When hundreds of Yemenis fleeing war and the humanitarian crisis back home made their way to a South Korean island last year, they were not expecting a warm welcome. But neither did they expected the outcry that labeled them “fake refugees.”

Leaving behind their homeland’s hostility, most of the Yemeni asylum seekers are trying to build their lives and adapt to Korean society until it is safer to return to their war-ravaged country. 

Their journey to settle in Korea, however, is riddled with obstacles, highlighting how socially, culturally and legally unprepared South Korea is to embrace asylum seekers of different races and religions. 

More than 480 Yemenis arrived on Jeju Island, some 100 kilometers off the country’s southern coast, last spring. 

Only two of them were granted refugee status, and 56 were ordered to leave Korea. Some 412 Yemenis were granted temporary “humanitarian stay” permits that allow them to remain in Korea until the situation in Yemen stabilizes. 

Now, the majority of them have left the island for the mainland, mostly in search of employment. Some 126 Yemenis remain on the island as of the end of January, according to the Justice Ministry. 

After Alnukhbi Mabrook, 26, received a humanitarian stay permit in October, he left the island and began to work as chef at a BBQ restaurant in Incheon. 

The situation in Yemen is very difficult, said Mabrook, who left his parents and four sisters at home in the country’s capital Sanaa.

“I ask them how their lives go, whether they are fine, but they say they’re so scared because of bomb explosions. They stay home most of their time. Things are expensive -- gas and electricity. Hospitals are so packed, a lot of people die and suffer from hunger,” he said. 

Yemen’s nearly 4-year-old civil war between the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government has killed tens of thousands and displaced and estimated 3.3 million people, according to the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 

More than 20 million people across the country are food insecure, with half of them suffering extreme levels of hunger, the agency said.

For Mabrook, who finally found safe refuge out of Yemen and a job to support his family back home, he could not be thankful enough. 

“I would like to thank South Korea for accepting Yemeni people. I am happy now,” he said. “If possible, I want to bring my family here. I want to study Korean. I want to build my life here.”

But in general, life in Korea is not easy for Yemenis -- from getting a job to adjusting to the different culture. 

Without any financial support from the government, those who hold humanitarian permits do not have proper access to medical care or education, and cannot invite their families to join them, which activists say makes the Yemenis’ lives insecure. 

“I felt happy when I moved out of Jeju. But it was difficult to find work. Not many jobs in winter, and all recruitment agencies tended to avoid humanitarian visa holders,” said Muneer Naji, 26, who recently found work at a factory near Seoul. 

Humanitarian status holders are given G-1-6 visas, which are extendable each year. Still, employers prefer to hire those with longer-term visas, activists have said, making it difficult for them to land jobs. 

“We cannot speak Korean well, so it is difficult to communicate,” he said. “Also, we like Korean food and respect Korean culture, but it is just different from ours. I try to find Halal food, but I often cannot find it,” said Naji, who arrived on Jeju Island in May last year. 

“It is so cold, and even snow! And working for long hours? We are not used to it,” he said with a shy smile. 

The Yemenis on Jeju Island received the results of their refugee applications more quickly than usual, amid intense public attention, but many others who arrived here before them still have not even gotten the chance to be interviewed at an immigration office. 

Zakarya Alashmaly, president of the Union of Yemen Community in Korea, has been awaiting the results of his refugee application since he arrived in Seoul in June 2017.

While the government reviews refugee claims, which can take up to two years, they are issued G-1-5 visas, extendable every three months. On the visa they are issued a work permit, but only after finding an employer to hire them. 

Jobs available for asylum seekers and humanitarian status holders are mostly limited to manual work, because certificates and licenses they bring from home are often not recognized here. 

Alashmaly, 28, was a dentist in Yemen and Dubai, but his qualifications are not recognized here. He now works part-time as an assistant at a dental clinic while leading the community to help Yemenis better integrate into Korean society. 

Before then, he had worked at four different factories.

AFP.