Hames Al-Karimi was one of the 339 Yemeni asylum seekers granted a one-year humanitarian stay permit by South Korea in October following their highly publicised period on the resort island of Jeju.
Nearly 500 people from the arrived on Jeju earlier this year, taking advantage of the visa-free access the southern island offers to encourage tourism.
Their arrival triggered a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the South, where only around four per cent of the population are foreigners, mostly from China and Southeast Asia, and discrimination against migrant workers is widespread.
Many opponents cited the Yemenis' Muslim religion and nearly 700,000 people - a record - signed a petition on the presidential website urging tightening of what are already some of the world's strictest refugee laws.
Mr Al-Karimi told SBS Arabic24 that he felt “very unwelcome” during his stay in Jeju, but said there was a small number of locals who assisted in their plight for asylum by organising information conferences and workshops.
Anti-refugee activists chant slogans as they hold signs that read, 'Fake Refugees Out,' as they march next to the police on September 16, 2018 in Seoul Source: Getty
“Although we don’t speak the language, we realised that media outlets were aggressively attacking us,” he said.
“We couldn’t even speak the simplest Korean words to do the basic activities. We were advised to seek help from the immigration department office where we managed to submit our asylum documents and we waited for a month.”
The government of South Korea suspended visa-free entry for Yemenis in June, and those already on the island were banned from leaving.
A total of 481 Yemenis formally applied for asylum. Of those, 34 were rejected outright, the Korean justice ministry said, and 339 were given one-year humanitarian stay permits.
“I completed my interviews, obtained my one-year visa and was finally free to travel across South Korea so I headed to Seoul to look for a job,” Mr Al-Karimi said.
Hames Al-Karimi leaving Jeju. Source: Facebook
Upon his arrival in the capital, Mr Al-Karimi became aware of a job opportunity for manual labour at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipbuilding plant in Ulsan.
He applied through a refugee advocate group and managed to secure employment at the plant.
Mr Al-Karimi said he’s still unable to communicate effectively with the locals and cited his long hours at Hyundai for his inability to learn the language.
Moreover, the uncertainty of his situation was also taking a toll on him.
Anti-immigration activists attend a protest against a group of asylum-seekers from Yemen, in Seoul on June 30, 2018. Source: Getty
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in a year's time so it’s harder to blend into the society and learn the language,” he said.
“We’re in the unknown and our destiny is vague.”
Despite to bring the warring parties in Yemen to the negotiating table, Mr Al-Karimi said he didn't hold much hope.
“Those people are just there to travel and take photos in suits, they live off struggles,” he said.
“My visa is valid until October 2019, I don’t have any sense of stability knowing anything can happen afterwards.”
Hyundai Heavy Industries shipbuilding plant in Ulsan Source: AAP
From Yemen to Seoul
Mr Al-Karimi had to overcome numerous obstacles after fleeing Yemen.
“I’d been working as an accountant in Saudi Arabia since 2013. I had returned to my Yemeni hometown of Ibb, 194km to the south of Sana’a, for a vacation in 2014 when clashes escalated," he said.
"The Houthi movement took over Sana’a so I got stuck and my Saudi work visa was immediately cancelled."
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Houthi fighters since 2015, leading to one of the worst humanitarian crisis in modern history, according to the UN, who estimated that 50,000 had so far been killed and 14 million driven to the edge of famine.
Running out of options, Mr Al-Karimi left Yemen and made for Djibouti before relocating to India.
A father gives water to his malnourished daughter at a feeding center in a hospital in Hodeida, Yemen. Source: AAP
“I had some savings so I decided to apply for a student visa in India to pursue a specialised accounting course,” he said.
Mr Al-Karimi spent a year in India, during which he lodged asylum applications to Canada and several European countries, but all responses came back negative.
After failing to extend his visa in India, Mr Al-Karimi obtained a three-month tourist visa in Malaysia which was granted to Yemenis at the time.
“Although it was illegal for me to work, I managed to find simple jobs through Yemenis there but barely made 200 dollars a month; not even enough for food and accommodation,” he said.
“Amid complete despair and instability, I heard that three Yemenis were granted entry into the South Korean island of Jeju, so I booked my flight right away.”
He said the Yemenis encountered many difficulties on Jeju, including sleeping in parks and relying on help from local charities.
Additional reporting: AFP
