미지센터의 청소년 국제교류이야기

On Christmas in 2008, two young girls, named Hae Jin Lee (11) and Woo Ye Seul were kidnapped in Anyang city and found dead respectively in a nearby hill and river. According to the police, the criminal was the victims’ neighbor and children were kidnapped when they were wandering around the neighborhood after 6 p. m. Hae Jin Lee’s father said in one interview that he attributes his daughter’s death to their negligence and lack of attention. He mentioned that due to the fact that both parents spend most of their time at work, Hae Jin was almost always left alone at home and this makes her to wander around the neighborhood after school.

After the murder, Anyang City has taken several precautions in order to protect young children from heinous crimes. However, the victims’ parents affirm that first and foremost, supporting children who are neglected due to various factors should be a top priority.   

Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced that there are 10.3 million neglected children in South Korea. The research conducted by National Child Protection Agency showed that there are 955 cases of childhood neglect from this April to June. The number of neglected children is increasing rapidly from year to year.

The main reason for childhood neglect is poverty. Children without parents are in a state of total neglect after school. They do not get proper education and nutrition because they can not afford with a government subsidy.  This impedes their improvement and takes a toll on their emotional state. Those with parents are not exceptions of childhood neglect. Working parents are less likely to provide their children with stable environment and often neglect them. As a result, these neglected children are susceptible to crimes. Without parents’ attention and care, children can be preys for the criminals anytime anywhere.

Not only neglected children can be the victims but also the criminals.

Children who are neglected because of their poverty-stricken family background are liable to go astray.

 

Children who suffer from poverty are more likely to commit crimes and be tempted into wrong ways as revealed in one research.

If children keep being neglected without parents’ love and moral disciplines, they will be the ones who commit crimes in the long run.  

Childhood neglect should no longer be disregarded in current society since it does act as an impetus for the crimes against children.

All those neglected children need is love from their parents or society. There should be no more victims like Hae Jin and Ye Seul.

"Abilympics" is the combined word of "Ability" and "Olympics".

The first International Abilympics (IA) was held in Japan in 1981 to celebrate 'The United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons.' Its main goal was to support full participation of persons with disabilities in our society and promote their self-reliance and has been held every 4 years in various countries. This year, the South Korea hosted the Abilympics to the world.

 

At center in Yangjae, Seoul                                                             Opening ceremony of the 8th IA

The 8^th International Abilympics 2011 was held in Seoul, South Korea from the 25^th to the 30^th of September which took place at the AT Center and at the Olympic Park Stadium (Olympic Hall).

57 countries participated and the world’s most highly skilled contestants with disabilities gathered. Skills of contestants are put to test; there are 40 categories of skills competition.

On September 26^th, a spectacular opening ceremony at Olympic Park, Seoul marked the beginning of the 8^th International Abilympics.

 

In the event, Yoon Ok Kim, the first lady of South Korea, the president of IA, and the chairman of the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled addressed a welcoming speech. After the official schedule, there were special performances that showed Korean traditional culture.

 

The contest began on Sept 27^th at the AT center, Seoul. From Basket making to computer programming, there was a wide variety of tasks that took place during the contest.

Competitions took 5 hours long on average; contestants were totally focused and put a lot of effort into each assigned task. I was so touched by their passion and their great skills. They made so many creative objects, painting, and even furniture.
Many other different programs were also held. There was a Theme Park in which contestants from all over the world could experience Korean culture.
 

Also, many booths were set which exhibited various cultures and traditions of other participating nations. This enabled contestants to enjoy other cultures, widening their perspectives. Furthermore, contestants could get work experience such as crafts, cooking, cake decorating and balloon art.

The contest provided contestants with great opportunities to learn about careers and skills which could further be developed.

 

6 days of the 8^th International Abilympics in Seoul culminated in success on Sept 30^th as followed by the closing ceremony at Olympic Hall, Olympic Park, Seoul. Awards were given to all winners. There were a total of 23 gold medals, 22 silver medals, and 15 bronze medals—South Korean contestants received the most.

After the Award ceremony, all participants, delegations, and guests enjoyed a special farewell banquet and had a time to interact with others from different countries.

After the party, I happened to interview one contestant named Herman Gatete from Rwanda. I asked short questions since he had to get into the bus; his interpreter was next to him while translating his responses.

