austraLasia #1848

YAVC - Yet Another Vietnamese Centre!

SEOUL: 18th May 2007 --  Anyone who uses a Linux operating system is accustomed to the acronyms starting with YA (Yet Another....) to describe the various programs people come up with.  It's one of the nice features of that operating system - more than one choice!  The same could be said for the Vietnamese diaspora around our region, and the efforts of Salesians to respond effectively to it.  www.sdb.org is currently focusing on the Thien An Vietnamese Centre blessed and opened this year in Melbourne, Australia (you can see it on the home page FOCUS).  Now comes news of another centre, this time in South Korea.
    Last Sunday, May 13th, saw the blessing and opening of the Vietnamese Labour Centre in Seoul.  The occasion was graced by the Auxiliary bishop of Seoul, Luke Kim Woon Hoi who blessed the Centre before the Vietnamese Sunday 10 am Mass. The Pastor is Fr Giuse Binh sdb.
    At present there are an estimated 700,000 migrants living in South Korea.  Since 1992 the Seoul archdiocese had set up a Labour Pastoral Commission, centred on an 8 storey building with a staff of some 20 people looking after the affairs of Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Latinos, Thais and Mongolians.  But now, Salesian led, but with help from an SVD and OP priest as well, comes this new Labour Centre for Vietnamese workers.  The new centre ministers to some 20,000 migrant workers, amongst them the two largest groups of Catholics in Seoul.
    Under the (yellow?) umbrella of the Archdiocesan labour office there is a range of services, not limited to just sacraments and worship.  There is grievance counselling, (workers who have been cheated or are victims of injustice, violence), advocacy (to improve industry and government labour policies), intercultural activity (Korean language study, computer science, Korean culture), health care (free help from many Catholic hospitals), family counselling for inter-racial marriages (in Korea about 10% of all marriages are now contracted between a Korean and a foreigner) and shelter for foreign women forced into prostitution.
    Fr Jack Trisolini, an American Salesian who has spent a lifetime working in Korea, is currently in charge of the Foreign workers apostolate in the archdiocese.  He expresses satisfaction with archdiocesan funding, collaboration and inter-congregational coordination.  The Salesian Family is strongly committed to this venture and Fr Mazzali, the Economer General, who carried out the extraordinary visitation of the South Korean province last year underlined the fact that 'it is a type of commitment which is fully Salesians and should be carefully nurtured by the province in its strategic plans for the future'. A small SDB community with four confreres - Fr Jack, two Koreans and Fr Giuse from VIE - is involved directly.  They are awaiting some reinforcements from Vietnam.
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