Two Egyptian asylum seekers lose consciousness after holding hunger strike

Asylum seeker Anas Ahmad Shahada, 28, is transported to the hospital after losing consciousness during his hunger strike on Sept. 4. (provided by Joint Action with Refugees)

Taken to hospital after calling for fair reviews of refugee applications

Two Egyptian asylum seekers who have been on a hunger strike, calling for the South Korean government to give them asylum and to review asylum applications fairly, were taken to the hospital after they lost consciousness.

According to a group called Joint Action with Refugees, Anas Ahmad Shahada, 28, lost consciousness at 6:40 pm, Sept. 4, on the 20th day of his hunger strike in front of the Hyoja Security Center in Seoul’s Jongno District, while Muhammed Muna, 30, fainted and was taken to the hospital at 7:40 pm on the 6th day of his hunger strike. Joint Action said that Shahada and Muna had shown epileptic symptoms while they were unconscious, but that they are now in a regular hospital room where they’re receiving intravenous fluid therapy.

They’ll reportedly need three or four days of treatment in the hospital.

Shahada, who was a journalist, and Muna, who was a medical student, started their hunger strike last month with Zayd Abdel-Rahman, 35, an anti-government activist back in Egypt, in front of the Hyoja Neighborhood Security Center near the Blue House to protest the government’s poorly conducted and protracted review of their application for refugee status.

The three individuals applied for refugee status on the grounds that they could be persecuted by the Egyptian government for their anti-government activities. Shahada and Abdel-Rahman have appealed the South Korean Ministry of Justice’s decision to reject their application, while Muna is still waiting for the results of his initial review.

Civic groups convene in Seoul on Aug. 30 to support the hunger strikes of asylum seekers.

On the morning of Sept. 5, Joint Action held a press conference in front of the Hyoja Neighborhood Security Center and criticized the government for failing to respond to the asylum seekers’ long hunger strike.

“On Aug. 24, we had an interview at the office of the Senior Secretary for Civil Society, but they only said they would pass along our demands and urged us to call off the hunger strike. The Ministry of Justice, the responsible government body, hasn’t even given us an official response,” said a spokesperson for the group.

“These people’s demands are extremely clear and single. They want to be treated in accordance with the Refugee Convention, which South Korea has signed, and the refugee legislation that South Korea has enacted. They want action to be taken on the fact that they’re still waiting for the results of their review even though it’s well past the deadline specified in the refugee legislation,” Joint Action said.

“We’re not to blame for the political conflict over refugees that’s taking place in South Korea. What we want is for South Korea to abide by its own law,” said Abdel-Rahman, who is continuing the hunger strike along, now in his 19th day.

Egyptian asylum seeker Zayd Abdel-Rahman (right) is on a hunger strike calling for the South Korean government to give a fair review of his refugee application

By Lim Jae-woo, staff reporter

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