He has a hearing disability and participated in ‘Wood Carving’.

 

After the party, I happened to interview one contestant named Herman Gatete from Rwanda. I asked short questions since he had to get into the bus; his interpreter was next to him while translating his responses.

He has a hearing disability and participated in ‘Wood Carving’.

 

Did you enjoy the 8^th International Abilympics in Seoul?

: Yes, I felt really comfortable for the last six days because all Korean staffs were nice and the AT center was well prepared for the contest.

What is the meaning of this contest to you?

: This is my first time participating in the IA. So, this contest is especially meaningful to me. I could be more confident about myself and it gives me a kind of hope in which I can dream what people without disabilities dream of becoming.

 

I was also happy to meet people with disabilities from many different countries.

 

He seemed very satisfied with the contest in Korea and I was so glad to hear that Korean volunteers were friendly. Not only the contestants but also volunteers learned valuable things from the showcased event.

 

Lee JooSil who volunteered as an interpreter said “The contest gives the message that contestants have infinite possibilities by offering many different job experiences. I was also impressed by the contestants’ talents. It a beautiful experience to witness. IA contestants faced challenges and developed special skills, even though they are physically disabled.

 

There is one thing I learned from them as I worked as a volunteer in the contest. We tend to misjudge and have prejudice towards people with disabilities, who seem to be inferior to those who are not physically or mentally disabled. We encourage disabled people when they try to do things that normal can people do. But the thing is, they can outshine people without disabilities in many aspects, only if they’re given enough opportunities in our society, like the International Abilympics.

On June 1, 2011, 'baby factory' in Nigeria was raided by the police.

 This is only part of the story of human trafficking.
Human trafficking is an act of recruiting, transporting, transfering, harbouring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them.
Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad.
The United Nation estimated that 12.3 million people are globally employed in sexual servitude or forced labor. The number of victims is more than at any point in human history according to 'Not For Sale'(NGO).  

Every country in the world is affected by trafficking.

As for South Korea, it has been regarded as a source and destination country for human trafficking.
The annual report on Trafficking in Persons(TIP), counducted by the U.S State Department, states that "South Korea is a source, transit, and destination country for men and women subjected totrafficking in persons, specifically forced labor, and women and girls in forced commercial sexual exploitation."

One of the most severe problems in South Korea is sexual exploitation.
Korean women are involved in prostitution in major cities in South Korea such as Seoul and Busan. Korean women are are forced into prositution not only in Korea, but also in foreign countries such as the U.S.,Canada, Japan, Australia.

Also,women and girls from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.), the Philippines, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries, are trafficked to become brides for South Korean men or to work in child sex tourism. Usually, destitute teenage girls and  women in other countries came to Korea in order to make a living. Traffickers deceive those women by making promises of better life.  
However, some people are trafficked against their will; they are sold by their family members and exchanged for goods or money.
Once traffickers extract victims from their home countries, they typically sell the children to slaveholders who run strip clubs, sex bars, brothels, karaoke clubs, or massage parlors.

Labor trafficking is another problem.

People work like slaves in factories without any payment.The most serious thing is that some employers possess the passports and wages of foreign workers, which means there is no way for victims to escape from their owners.
People are not aware  that the products they use in daily life have been produced through labor trafficking. A large number of conglomerates in South Korea have associated with traffickers and used labor trafficking for cheap labor. T-shirts and shoes you wear are made by victims' tears and sweats. Labor trafficking happens anywhere anytime and in you own backyard.

The South Korean Government has put a multitude of  efforts to put an end to human trafficking.
In response to increased sex trafficking of South Korean women to the United States, the South Korean police sent a delegation to the United States to improve joint cooperation in investigating  trans-Pacific trafficking in 2006. In addition, The 2004 Act on the Punishment of Intermediating in the Sex Trade and Associated Acts criminalizes commercial sexual exploitation.

However, despite the national efforts to alleviate the problem, human trafficking does not seem to be eliminated  in our society.
For instance, In April, 2011, four people were arrested for human trafficking and forcing 70 North Korean female defectors into prostitution.
On April 12, the Seoul Metropolitan Police revealed  that the group had forced femnale defectors into prostitution after buying them from Chinese brokers. 

Like this, human trafficking in South Korea is a huge problem that even the government can not easily rectify. So, people's great concern over this issue is very significant. However, unfortunately, not many teenagers in South Korea are well informed about human trafficking.

