Akira, Rep. Chun exchange talks for helping those in plight

Freedom, ‘work’ paves for, happiness growing ripe with ‘work’

Rep. Chun Soon-ok has become a member of the National Assembly in the general election held earlier this year under the proportional representation of the opposition Democratic United Party. She met Akira, a noted peace activist of Camboida and a winner of Manhae Prize who came to Korea to receive the prize on Aug. 11, 2012, in a special dinner hosted by The AsiaN.

Akira is devoting himself to searching and removing landmines buried in all parts of Cambodia. CNN, a U.S. cable network, selected him “This year’s Hero in 2010.” On the occasion of his visit to Korea, the Asia Journalist Association (AJA), parents organization of The AsiaN, designated him as its publicity ambassador following such celebrities as mountaineer Um Hong-gil and Hong Myung-bo, manager of Korea Olympic Soccer Team.

Chun Sook-ok’s freedom

Rep. Chun’s families are those who contributed to advancing Korea’s labor movement, politics, economy, society and culture. Rep. Chun who is a younger sister of the late Chun Tae-il, known as a patriotic martyr for labor movement, left to the United Kingdom to research ‘Women labor movement history in 1989 when she was 35 years old.

She received her Ph. D degree from the University of Warick, London with a theme, “They are not machines”, which dealt with a labor movement history of women in the 1970s in Korea.  After backing to Seoul, Rep. Chun gets a job at the Changshin-dong garment district again and runs her own garment company at present here.

The reasons why she is not leaving Chang shin-dong are because she herself found that garment district labors are facing an unchanged reality in which they have to work during 16 hours in poor surroundings still and therefore, she wanted to contribute so that garment labors can live like a human being.

Akira’s Freedom

Akira. One out of 290 persons in Cambodia is legless and disabled because of landmines. Its total population stands at 14.3 million as of 2011.

A boy, forced to separate from his parents when he was five years old, left forcibly his village by Khmer Rouge force and had to work in the field. Some time later, he was forcibly drafted as a soldier boy by Kampuchea People’s Republic which invaded Cambodia and carried out a duty of planting landmines here and there. So he became a landmine expert irrespective of his will.

Vietnam fell back due to the influence of Perestroyka in 1989, but Cambodia was engulfed in its civil war owing to the struggle between the three resistance forces within Cambodia. In 1991 all wars were over, but individual or community in Cambodia are not absolutely free because people can’t come and go in much of the roads where landmines are not removed completely.

Mr. William W. Morse, an American Peace Activist is dedicated to help Akira’s landmine removal project, operation of landmine museum , and education project, spending 11 months a year in Cambodia as a lifelong colleague of Akira. He said “I am confident that Akira’s work is the only possible way to bring peace to Cambodia in the real sense of meaning. I am determined to help him to the end.”

Peace

Asked about “how about designing clothes for those disabled by landmines taking advantage of your expertise for garment designing and fashion industry?”, Rep. Chun was very much delighted to hear that and said that she used to develop special designs looking good and convenient for disabled people to use, but they couldn’t be  put into production due to lack of money.

She said “I am always ready to teach the people in Cambodia the technology needed to develop their garment industry, but I can’t support for any business coporate to advance to the country with a priority of earning money.”

Akira explained the relation between his work and peace. After the war, he made every possible effort to make people who fought as enemies become friends each other. Now, they have become friendly and cooperate together in the work of removing landmines. “I feel amazing to see them, once fighting to kill each other, work side by side as friends,” he said.

Happiness

“My place of work, I go to a mine field. I walk a path through a forest, carrying over a packed lunch, a hammock necessary for a nap and equipment for work. Bird voice, wind voice, and fresh air wrap my face. I play with toys with children after finishing work at evening. Those are my happiness”.

news@theasian.asia