Former British Foreign Secretary Straw: ‘Need for high-level inquiry into Korean hybrids’ [Translated]
Khanh An-VOA
September 16, 2017
“Untold Story of Vietnamese Women” is the theme of an event first held in London, England. A series of forgotten stories about the mothers of the Korean-born Hyukjae in Vietnam has been “recounted” on the evening of September 12, with the attendance of former British Foreign Minister Jack Straw as the guest speaker. .
Nguyen Van Thanh, one of the tens of thousands of Korean children living in Vietnam, told VOA specifically about his situation:
“My mom sells coconut milk in front of the house, treats her grandma. Car it [Korean soldiers] to dump garbage, passing it stop playing. Do not know how raped her mother. She was just raped.
“The 14, 15 year old mother gave birth to herself. Heard that I was born very small, because of pregnancy at an early age. Born to be small, so difficult to raise, miserable, then rolled to life, listening to the old woman said too heavy … ”
His childhood filled with tears, despised, tortured from the family:
“Later she married a second husband, was beaten her husband, beaten, I was also beaten, beating when only 3 years old.”
Not to witness him being persecuted continuously, her mother took him to flee the country, to an area around only mountains. Yet, it is still inevitable to be harassed for being a “Korean hybrid”.
Thanh’s story is part of an unspoken account of the fate of sexually assaulted victims during wartime.
Justice for Lai Dai Han, the organizer of the event, said that they had investigated and collected many “hidden” stories about Vietnamese women being wounded by Korean soldiers. raped during the Vietnam War.
These stories were shown during the first event in the UK.
Need a high-level investigation
In an interview with VOA, former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the seriousness of the story prompted him to attend and attend.
“There is a need for a high quality investigation of these allegations,” the former British Foreign Secretary told VOA.
From past experience, former Secretary of State Straw suggested that when there are allegations from victims of sexual abuse, the first step to take is to investigate, even if it is a “sensitive topic.” “for both Vietnamese and Korean governments.
About 300,000 South Korean soldiers fought with American forces in Vietnam in 1964, mainly in the central region.
For decades after the country was “liberated,” Vietnamese-Korean children were always despised by society.
“People are always me … Just go to school is the school children … Then the neighborhood bully … They say I’m different from people. They said, ‘You are Korean. Go home, do not stay here, “Vo Thi Tuyet burst into tears as she remembered her bitter childhood.
Not only Korea, the United States has also been condemned for leaving hybrid children in Vietnam after 1975.
In 1987, with the Amerasian Homeworking Act, the United States received approximately 21,000 hybrid and 55,000 Vietnamese families.
Korean hybrids are not so lucky. The Korean government does not recognize Vietnamese children as children of the soldiers.
It is estimated that there are about 800 Vietnamese women raped by Korean soldiers still alive. Their biggest wish is just a “sorry” word from the Korean government for their children to be recognized.
According to the Justice for Lai Dai Han Foundation, between 10,000 and 30,000 Korean hybrids are struggling with marginalized life because of a lack of opportunity to attend school.