Photo credit: CBC
A Seoul-based non-profit organized a program intended to raise awareness about the challenges faced by refugees and defectors from North Korea seeking asylum in Canada on Thursday.
CBC reports that refugees from the country shared their stories of hardship, escape and survival with Winnepeggans at the event.
Freedom Speakers International, which helps North Korean refugees share their stories, organized “Voices from North Korea,” which included a talk at the University of Manitoba and a meet-and-greet session at the Forks.
Myong Hee Kin, a PhD student in Seoul, related her story of trying to escape from North Korea thrice before finally settling in Seoul three years ago. Due to the danger of starvation and lack of freedom, she decided at age seventeen that she wanted to escape, but she wasn’t successful until she was twenty-one, according to her.
The chairman and co-founder of Freedom Speakers International, Casey Lartigue, said while many fleeing North Korea go to South Korea, some still feel endangered due to discrimination against North Korea there.
As soon as they enter South Korea, North Koreans are granted citizenship. However, that makes them ineligible to apply for asylum in Canada. According to Lartigue, South Korea is considered a safe country.
He said, We thought it would be good to come here, give them an opportunity to share their stories, and maybe some Canadians would think twice about the policy.”
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada told the CBC that Canada usually helps resettle refugees who have fled persecution and have no “durable to lasting solution”-meaning they can’ stay where they are.
North Koreans with valid asylum claims in Canada have their claims referred to the independent Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for a decision. However, people who South Korea has already been granted citizenship may be excluded from refugee protection, according to the IRCC spokesman.
Naayoung Lee, one of the defectors who spoke in Winnipeg this week, said, “When I was in North Korea, I didn’t know who I was, what I liked, what I wanted to do, and what is the motivation for my life.”
Lee, a co-founder of Freedom Speakers International, escaped from North Korea in 2006 and made it to China. After living in hiding for two years, she moved to South Korea and Vancouver last year.
She said, The purpose of life in North Korea for me was to survive. So every day after I finished breakfast, I wondered if I could eat the next meal.”
