Dear friends
The International Action Center in the United States would like to send
its strongest solidarity to the Migrants' Trade Union in South Korea
along with its sincere condolences on the death of many migrants while
in the custody of the South Korean authorities in the Feb. 11 fire at
the foreigner detention center in Yeosu.
We have heard the news reports of Mexican immigrants dying at the border
while trying to cross into the United States and of African immigrants
sinking in boats while trying to make their way to Europe. This report
from South Korea is an symbol of the extensive movement of the labor
force, that is, of working people, throughout the world. It is a
movement that comes from globalization, from the imposition of so-called
Free Trade Acts that disrupt the local economies in much of the world.
This disruption forces farmers off their land and into the cities. It
forces so many people to leave their homeland in search of a job and a
living.
And after the "Free Trade Act" has allowed the unfettered legal movement
of capital for investment, the humans whose labor produces all value are
called "illegal" if they dare to cross a border in search of a job.
The horror story at the Yeosu detention center sounds all too familiar.
It is quite believable that the guards at the plant would refuse to
unlock the gates even though it meant risking deaths of prisoners in the
fire. Before any more migrant workers lose their lives in South Korea,
we want to join the world-wide effort to build solidarity with the
efforts of the MWU and demand that the death of these workers be
investigated and that the rights of migrant workers be respected in
South Korea.
Imani Henry John Catalinotto Sara Flounders
International Action Center.
The International Action Center in the United States would like to send
its strongest solidarity to the Migrants' Trade Union in South Korea
along with its sincere condolences on the death of many migrants while
in the custody of the South Korean authorities in the Feb. 11 fire at
the foreigner detention center in Yeosu.
We have heard the news reports of Mexican immigrants dying at the border
while trying to cross into the United States and of African immigrants
sinking in boats while trying to make their way to Europe. This report
from South Korea is an symbol of the extensive movement of the labor
force, that is, of working people, throughout the world. It is a
movement that comes from globalization, from the imposition of so-called
Free Trade Acts that disrupt the local economies in much of the world.
This disruption forces farmers off their land and into the cities. It
forces so many people to leave their homeland in search of a job and a
living.
And after the "Free Trade Act" has allowed the unfettered legal movement
of capital for investment, the humans whose labor produces all value are
called "illegal" if they dare to cross a border in search of a job.
The horror story at the Yeosu detention center sounds all too familiar.
It is quite believable that the guards at the plant would refuse to
unlock the gates even though it meant risking deaths of prisoners in the
fire. Before any more migrant workers lose their lives in South Korea,
we want to join the world-wide effort to build solidarity with the
efforts of the MWU and demand that the death of these workers be
investigated and that the rights of migrant workers be respected in
South Korea.
Imani Henry John Catalinotto Sara Flounders
International Action Center.
