Q1. Please introduce yourself briefly.
Hello! I am Lee Hae-na, a first-half volunteer at Migration to Asia Peace (MAP). I am in charge of planning and preparing an event called “Dialogue with Refugees,” in which refugees visit schools and local communities to tell their stories.
Q2. Please share your motivation for applying to MAP
I am studying international politics, so I have always been interested in topics such as states, nations, and international conflicts. Then I took a lecture at school on the human rights of migrant workers, and I thought I wanted to work for refugees and migrants, who are hard to represent in our society. So I looked for related civil society organizations, found MAP, and applied.
Q3. What has changed in you before and after the activity?
Over several months, I was able to learn many things about “refugees” and about “dialogue.” I came to know more about the countries of origin of the refugee speakers, Korea’s refugee system, and refugees’ lives in Korea. The largest part of the work on the DR team is contacting the refugee speakers and putting our heads together to think about what to talk about at events, and through this I feel that I have become less uncomfortable when dealing with people.
Q4. What was the most memorable activity?
I remember being invited to the class “Global Migration and Refugees” at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and holding a talk concert. I was able to learn what messages the refugee speakers want to convey to Korean society and what the students are curious about regarding refugees’ lives. I also enjoyed having lunch with the professor who invited us and the students after class and talking about what we had not finished saying.
Q5. What do you think our society needs most in order to live together with refugees?
I think awareness of diversity is important. Through my activity at MAP, I realized anew how many refugees and migrants there are in Korea and how varied they are. The reasons they became refugees are diverse, including political persecution, discrimination against minorities, and civil war, and each had different thoughts about their country of origin, culture, and religion. So I think we need to look critically both at the view that defines refugees as a threat to a pure and homogeneous society and at the view that regards them only as pitiable.
Q5. Finally, is there an activity you would recommend to people interested in refugee issues?
I think it would be good to try volunteering at MAP, or, if that feels like a burden, to first attend an event held by a related organization. If you want to meet refugees in person, there are also DR events that ordinary citizens can take part in, so I recommend them!