Compassion for others

By Lairam Vapual

Nothing can be more heartbreaking than hearing distant news about the death of our loved ones in a strange land. When local TV reported recently that two Korean employees had been shot dead in Iraq, we were all shocked and deeply moved.

As their bodies arrived at Incheon International Airport and family members wailed over the coffins, the whole nation could not help but weep. Newspapers carried headlines and TV highlighted the tragedy as citizens shared the pain. People showed their deepest sorrow, sending condolences and attending the funerals.

Coincidentally, there had also been some tragic incidents in the Peninsula during the past two months that went unnoticed by most of the public. Just before and since the government's crackdown last November, a total of eight migrant workers lost their lives in connection with the police manhunt for them -- two Korean-Chinese, two Bangladeshis, two Uzbeks, one Sri Lankan and one Russian.

Greatly distressed by their forced deportation, six out of the eight desperate guest workers committed suicides -- three hanged themselves, two jumped in front of an incoming train and one jumped overboard. The other two also died in tragic circumstances -- one by a roadside due to freezing weather after repeatedly calling 112 and 119 in vain for help, and another died of heart failure while in hiding.

The deceased were all men and the bread winners for their poor families back in their own homeland. The profound sorrow and pain the bereaved families must have suffered can never be expressed in words, considering the fact that most of the dead had been away from home and their families for years and that they died in a foreign land without any relatives or loved ones beside them. Their obscure funerals were held with a handful of sympathizers. No eulogies. No headlines. No TV highlights.

The ongoing roundup also has so far resulted in the arrest of nearly 3000 guest workers and most of the detained laborers have been deported, according to the government. Some 6000 migrants also voluntarily left the country during the past two months. With six more months still remaining in the crackdown period, nobody can predict how many more suicides, deaths and arrests will occur among the multinational guests.

For years, men have been able to conquer the biggest oceans, the highest mountains and even the moon. Nevertheless, it still remains a big challenge for them to win the hearts of the underprivileged and the unfortunate. In this era of very rapid technological development, people know how to get connected with others from another side of the world within seconds. But they have little knowledge on how to reach the downhearted and the discouraged who are always around them.

We often marvel at the enormous amount of respect that Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) earned from people. We can never imagine how a brief press communique announcing that Gandhi was going to fast from such and such a time could have been sufficient to reduce hardened killers to tears. But we often overlook the large measure of concern and love that the Mahatma had for the downtrodden. While we are wondering how Mother Teresa (1910-1997) could win the hearts of millions of people around the world, we tend to ignore how much the saintly woman had committed her life to uplift the lives of the poorest of the poor.

Lending an ear to the troubles of the voiceless is not something just for religious organizations or humanitarian groups. Nor is it a job of NGOs or civic groups. It is the moral responsibility of every civilized society.

It is undoubtedly true that our modern world always needs people who have regard for their fellow human beings. Whether we accept the Big Bang theory or Genesis is not important. We do not have to be a part of any particular kind of "ism". We only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.

One morning, a Korean lady, selling traditional bean paste bread (boong uh ppang) came to the migrant workers' demonstration camp at the Seoul Anglican Cathedral. The woman, who ran her cart shop just across the street, was there to offer her bread to the workers as she did everyday.

But this time , she also brought along with her a white envelope which she handed to one of the migrants, saying her son wanted to donate his one day's wages to the camp. Surprised and happy, the foreign worker asked what her son did for a living. The street vendor gently replied, "My son is disabled and works as a shoe-shine."

Fourth Article (Jan. 12, 2004)
The Korea Herald (A Reader's View)