The Simple Dreams of Migrant Workers Trampled on by That Gigantic Fantasy of The G20

The simple dreams of migrant workers trampled on by that gigantic fantasy of the G20

About 30 migrant workers from Indonesia gathered and sat down at a restaurant in Gajwa-dong, Incheon. A little past 9 o’clock in the evening. On the other hand, the people who were sitting together and eating while watching TV and chatting while sitting in the middle of the restaurant were sitting in the middle of the restaurant and keeping pace with the atmosphere of those who were seated around them. The restaurant, which used to be noisy with people having a good time, suddenly becomes calm.

There is even a slight tension as if something is about to happen. After a while, someone picks up the microphone and starts talking. With a slightly tense expression on her face, in a low voice, she continued talking while looking around at the people sitting there. There is a moment of silence during the conversation… The microphones are transferred from the hands of the people who are seated together, and they tell their stories that they seem to have kept deep in their hearts.

After 30 minutes or so, the microphone returned to the moderator after the hands of the people passed, and the words ‘Human Rights Center’ were repeated several times from the speaker’s mouth, and then the microphone was returned to me. There was nothing special to say. laughed hard Sorry, sad and sorry, the words came up to my throat, but I couldn’t finish them.

At that time… It’s been a month since the Korean government started to drive away the socially disadvantaged such as street vendors and homeless people, including undocumented migrant workers, as objects to be cleaned (?), saying that it would remove social unrest factors for the successful opening of the G20 Summit. was passing

ICI. Indonesian Community in Incheon. Incheon Indonesian Community. It was a simple gathering that Indonesian migrant workers from Gajwa-dong, where our center was located, had gathered for several years to share their joys and pains, and to help each other for a happy future that all members dream of.

I remember sometime last July. One day in the middle of an annoyingly hot summer… Although life in a foreign country is hard and difficult, they decided to put their hearts together little by little to comfort each other and create a small hope. did. About 30 migrant workers met once a month to share their current situation and to solve each other’s difficulties together. Those who wanted to keep crying and laughing together as they put their heads together to solve each other’s difficulties… The community meeting that they were so proud of. disbanded

A significant number of members have already been expelled from Korea due to coercive deportation. And most were about to leave. In the face of the Korean government’s oppressive crackdown on deportation, the community members who wanted to make a small dream together had to feel a serious crisis. In a situation where a significant number of community members have already been deported due to violent crackdowns under the pretext of the successful hosting of the G20, or have fled themselves to avoid coercive threats, and who, when, and how they may be subjected to oppressive and anti-human rights crackdowns, 70 The Indonesian community, of which % were undocumented migrant workers, had no choice. Their small dreams of simply working hard and sending a small amount of money back to feed their families were being trampled under the guise of maintaining order and securing safety.

One day in September, when the midsummer heat had not yet gone, J and A, a migrant worker couple from Indonesia, called. ‘We’re going now. Thank you. Please come and visit Indonesia…’ My heart ached. It’s been 7 years since I came to Korea. A migrant worker couple who leaned on each other in a far-off foreign land and developed a small love from three years ago. After J entered as an industrial trainee, and A entered the employment permit system, he suffered from employers’ tyranny and long hours of hard work and became unregistered. A couple who said that living in Korea is very difficult, and that they have never committed any crimes, have always struggled with fear. The couple left, saying that the dream they wanted to make in Korea was over and that it would be nice if they could just go back and start farming.

Migrant workers who have been pushed across the border, suffering the exploitation and oppression of imperialism and the exploitation and destruction of neoliberalism. ICI, a community of migrant workers who tried to participate in the pain of Korean society as a member of a society living together in a difficult life, was dismantled. left behind

G1+G2+G3+… = G20. Those who have been filling their stomachs with imperial colonial rule in the past have grown their bodies by adding a few cooperative groups, and now they are justifying exploitation and expropriation with neoliberal globalization, representing only the interests of capitalists and those in power. Those who have put the people of the world into crisis by focusing only on maximizing profits for capital overcome the crises that befell the world and seek development for win-win. Reminds me of the saying ‘blindfold’ funny But I can’t even laugh with laughter. This is because, at a time when the gigantic fantasy of the G20 overwhelms Korea, countless migrant workers and the people who are very close to me are letting go of even the smallest dreams themselves while their basic self-esteem as a human being has been violated.