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COMMUNITY 19FRIDAY JUNE 5, 2009

By Paul Kerry

In March Andrea Vandomwas issued an E-2 visa renewalwithout submitting an HIV test,after she said it violated her hu-man rights.

Now two months have passedand the affair is being taken tothe Constitutional Court, wherethe ruling could have wide-ranging implications for thou-sands of expats in Korea.

I felt discriminated againstand violated that, just because Iam a foreigner, that I am con-sidered a risk, said Vandom,who teaches at a University inGyeonggi Province. There real-ly is no evidence that foreignersare more likely to have AIDS ordo drugs.

The case has been taken upby the Korea Public InterestLawyers Group, funded by themand the Beautiful Foundation.They have also taken up a simi-lar case involving a publicschool teacher who also objectedto the testing.

Vandom said that her univer-sity had generally been support-ive of her, but is occasionallyworried by letters from immi-gration, which come twice amonth threatening to revokeher visa and have her deported.

They get the letters and itupsets them because they thinktheyll lose a teacher. But I reas-sure them that I have a lawyerand m y visas not going to be re-voked and theyre pretty calmand supportive until t hey getthe next one.

The response from other ex-patriates has been mixed.Some are supportive and seeme as standing up for theirrights too, but some are angry,especially the F-2 visas, she ex-plains.

They think th at t hey will endup having to take all these teststoo. Its work a nd it s money (tohave the tests done) and theyreally dont want that.

She has a similar ta ke on im-migration as many expatriates:that decisions made by them are

often arbitrary and based onmood an d appearance.

Even the discriminatoryrules they have are not appliedequally t o everybody.

She thinks the AIDS and HIVtesting is counter productive.

I also feel that if I got testedfor AIDS and was positive, thenthey would fire and deport me,instead of helping me and let-ting me use the insurance that Ihad worked for to get treat-ment.

Ben Wagner, an Americanlawyer who teachesInternat ional law at Kyung HeeUniversity Law School agreesthat t his is one of the most dam-aging aspects of the regulations.If you have mandatory testing,then immediately you have astrong disincentive for peoplewho have AIDS to get treat-ment.

The biggest problem is stig-ma an d discrimination.

Wagner said that one of thehopes for the case was that thesituation in Korea regarding

AIDS and HIV would improve.The biggest t hing is that the

testing rate will rise. The major-ity of people that have AIDSdont kn ow it, he said. He point-ed out that these people werethe more problematic to society,because they are the ones whotend to spread it.

The way to improve theAIDS situation in Korea is sim-ple: You need to encourage vol-untary testing.

The E-2 rules have been un-der fire from their inception in2007. Initial pr ess releases andpresentations by immigrationon the new rules differed fromwhat was actually introduced.

Teachers were told that inter-views in their home countrieswould be required and state-ments by imm igration indicatedthat they would apply to allvisas. They were told testingand criminal background checkswere to be repeated each year.This did not happen.

Last year t esting for cannabisrelated compounds was dropped

from the mandatory testing re-quirements without clear rea-son.

Other criticisms center on theregulations failure to achievewhat th ey set out to do.

If I was an arch-conservativeKorean I would also be fumingat these laws, said Wagner. Hepointed out th at th e regulationsstill allowed Americans withcriminal records to teach at ahagwon while taking drugs andhaving AIDS, owing to the num-ber of loopholes in the system.

Wagner expects progress onthe case to be s low. Its sup-posed to be six months, but (cas-es like this) tend to be longer,he said.

Vandoms hopes for t he caseare simple:

I hope they look at their lawsand th eir goals. Their goals areto protect children, so theyshould introduce laws that actu-ally do that, she said. Andthey should apply them equal-ly.

(paulkerry@hotmail.com)

Expat Living is a section dedicated to the dailyliving of expatriates.It is printed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.To share stories about your life abroad, send storiesor story ideas to Matthew Lamers atmattlamers@heraldm.comSubmissions may be edited for length or clarity.

By Rob McGovern

LIVERPOOL, United King-dom Kelly is the name shegives me and Im not sure if it isbecause Im not Korean or be-cause she has become so accus-tomed to not being called by herKorean name.

Kelly is 24 years old and wasborn in Jinju, SouthGyeongsang Province, but leftKorea almost 11 years ago to goto an international boardingschool before moving toReading, England to start hernew life.

What else, education is theshort but predictable answer tothe question of why she leftKorea, or more specifically whyher parents decided to move heracross the globe. As I was anonly child, my parents were re-

luctant to send me overseas.But an opportunity came upand they decided to go for it.

