Argentina: Information on discrimination against Koreans
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 January 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ARG16176.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Argentina: Information on discrimination against Koreans, 1 January 1994, ARG16176.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad3514.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Please find attached four articles that discuss immigrants and minority groups in Argentina; of these, three specifically mention Koreans.
The two attached articles obtained from on-line news services refer to Koreans entering Argentina illegally. One of these articles quotes the Interior Minister of Argentina as saying that illegal immigrants "came into Argentina with false documents and are treated as slave labour" (Central News Agency 29 Nov. 1993), while the other article refers to a two-month mid-1990 ban on entry to Argentina for Chinese and Korean nationals (Clarín 14 July 1990). According to the latter source, the temporary ban was due to the use of falsified documents by Chinese and Koreans for the purpose of remaining in Argentina (ibid.). At the time the government of Argentina reportedly denounced the existence of an organization specialized "in making false legal declarations regarding would-be immigrants' professional status and assets," adding that "the foreigners' ultimate objective, however, is not to settle in Argentina, but rather to obtain a passport to go to the US and Canada" (ibid.).
The other two articles refer to a survey on racist attitudes conducted in three large cities of Argentina (Latin American Weekly Report 14 Oct. 1993; ibid. 9 Sept. 1993). One of the articles reports that Asians are generally referred to as amarillos ("yellow ones"), adding that the French, Spanish, Brazilian, Paraguayan and other ethnic or national groups also have nicknames that are widely used by the population (ibid.).
The report describes as a bad habit "extensive to the whole continent wherever there are large immigrant groups, that people are referred to by their places of origin" (ibid.). The source states that "behind the apparently innocent or mildly offensive nicknames ... there is a deep-seated immigrant distrust of everything that is not of an understandable origin" (ibid.). The report also states that "few groupsother than the Patrician familiescan trace their history back further than a century," adding that "this is insufficient to create a `national identity'" and "[t]hus, Argentina is broken up into small social groups which distrust one another, in business, sport and individual human contact" (ibid.).
A copy of the survey cited in the above-quoted articles could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB. One of the attachments, however, provides details on how the survey was conducted and on its results, although without specific references to Asians or Koreans (Latin American Weekly Report 14 Oct. 1993).
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Latin American Weekly Report [London]. 14 October 1993. "So Is Racism in Decline in Argentina?"
. 9 September 1993. "A Sharp Dose of Xenophobia."
Attachments
Central News Agency. 29 November 1993. "Argentina Concerned About Asian Inflow." (NEXIS)
Clarín [Buenos Aires, in Spanish]. "One Million Illegal Immigrants Were Found in the Country" (summary). (InfoSouth)
Latin American Weekly Report [London]. 14 October 1993. "So Is Racism in Decline in Argentina?"
. 9 September 1993. "A Sharp Dose of Xenophobia."
