Hey Guys, I heard the news about Anwar and Kabir a quickly put out a simple press story last night.

I included a longer background on the migrant's movement with this piece below. It should be published soon. Best of luck, let me know what's happening next.

In Solidarity,

Jamie Doucette

South Korea Rounds Up Migrant Activists
May 14th 2005
By Jamie Doucette

In the last 48 hours, two of South Korea’s most high profile, undocumented migrant worker activists have been arrested. Anwar Hossain, head of the new Migrant’s Trade Union that was inaugurated last month, and Kabir Uddin, founder of the Equality Trade Union – Migrant’s Branch were both arrested by officers from the immigration control division.

Kabir, who was interviewed by ZNET in January 2004 (see interview), had been quietly working and hiding out in the south of the country to avoid immigration officials since his involvement in a high profile year-long sit-in that ended in November and which saw him personally targeted and singled out by immigration officials the police on numerous occasions. Kabir won a high profile human rights case for unlawful arrest back in 2002 and became, along with Mohammed Bidduth, the first migrant worker to beat a deportation order in South Korean history.

Meanwhile, Anwar, on the day he was arrested, had just been featured in a prominent national paper criticizing the government’s policy towards undocumented migrant workers.

“Migrant workers have been working in undesirable jobs commonly known as the 3 Ds ―difficult, dirty and dangerous ―for 17 years, yet our contribution to this country has gone unnoticed,” Anwar stated in an interview in Saturday’s Joong Ang Daily.

“It's quite hard to understand why we have to become illegal immigrants while the government here brings in new workers while forcing previous workers out of the country. We're only here because we want to make a living, and it is time that our voices are heard.”

Anwar announced in the interview that the Migrant Trade Union is planning to propose a bill to the National Assembly in August that aims to abolish the three year time limits on E-9 Employment Permits for migrant workers, and extend further health benefits and labour rights to them.

In Saturday’s article, Anwar was also quoted as saying that if authorities wanted to, they could deport him, and that, within hours, is exactly what they did.

Activists close to Anwar are also reporting that his hands, arms, and head were injured during the arrest that involved over 20 immigration officials and police.

The arrests of both these activists in the last 48 hours follows on the tails of the slated deportations of a number of other migrant activists–two Bangladeshi members of the ETU’s sit-in team by the names of Abu Bakar and Jewel were picked up earlier this month, as were two important Nepali activists named Jibon and Gagendra.

Members of the MTU and other migrant activists are meeting Sunday to discuss what action to take in lieu of the recent days’ events.

Currently activists can post solidarity messages on their website at http://migrant.nodong.net/2005/