This extreme approach to ed-ucation can of course be lookedat in t wo lights. The first is tha ther parent s took the proverbialbull by the horns and decidedthat if young Kelly was to learnEnglish and become successful,then living in a n English-speak-ing country was the only logicalchoice. The other is that herparents made important deci-sions on her behalf.

When she landed in Englandshe could get around inEnglish but this was after yearsof hagwon study and a lot of pri-vate lessons. It was very frus-trating because the vocabularyin everyday conversation is veryspecific and you just dont lear nthat kind of English in Korea.

And this is aside from the many,many regional varieties ofEnglish in the United Kingdomand Kelly would end up livingwith one of the most distinctand unique: scouse.

Being a young girl from theother side of the world can pre-sent a m ultitu de of problems, notleast of which is the nastinessthat seems to be a specialty ofteenage girls. I did experience abit of racism, but not a lot. All ofthe people in my year were verynice, there were some in otheryears but we ra rely met. I didntreally give it much thought andrealized that I wa snt here tomake everyone happy.

Being at a boarding schoolhad its redeeming features. Itwas easier for me to makefriends because we were stucktogether 24 hours a day.

When asked what advice shewould give to other Koreans go-ing overseas, Kelly is cautiousabout offering general advicebut does say: You just have toget out there a nd meet people,but warns against changingyourself t oo much t o fit in. Youwill find people who will likeyou and people wh o wont. It istrial and error but you willmake friends eventually.

On the subject of friends Kellyadmits that my real closefriends actually end up being ofAsian origin but not necessarilyKorean. I identify more withAsians than British people.And it is no real surprise to findthat she has few Korean friends,given the relatively small popu-lation of Koreans in the UnitedKingdom.

It is somewhat ironic that oneof the things Kelly enjoys mostabout being in the UnitedKingdom is the freedom of ex-pression and the freedom to fol-low your dreams regardless ofwhat other people think.

In Korea it seems to be allabout saving face, but here youdont ha ve to worry about howyou dress or what other peoplethink about you. In Korea youhave to keep up with the latesttrends, but here you could walkaround in a tutu and nobodywould say anything to you!Kelly seems to enjoy the free-dom the United Kingdom offers,or at least the idea that if shewanted to wear a tutu, shecould.

It is for these reasons that shethinks that ma ny Koreans wantto move abroad. Because theyknow other countries are moreopen t han Korea.

Even though the UnitedKingdom seems to offer thingsthat are not freely available inKorea, there are still things thatKelly misses about the land ofher birth and th ings she wontmiss about the UnitedKingdom. The weather is theemphatic answer, as well as itseveryday inconveniences.

I dont t hink convenienceexists in England. Eventhough it would be easier tochange, the English tend tostick with old ways of doingthings. In Korea, if somethingbreaks down you are going toget serviced pretty much thesame day and there are 24-hour convenience stores every-where. When I go back to

Korea I tell my family theyshould appreciate it.

She tries to keep up with thenews in Korea but admits that itcomes and goes.

I dont rea lly keep up to dat ewith politics because I dont un-derstand the advanced lan-guage and besides, as a medicalstudent, I have a lot of weirdLatin words to remember!Kelly makes the trip back toKorea to see her family atChristmas and during the sum-mer t ime, but because of the agewhen she left sh e doesnt rea llyhave many friends, and there-fore spends all her t ime with herparents.

I am not used to it and so af-ter about four weeks in Korea Istart t o think maybe it is time togo back to the U.K.

The conflicting cultures havegiven Kelly something of anidentity crisis that surfaceswhen I ask her which countryshe calls home.

I have sort of lost my identi-ty. I dont r eally belong to Koreabecause I havent been able tofollow all the cultural changesand the t rends. I will always bea Korean and with my parentsliving there it will always feellike home. But the U.K. has be-come like a second home.

When I am older, ma ybe 60, Iwill think about returning toKorea, but for now I am h appyin the U.K.

To contact th e author, e-mialrobguv@gmail.com. To com-ment, e-mail m attlamers@her-aldm.com Ed.

By Paul Kerry

Expats have come together tosupport a former teacher who isunable to pay for the surgery heneeds.

Matt Robinson, who hastaught English in Korea and wasa member of Seoul Players, anexpat theater group, needs emer-gency surgery to save his leg.

