🗣️💬
📌 Sunday, 22 October
📌 Najeunjari Church
At this event, Deung Yunbi, Mesak, Shaima and Freddy shared personal stories, discussion and comfort with participants from Najeunjari Church and Sonjabneun Church.
🌰Deung Yunbi & Mesak
🧷Everyone, including the refugee speakers, took turns introducing themselves, and a participant who asked a question also answered it, so the conversation continued at eye level. For example, a participant who drew the question card [How do you comfort yourself when life is hard?] answered first, “I drink a can of beer in the evening,” and then turned the question to the refugee speakers. Deung Yunbi said, “I watch Chinese comedy programs,” and Mesak said, “I listen to idol songs and similar music.”
🧷As the conversation grew warmer, it went deeper. Deung Yunbi and Mesak both shared how they had to be separated from their beloved families because of exile, and they also told us how they struggle to make a living since coming to Korea. The participants gave a big round of applause to the two speakers who had found the courage to share their pain. The MAP activist who facilitated the conversation then added more general explanations, such as “who becomes a refugee in China and Uganda, and why” and “how refugees work in Korean society.”
🧷Mesak also told us with a sigh about the unfair treatment he received from immigration officials. As everyone listened to treatment that would be hard to imagine in public institutions mostly visited by Korean nationals, a sigh spread among all the participants. Before leaving, one participant offered an apology and comfort, saying, “I really want to tell you how sorry I am for the unfair treatment you received at the immigration office.”
🌰Shaima & Freddy
🧷Shaima was asked many questions about refugees and the problems they face. She said she was especially glad that this group of participants took part actively in the conversation and expressed their feelings. If she has the chance to meet such sensitive participants again, she would like to pose questions that invite them to explore, by putting themselves in refugees’ shoes, solutions to the difficulties refugees face during migration.
🧷Freddy said he was glad to be welcomed by all the participants. He felt that they listened to the issue of refugees and were eager to learn about the stories of refugees living in Korea. He said he was happy to have the conversation in a church, so that church members could have an opportunity to accept and understand refugees.