In order to know why the youth's participation is crucial, i interviewed David Quimby who is working with Not For Sale (NGO) as Student Abolitionist Movement manager.

(NOT FOR SALE is a non-governmental organization which equips and mobilizes Smart Activists to deploy innovative solutions to re-abolish slavery across the globe.)

 1.  Could you please introduce yourself?

Ans) My name is David Quimby and I am from Chicago, IL. I just got back from graduation at Olivet Nazarene University where I graduated with a degree in criminal justice and was part of the Criminal Justice Honor’s Society. I have been working with Not For Sale since January. I am taking part in the 6 month fellowship program that they offer. While with Not For Sale, my title has changed quite a bit. The least number of programs that I have juggled at one time are three and these are always changing. Right now, I am currently working as the Student Abolitionist Movement manager, Event planner, Investigator, and Free2work researcher.

My goal in life is to make a difference but I don’t want to be remembered for what I did, I want someone to be able to live their life that might not have had it without my efforts.

2.Do you think the youth’s participation can actually make a difference?

Ans) Students have been the major push behind the effort since it began. That is why we put so much emphasis on the Student Abolitionist Movement. Students have the skills necessary and the contacts needed to further the movement as well as get others in on the movement. One thing we can never have enough of is funding, being an NGO, we are always trying to create more avenues of funding so that we can further our mission. Students have been a major driving force for us with fundraisers, mission drives, and all kinds of other ideas.

 Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are at. Lives that we have touched because of their work might have been lost.

 3)  Is their anything else you would like to say to Korean students?

Ans) One problem we have is that people believe that human trafficking doesn’t happen in their neighborhood.
Human trafficking is all around us and when people realize that, they instantly want to make a change. One tool we have for this is called Slaverymap.org. If we are speaking with someone and they don’t think it happens in their area, then we can pull up this map that has plotted cases of human trafficking all around the world.

 

 

600,000 ~ 800,000 humans are trafficked internationally according to Not For Sale.
70 percent are female. 50 percent are children.
They are killed, abducted ,exploited, beaten, raped, deceived, starved, and threatened.
Human trafficking is modern day slavery. It does not just happen across the world.
It happens around us and victims are everywhere.

Each May, the amusement park is especially crowded and cities have parades.

A wide variety of public activities are held and some zoos offer free admission to children.

Children get presents from their parents and are likely to stay away from homework or stress on a special day in May.
This special day is May 5, Children’s day.

 

 This special day for children not only has been celebrated in South Korea,
but also in many parts of the world on various days.  

Children's Day is on December 25 in Congo, Congo DR, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon Chad, Central African Republic. Albania and Armenia celebrated the day on June 1. It takes place on October 12 in Brazil. The Government of Canada designated November 20^th as National Child Day. Like this, Children’s day is a worldwide holiday to honor children. Although observation of the day varies from country to country, its purpose remains the same: to honor children and promote their happiness.

However, Children’s day is not existed for all children.

On May 5^th, when children in South Korea visited zoos and amusement parks, children in other parts of the world went to the workplace. When children in some countries get presents from

their parents, some children in other countries get the miserly amount of money after working the entire day; these children live every day, suffering from the severe manual labor and do not even realize there is a special day for them.

 

 

   According to statistics provided by UNICEF, there were an estimated 158 million children aged 5 to 14 years in child labour worldwide in the year 2006, and this figure is continuously increasing. The International Labor Organization estimated that worldwide, more than 10 million children are employed in drug-trafficking, sex work, and other hazardous labor.

This is what is called 'CHILD LABOR'.

There are various causes of child labor: poverty, adult unemployment, overpopulation, or social apathy.

 

 

Among these, poverty is the main cause of child labor. Parents send their little children to factories or shops. Some parents even carry infants and beg for money on the street.

Also, employers prefer to employ children. This is due to the fact that children are recruited for less pay. This adult’ exploitation of children as a cheap labor drives more and more children to the workplace.                                            
 

                                                                           
The situation in India, for instance, is even desperate. In Northern India, the exploitation of little children for labor is an accepted practice and perceived by the local population as a necessity to alleviate poverty. According to the statistics provided by The Government of India, around 90 million out of 179 million children do not go to school and are engaged in labor.

 

Children also have been recruited in war.

