2세 동포가 보는 광주민주항쟁

 

 

염상진 기자

 

 

다음 글은 5살에 미국으로 이민온 맹유진 2세동포가 시카고광주민주항쟁 36주년기념식에서 발표한 글이다. 그는 광주민주항쟁과 관련된 역사, 동영상, 기사, 증언들을 보고 가슴이 무너졌으며, 살벌한 국가폭력 앞에서도 시위대가 서로 돕고 사랑하며 함께 투쟁하는 모습에서 경외감을 느꼈다고 하였다.

 

또 광주항쟁은 집단적으로 인간의 존엄과 권리를 촉구한 것이며, 그것은 불평등, 차별, 국가 억압,  자본가들의 폭력, 그리고 제국주의에 대항하여 오늘 이곳에서도 계속 되고 있는 것과 공통한 투쟁이라고 하였다. 이어 우리 모두 이 정신을 절대로 잊지 말고 계승하여 인간을 누구나 존중하고 평등하게 대우하는 공동체와 미래를 만들기 위하여 투쟁하고 저항해야 한다고 강조하였다.

 

 

 

 

 

5.18

 

 

Yujin Maeng

 

 

I grew up with a hyphenated identity—Korean-American. I was born in Korea and moved to the United States when I was 5 years old, where I barely held onto the little Korean language ability that I hold today. Growing up in the United States meant that I grew up learning nothing about my own history—Korean history.

 

It wasn’t until many years later, when Ferguson happened, that I ran across the phrase, “Gwangju Democratic Uprising” in think-pieces and articles that pleaded for Asian Americans, specifically Korean Americans, to vocally support the Black Lives Matter movement. The phrase “Gwangju Democratic Uprising” alluded to a historical event in Korea. In which Koreans lived through a similar experience of suppression, brutality, and murders at the hand of the state that Black Americans currently experience today in America.

 

Looking at the videos, photos, testimonials, and articles that document the Gwangju Democratic Uprising, I was heartbroken to see images of beatings, murders, burnings, and shootings of Korean citizens—Korean mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers—at the hands of their own government.

 

But looking over the documentation, I was also inspired and in awe of the Gwangju community, who came together to feed each other, support each other, love each other, and who came together.

 

The Gwangju’s Democratic Uprising is the unflinching demand and affirmation for human dignity. It is the same struggle that we see in America when we see racist police violence, mass incarceration, gentrification, unequal pay, mass unemployment, and inaccessible housing, education, land, and healthcare. It’s a common struggle against state repression, capitalist violence, and imperialist nations and it’s a struggle that we continue today.

 

The Gwangu Democratic uprising was a collective demand for human dignity and human rights. We can never forget what happened in Gwangu and the spirit of those who fought for justice. We must continue to fight, struggle, and resist today in order to work towards and achieve a community and future that treats every human being with respect and equality.

 

Thank you.

[이 게시물은 관리자님에 의해 2016-05-18 16:54:21 새 소식에서 복사 됨]

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