He became ill and receivedseparate surgery while in Korealooking for a job, but due to com-plications he now needs furthersurgery. Like many job-seekingforeigners in Korea, he did nothave insurance. He is th ereforeunable to pay for the treatmenthe needs.

Doctors at the hospital saythat the procedure is elective be-cause it requires plastic surgeryto close the wound. They saythey will not perform thesurgery unless payment ismade.

His friends have set up an ap-peal on Facebook to help himpay his medical expenses.

Lydia Cooper, one of thegroups organizers, said th egroup still needed to raisearound 12 million won, includ-ing the surgery required andunpaid medical bills.

Cooper said they had receiveddonations from people all overKorea and in America as well.

Its so am azing how qu icklythe word has spread, and theforeign community in Korea isso impress ive, said Cooper.

Because of these excellentpeople, we have raised a lot ofmoney in a really short am ountof time. I guess what reallysticks out is how caring and gen-erous the foreign community inKorea is, and how happy I am tobe in a place where people aretruly good souls.

The Seoul Players plan to per-form Silly Cow, a comedy byBen Elton, on June 11 at PhilliesBasement in Haebangchon.Tickets are limited to 40 and allproceeds go to Robinson. Formore information, e-mailmunr ode@hotmail.com

Another charity event,Dance for Matt is being orga-nized for June 13, but organiz-ers say it might be moved toSunday depending on the venueand performers.

The venue is to be deter-mined; for more information, e-mail azhaar@azhaarda nce.comor go to the Facebook groupDance for Matt.

Cooper said events had beenheld at Beer OClock in Sinchon,which raised 375,000 won, atOle Stompers Rock Spot inItaewon, which raised 600,000won and another at Berlin inItaewon which raised 700,000.

Donation boxes have been setup around Seoul at these andother venues.

Cooper said that if funds wereleft over they may go into a fundfor expats who find themselvessimilarly in need.

(paulkerry@heraldm.com)

RE: Small but vibrant: BahaIs in KoreaThank you for writing such an informative and accurate article

on the BahaIs of Korea. The main points were covered clearly andin a positive light. It is refreshing to read what you wrote.

Most of the BahaIs who live in Korea are Korean and are peopleof knowledge and vision for the Korean society. When you have anopportunit y to write again about the Baha I Faith , you will find ituplifting to interview them. I know many of them as I lived inKorea for 23 years.

Elaine Losey, Kapolei, Hawaii

Thank you so much for the article about the BahaI Faith. I wouldlike to also tha nk you on behalf of our BahaI commun ity in Korea.Your har d work is very much appreciated by all the expatr iates.

Parvaneh Lee, Seoul

While we certainly deplore the abuse and injustices of Iranian au-thorities towards BahaIs in t hat n ation, we consider that readersshould be informed that The National Spiritual Assembly of BahaIsof the United States is acting with a similar at titude and plans t o-wards Ort hodox BahaIs in America. The Nat ional SpiritualAssembly of BahaIs of the United States is attempting to use U.S.courts to force Orthodox BahaIs to stop practicing their fait h, stop-ping them from identifying themselves as Baha Is or using the nameBahaI or the symbols of their faith. The Nat ional Spiritua lAssembly failed in its Court Action to deprive Orthodox BahaIs oftheir freedom of religion and now the National Spiritual Assemblyfiled an appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals of JudgeAmy J. St . Eves decision in favor of the Ort hodox BahaI Faith.

Ross Campbell, United States

RE: Brothas & sistas of KoreaYour ar ticle made me rem ember an d ponder all of the feelings

that I felt while in Korea. It is beautiful, impressive and wonderfulthat this group was created and it goes to show the power of ourpeople and what change we can create when we come together.This group is totally needed in Korea with all cultures becausesupport is so important. This article also reminds me of the powerof the word in writing to reach and empower others.

I will send this article to my old school in Korea so that they canshare it with the many teachers that come each year to teach.Thank you so much.

JohnDre Jennings, United States

Expats rally to help

friend in hospital

Going abroad (and never returning home)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Andrea Vandom is shown here teach-ing a class. Korea Public InterestLawyersGroup is filing a case in thecountrys Constitutional Court againstE-2 teaching visa regulations.Vandomis the plaintiff. Hanna Drabon

PHOTO CHALLENGE WINNER In Namwon,North Jeolla Province,a path enclosed in a tunnel of trees makes the perfect place to escapethe summer heat, and perhaps take a gentle stroll or ride. This was submitted for Mays Sunshine & Shadow competition. Simon Bond

Prejudice or ineptitude? Let court decide