During the civil war in Sierra Leone in 1991, becoming child soldiers was a common thing. Children there were forced to join the army and trained to kill people.
The war began when a rebel group, RUF (Revolutionary United Front) started attacks against the government.
This rebel group overthrew the government, killed thousands of innocent citizens and chopped people’s hands in a way to prevent people from voting for the government.  RUF also threatened children to join the army, instilled wrong ideas and values into child soldiers and even used drugs to control children.  These child soldiers were used as combats, cooks, informants, porters, bodyguards, sentries, and spies.   

                                                                                                                                         
 Until now, they have greatly suffered from the aftereffects of war.

Besides, several thousands of children worked in diamond mines throughout the years of the war in order to finance the rebels’ weapons. The diamond mining in Sierra Leone took a myriad of children’s lives and was one of the major causes of the war. This is why we call the diamonds in Sierra Leone ‘Blood diamonds’.

                                                                     

 Children in Sierra Leone worked in the mines after the war and still do. These blood diamonds which represent children’s tears, blood and sacrifice are still extracted and smuggled to all over the world despite international efforts to block sales of conflict diamonds such as the Kimberley Process.   

 

According to ‘Free the children’(NGO), every year, 22,000 children die in work-related accidents and the number of children involved in armed conflicts around the world has increased to about 300,000 over the past decade.

 

For these children, Children’s day is meaningless or never existed.

What these children would long for is going to school or playing with friends instead of working in factories or fighting in armed conflicts. They are robbed not only of their freedom but of their basic rights. On Children's day,  why don't we make it our duty to take more concern over these children , who spend their valuable childhood days in factories and battlegrounds?

 

Thegogreenblog.com

April 22

This day was founded in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson and it is currently performed in 175 countries.  Unfortunately, despite the worldwide attention and attempts to lead nations to be more aware of environmental issues over the past decade, the Earth has always been in danger.

Effectsglobalwarming.blogspot



The U.S. Geological Survey Office affirmed that the reduction in sea ice in the Arctic can see a loss of 2/3rds of the entire word’s Polar Bear population over the next 50 years.

The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, stated that the 5 Great Lakes of the U.S and Canada are shrinking “at an alarming pace”.

Ifsw.org

24,000 people die each year from a water shortage in the Middle East according to the BBC.

It is obvious that individuals’ participation in preserving the earth and continuous concern over the environment will have a positive impact on the Earth even tough their involvement can not resolve the environmental problems overnight.

Since 1970,  many countries have taken part in fostering people's participation by hosting a wide variety of events in every April.  South Korea has also annually held many different events to commemorate the Earth day.

From April 16^th to 22^nd, various Earth Day events took place, encouraging a lot of people to be informed about the importance of conserving the earth. For instance, the Presidential Committe ‘Green Growth Korea’ announced ‘Green Week’ and hosted many different events in Seoul Plaza, Seoul. ‘Green Land’ and ‘Green playground’ were set, where children could learn about current eco-friendly technologies and environmental issues by experiencing a wide variety of entertaining games and booths. Bicycle generator campaign was hosted; people together generated electricity by riding bicycles.

 On top of this, on 22^nd, ‘Unplugged Concert’ was held. No electronic devices or instruments were used in this concert. Participants brought their own instruments that are readily available in everyday life and played several songs together. A Korean male singer, Kim Jang Hoon, and a sing a song writer, Kim Hyun Chul were invited as guest-performers.

In addition, the 3^rd The Aveda Walk for Water was held in cities all over the world during Earth Month to raise awareness about the water shortage problems around the world and fund for clean water in developing countries.

This year, the walk for water, annually held by Aveda Korea, took place in Cheonggye Plaza, Seoul  on April 23. Over hundreds of people came and participated in the walk for water in spite of cold weather. 

For this event, special guests came to join the walk.

(From the left) Choi Yeo Jin (model & actress) and Park Jin Hee (actress) came to take part in the walk. Sean, who is a member of a Korean hip-hop group, ‘Jinusean’ and well-known for his good deeds, also joined the walk for water.
 

Park Jin Hee said “Actually, we are not that aware of water shortage problems in South Korea. I think we, together need to put more efforts on saving the water in our daily life by spending less time in shower or reducing the intake of a surfactant which harms the environment.”

On this day, participants walked 6 kilometers which is the average distance that women in developing nations have to walk every day for clean water.