100 days later, Sewol families still pleading for the truth

Families marching, hoping for enactment of special law, which is currently held up in parliament

By Kim Gi-seong, south Gyeonggi correspondent and Park Ki-yong, staff reporter, in Ansan

“No matter how long the tears flow, the ice in my heart doesn’t melt because no one is taking responsibility for the moment when the children slipped beneath the waves. We have determined to do more than just cry.”

Because of the government and National Assembly, which are still refusing to answer calls to carry out an honest investigation of the Sewol ferry sinking 100 days after it occurred, the families of the victims have begun another march of tears.

It was 9 am on July 23, and heavy raindrops were falling intermittently. The families of those who perished in the sinking of the Sewol were assembled at the official government memorial altar at the Hwarang Resort in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

“We are setting out on this march because we cannot remain silent in a society in which the door of truth is locked, a society with no emergency exit,” someone said, reading a document announcing the beginning of the 100-Li (about 40km) March Calling for the Legislation of the Special Act on the 100th Day since the Sewol Tragedy.

Family members of those lost and still missing from the Sewol tragedy march toward Ansan City Hall in Gyeonggi Province calling for the legislation of the special Sewol Law, July 23. The march went from Ansan to Seoul City Hall and Gwanghwamun Square on the evening of July 24. (by Ryu Woo-jong, staff photographer)

With their dead children’s student ID cards from Danwon High School around their necks, the bereaved families set off on their journey, trailing a minibus bearing large banners printed with the funeral portraits of the victims. They were set to walk around 40km for two days, in a plea for the National Assembly to pass the special Sewol Law, which is in limbo because of opposition from the Saenuri Party (NFP).

Starting on Wednesday, about 300 people - including relatives of the victims and members of social and civic groups - started walking toward Seoul Plaza across from City Hall, which they will reach by way of the National Assembly in Yeouido. The bereaved families, who were divided into the ten classes from Danwon High School that their children belonged to, left the memorial, carrying yellow flags with messages such as, “Pass the Special Act to Get to the Truth” and “How Could We Forget?”

When they reached Danwon High School, some of the bereaved parents burst into tears, calling the names of their children. Teachers and parents from the school showed up at the same time in support of the marchers, holding up a sign that read “We Won’t Forget.” Touched by the anguish and pain of their neighbors, the people of Ansan urged the line of marchers to keep their heads held high as they went by.

Ten opposition lawmakers - including Park Young-sun, floor leader for the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, Moon Jae-in, Kim Young-hwan, and Boo Jwa-hyun - took part in the march on Wednesday. Sim Sang-jung, floor leader for the Justice Party, visited the memorial center to comfort the bereaved families.

After arriving at Gwangmyeong Citizens Gymnasium in Gyeonggi Province at 8:30 pm on Wednesday, the marchers were planning to spend the evening in a public debate and then reach Seoul Plaza, the site of the city’s public memorial for the Sewol tragedy, at 7 pm on July 24.

“If the tears shed by Park Geun-hye on May 19 when she was apologizing to the public were not crocodile tears, she needs to make a decision to enact the Special Act,” a representative of the bereaved families said during a press conference held at the National Assembly on July 22.

The “Bus of Waiting,” organized to comfort families still waiting for those missing after the sinking of the Sewol, also set out for Jindo in South Jeolla Province. The Sewol Tragedy Public Committee, which is composed of 618 nonprofit groups, held a press conference at Seoul Plaza on Wednesday morning. “Since June, the ‘Bus of Waiting’ has been going back and forth to Jindo every Friday. In addition, we will be running the bus on July 23, one day before the 100th day since the tragedy took place,” the committee told reporters.

Departing from Seoul, Gwangju, Daegu, and Ansan, buses assembled at the gymnasium in Jindo at 7:30 pm on Wednesday. The hundred or so people on the buses hailed from a variety of backgrounds, including workers on leave, housewives, university students, Catholics, and labor union employees. After meeting the families of the missing at the gymnasium, they attended a cultural event organized by an art group from the Gwangju and South Jeolla region. Held at Paengmok Port on Jindo, the event lasted from 10 pm until the early morning hours of July 24. On July 24, the visitors will hold an assembly with the Jindo Residents Committee.

“There are still 10 people missing in the accident and the families are mournfully waiting, but the public is already losing interest in the Sewol. As the families who remain here feel a greater sense of isolation, there is a crucial need for solidarity with the families,” said Lee Won-ho, an activist with the Public Committee.

Gwanghwamun Square was filled with a tide of yellow on Wednesday, one day before the 100th day since the tragedy. Around lunchtime, members of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy opened about thirty yellow umbrellas and circled the plaza, shouting messages such as “Enact the Sewol Special Act” and “The right to investigate and indict is the whole point.” On the grassy lawn in front of the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, dozens of origami boats and pinwheels made of yellow paper fluttered in the breeze.

The hunger strike is still underway, with about 40 members of the bereaved families fasting at the National Assembly in Yeouido and the fathers of Yeji from class no. 9, Binnara from class no. 3, and Yumin from class no. 1 (all second-year students at Danwon High School who died in the accident) at Gwanghwamun Square.

In addition to the hunger strikers, five other tents were also set up in front of the statue. These are the location of people who are going without food in sympathy with the bereaved families. Groups taking part [in the fast] on Wednesday included the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, members of the Mom’s Yellow Handkerchief online group, students from Kyonggi University and Sungkonghoe University, the Women’s Association of Bucheon, the Corean Alliance, and People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy.

“Since the Special Act is focused on getting to the bottom of the disaster, enacting it quickly is the only way to get closer to the truth,” said Lee Kyung-hwan, president of the student council at Seoul National University, who was taking part in the hunger strike.

Bishop Lee Yong-hun, chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s Justice and Peace Committee, visited the Family Committee’s hunger strike on Wednesday. On July 14, Lee expressed his position on the botched parliamentary investigation of the Sewol tragedy and the enactment of the Special Law. “Clearly, something is wrong with a society in which people who have lost their family members must desperately ask for someone to find out the truth of those deaths. It is the responsibility of the government to place the safety of the public and the dignity of human kind above every other value of government,” Lee said.

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