| Parents of Seoboo Elementary School in Ulsan, stage a rally in the schoolyard, Wednesday. Newsis |
Presence of Afghan evacuees divides southern industrial city
By Bahk Eun-ji
Last year, 391 Afghans, who had been designated by the Korean government as "special contributors," were airlifted to Korea after their country fell into the hands of the Taliban. Among them, 152 evacuees have now settled in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan to work for a subcontractor of Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Their presence has caused a stir among some residents. While many welcome their new neighbors, others voice worries for various reasons.
Among the families of special contributors settling in Ulsan, 64 are school-age children who are supposed to be assigned to nearby elementary, middle and high schools.
| Afghan evacuees arrive in Ulsan, Monday. Yonhap |
About 50 parents of Seoboo Elementary School in Ulsan, near the Afghans' residence, rallied against the admission of the Afghan children into the school on Wednesday.
A parent of a student attending the elementary school who took part in the protest, said on condition of anonymity that schools are already packed with students and there is no room for additional students.
"There is a large apartment complex near Seoboo Elementary School, so many more school-aged children are expected to move here soon. Some classrooms have already been overcrowded, so there is no room for the Afghan children," she said.
She noted her opposition to the Afghan students didn't come due to racist reasons, ethnic prejudice, religion or dislike of Islamic culture.
Another parent, who also wished to remain anonymous, said the city authorities had no prior consultations with the residents over the matter.
"Neither Ulsan Metropolitan City nor the Ulsan education office had asked us to meet to explain the relocation. We only learned about their presence from news articles. We are outraged because the city authorities made that decision without prior consultation with local residents," she said.
She said that the language barrier is another reason behind her opposition to the Afghan people's settlement.
"In addition, I heard that some of the children from Afghan families can't speak English as well as Korean. If so, we believe it is more appropriate for these children to be educated at foreign schools instead of ordinary schools."
A number of messages opposing the resettlement of the special contributors have been uploaded to the homepages of the district and city governments.
An online petition was filed to request that Afghan special contributors be relocated to other parts of Ulsan, garnering more than 3,000 signatures in just three days.
If a petition garners more than 30 signatures, the related department of the city government is required respond.
In response, the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education (UMOE) said that it is not true that all the Afghan child evacuees are currently assigned to Seoboo Elementary School, and that the education office and the city government have formed a taskforce to discuss their placement in schools.
"Although these people are referred to with the new name of 'special contributors,' they are technically also foreigners who settle in Korea, so it is a principle to provide support for settlement in the same way as applied to these foreigners," the UMOE official told The Korea times.
"If a child from a foreign family needs to go to a domestic school, the parents' opinion is the most important. First, it is necessary to figure out which school they want to send their children to in the area where they live, and as of now, none of this has been decided yet," he said.
| Civic groups including Ulsan Citizenship Coalition hold a press conference to welcome Afghan evacuees in front of Ulsan City Hall, Wednesday. Newsis |
Regarding sending the Afghan children to international schools, the education official said, "Foreign schools are private educational institutions, and we are not considering such an option because we have to accept these children in the public education system."
In this regard, Dong District head Jeong Cheon-seok apologized for the failure to properly communicate with the residents.
"Local governments such as Dong District Office do not provide direct financial support to refugees, so we were also notified by the central government about the Afghan evacuees later," he said.
"There are 3,000 foreigners living in Dong District, where Hyundai's shipyard is located, and the office also have experience operating accommodation for foreign workers."
"We will make good use of our accumulated know-how to manage foreign residents so that there are no unnecessary conflicts between domestic and foreign nationals," he said.
Meanwhile, 53 civic groups including Ulsan Citizenship Coalition held a press conference in front of Ulsan City Hall on Wednesday, to support the protection of the Afghan evacuees and their settlement in Ulsan, and call on Ulsan residents to welcome them with hospitality.
"The Korean government should be responsible for protecting the special contributors, and Ulsan citizens also need to have a mature consciousness as well as attitude to embrace their suffering," the coalition said.