’s comments beginning to cause a stir in cyberspace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a press release the following day. It stressed its diplomatic mission in Egypt performed its duties properly.

The ministry said Korean embassy officials visited Cairo International Airport several times a day from Jan. 31 and provided Koreans there with drinking water, chips, bread and milk.

Some travelers at the airport also supported the ministry’s claim, insisting embassy staff members were at the airport to offer bread, milk, jam and drinking water to the stranded Koreans.

“Park insisted that China, Japan and other countries offered free charter flights for their citizens. But it is not true. All passengers had to sign an agreement that they would pay the charges later. Additionally, we made it possible for Korean citizens at the airport to pay for tickets via their family members and friends in Korea if they did not have enough cash,” a foreign ministry official said.

A Korean Air spokesman also refuted Park’s claim, saying the round-trip economy-class tickets did not cost two million won.

“The ticket price was 1.45 million won, not 2 million won. For those with a one-way ticket from Cairo to Incheon, we did not even charge them fees for changing flight dates. We heard that embassy officials did everything they could to help stranded Koreans secure airplane seats and stay at the airport under relatively good conditions,” the spokesman said.

Another ministry official said there are only six staff members at the Korean Embassy in Egypt, compared to Japan’s 30 and China’s 60.

“Our embassy officials made every effort to help Korean citizens get airplane tickets as soon as possible and care for them the best way they could. They also had to ensure the safety of Korean nationals remaining in Cairo and other parts of the country,” he said.

According to the foreign ministry, about 900 out of 1,300 Koreans residing in Egypt have left the African country as of Feb. 8.

카이로 공항에서 한국인 공수 논란

카이로 국제공항에서 발이 묶인 여행객들의 요구에 적절히 대처하지 못했다며 일부 사람들이 정부를 비난하는 가운데 이집트 시위가 극도에 달한 시점에 내국인을 소개하는 과정에서 주 이집트 한국대사관이 취한 방법에 대해 말들이 많다.

그러나 대사관 직원들은 자신들이 이집트를 떠나기 전 공항에서 수일을 보내야 했던 사람들을 위해 할 수 있는 일은 모두 했다며 일부 여행객과 대사관 관계자들은 이 같은 비난을 일축했다.

이집트 주재 수 백 명의 한국인들과 여행객들은 출국하기 위해 1월 말과 2월 초 카이로국제공항으로 밀려들었다.

곧바로 항공권을 구할 수 없어 적어도 수일 동안 공항에 발이 묶였다. 많은 사람들이 바닥에 앉아서 항공편이 마련되기 까지 대사관 직원들이 제공 한 물과 생필품으로 버텼다. 2월 3일에는 한 한국인 여행객이 공항에서 대사관 직원들을 비난하는 문자를 트위터에 잇달아 올려 한국인들이 대우를 잘못 받았는지 여부에 논란을 일으켰다.

그 중 박예원씨는 “카이로공항 노지에서 3일 동안 잠을 자고 있다. 배가 고프다. 중국, 일본 미국 대사는 자국 여행객들과 공항에서 밤을 지새우는 것을 보았다. 그러나 나는 태극기 아래 그과 같은 일을 목격하지 못했다”고 썼다.