Heinn Shin, Korea spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR), says: “There are no fake refugees. That’s our message. This phrase stems from the fact that these Yemenis are male, young, flew to Jeju and carry iPhones. So it’s ignorance on the Koreans’ part. They don’t understand these people are fleeing persecution. You can be rich or poor but when a war breaks out, that doesn’t matter. There’s xenophobia, not against refugees but against Muslims. They also don’t understand Islamic culture. And the fake news about extremism fuels these fears.”
How many of these young, male, iPhone-toting “refugees” brought their wives and children? Or were their wives and children not facing the same persecution they were? And is all the concern about these migrants really fueled by “fake news about extremism”? Somali Muslim migrant Mohammad Barry in February 2016 stabbed multiple patrons at a restaurant owned by an Israeli Arab Christian; Ahmad Khan Rahami, an Afghan Muslim migrant, in September 2016 set off bombs in New York City and New Jersey; Arcan Cetin, a Turkish Muslim migrant, in September 2016 murdered five people in a mall in Burlington, Washington; Dahir Adan, another Somali Muslim migrant, in October 2016 stabbed mall shoppers in St. Cloud while screaming “Allahu akbar”; and Abdul Razak Artan, yet another Somali Muslim migrant, in November 2016 injured nine people with car and knife attacks at Ohio State University. 72 jihad terrorists have come to the U.S. from the countries listed in Trump’s initial immigration ban.
What’s more, all of the jihadis who murdered 130 people in Paris in November 2015 had just entered Europe as refugees. In February 2015, the Islamic State boasted it would soon flood Europe with as many as 500,000 refugees. The Lebanese Education Minister said in September 2015 that there were 20,000 jihadis among the refugees in camps in his country. On May 10, 2016, Patrick Calvar, the head of France’s DGSI internal intelligence agency, said that the Islamic State was using migrant routes through the Balkans to get jihadis into Europe.
But no, South Koreans who are concerned about the Muslim migrant influx are just “Islamophobes.” And I’m Theresa May.
“UN admits failing to educate Koreans on Yemeni refugee crisis,” by Faras Ghani, Al Jazeera, September 5, 2018:
Seoul, South Korea – More than 500 Yemenis have applied for refugee status on South Korea’s Jeju island.
The influx has provoked debate over how the country handles refugees, including an online backlash, a petition for the government to take action and protests on Jeju and the capital Seoul.
This also prompted the government to remove Yemen from the list of countries whose citizens are allowed visa-free entry to Jeju and to tweak its refugee policy.
A strong anti-refugee sentiment has been seen in South Korea, driven largely by Islamophobia, that analysts say is caused mostly by ignorance among the population and the prevalence of fake news stories.
Al Jazeera spoke to Heinn Shin, Korea spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR), about the causes of xenophobia, the government’s role in calming fears and rooting out fake news and why the agency is not at the forefront of helping these refugees.
…Al Jazeera: But why are there so many protests, discrimination and harassment of the refugees? Is the government playing an active role?
Shin: Comparatively speaking, Korea has a very young refugee history. It’s traditionally a very homogenous country so it’s not just about refugees or migrants. It’s about outsiders, non-Koreans in general. Korea is in a developing stage and UNHCR is supporting the government to play that role better….
Al Jazeera: What do you mean the government knew the public wouldn’t be open to refugees? Isn’t that an obvious case of xenophobia?
Shin: Korea is geographically at a long distance from refugee hotspots. Decades ago, we had a system to bring in migrant labour from different Asian countries and there was huge public backlash. As a Korean, I can say that Koreans are not open to the idea of opening up.
Al Jazeera: Is that a cultural thing? Or a lack of knowledge?
Shin: It’s a mixture of everything. But one unique thing about the Yemeni refugee situation is that it’s the first time Koreans got to think about Islam. In a way that’s a good thing. This will serve as a great chance for the public to understand Islam better.
It’s also very important that UNHCR plays a balanced role. There are certain things that the government can do better but it also has to reflect what the public wants. And for us to criticise what the government does could cause backlash, not against the government, but against the refugees. We provide support where necessary.
Al Jazeera: So the government’s decision to take Yemen, and other countries where refugees might come from, off the visa-free list, is reflecting public opinion then?
Shin: Yes, definitely. The Jeju government did that. There were concerns among the public, albeit based on wrong information. There were concerns not just about employment but also about security. There were lots of females talking about it so I do think the government had to take that into account.
Al Jazeera: These Yemenis were also branded fake refugees. What is a fake refugee?
Shin: There’s a refugee and not a refugee. There are no fake refugees. That’s our message. This phrase stems from the fact that these Yemenis are male, young, flew to Jeju and carry iPhones. So it’s ignorance on the Koreans’ part. They don’t understand these people are fleeing persecution. You can be rich or poor but when a war breaks out, that doesn’t matter. There’s xenophobia, not against refugees but against Muslims. They also don’t understand Islamic culture. And the fake news about extremism fuels these fears.
I don’t think any Korean who has ever met a refugee or a Muslim would be against them. UNHCR’s role should be trying to explain to the general public who these refugees are. And I’m afraid, UNHCR has failed in that role for many years.
And we’ve only just realised that. Because we had no idea, despite the country having 150,000 Muslims, that the public would be so cautious and concerned. And telling the government to choose between their rights or the refugees’ rights….