To the supporting members of Migration to Asia Peace (MAP),
How have you been?
At the end of 2020, I am writing to ask after you.
Above all, I hope that you and your family, colleagues and community have been safe and healthy.
COVID-19, which we could not even have imagined at the beginning of this year, has become a global pandemic and shows no sign of fading. Exchange and trade between countries have been cut off, societies have come to a halt, and individuals’ dreams and plans have been revised, postponed or abandoned. I worry whether the physical, economic and psychological pain accumulated over the year has left a knot in your heart.
The MAP secretariat spent the year faithfully, without losing its vitality even in the pandemic. Although health checkup events and cultural events were canceled because of COVID-19, we devoted ourselves fully to disaster response. The refugee health promotion project and the peace and human rights education project, which we had originally been committed to, achieved greater results than last year. In addition, the sudden rise in demand for emergency relief caused by COVID-19, and counseling and education in a contact-free environment, pushed us to take steps toward innovation. The teamwork of four staff members and eight volunteers moved MAP forward even through COVID-19. These people, who blow away the fatigue of social distancing, personal frustration and anxiety, and the stress of a heavy workload with dignity and humor, are the pride of MAP.
And it is thanks to the members who cheered for MAP and joined us that the faces of MAP could stay active without shrinking back. It is said that many civil society organizations were greatly restricted because donations decreased amid economic hardship, but MAP’s members stood firmly by us. There are also new members who opened their hearts and took our hands even in a difficult year.
We remember the members who actively shared their wisdom and support in the early days of the COVID-19 response. When society was put on pause by COVID-19, you asked after refugees who have no relatives or social safety net to rely on, and when the public mask distribution system was announced, you worried about refugees without health insurance. When we were thinking about the role and responsibility of a refugee rights organization in a disaster, you showed us the direction. Together with your closest communities, you collected masks, daily necessities and emergency relief donations and sent them to MAP. Thanks to you, the MAP secretariat became a delivery point connecting the hearts of citizens and refugees, and a regular customer of the post office on the Dongguk University campus. Later, a student working at the post office sympathized with your intentions and even donated boxes of food.
What I have been reminded of again through COVID-19 is that the essence of a civil society organization is its members. It is embarrassing to say, but until now I thought that the reason you became supporting members of MAP was a wish to help a small and clumsy young civil society organization. But now I know that the deep source of your support for MAP is the value you place on a society that is safe for everyone and on living together with refugees. I have also come to reflect that we did not communicate with you as much as the trust you showed in MAP deserved. In the new year, MAP will ask after you often and build the link between you and refugees.
Thank you very much for this year. I hope you welcome the new year with a hopeful heart.
Migration to Asia Peace (MAP)
Yours sincerely,
Kim Youngah, Representative