Justice Ministry Presents Dolls to Rescued Afghan Children

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Dolls that were seen in the hands of children of Afghan “persons of special merit” and their families when they arrived at Incheon International Airport last week are gaining media attention after they turned out to have been distributed by the South Korean Ministry of Justice to comfort them.

Despite the difficulties involved with purchasing and distributing the dolls at the last minute, government employees still took time to hold the dolls themselves to make sure that the dolls felt soft and comfortable when the children held them.

They also referred to the dolls popular among the children of government staff, and took Afghan and Islamic culture into consideration when preparing the dolls.

“We excluded puppy dolls based on advice given by an expert on Islamic culture,” a ministry official said. “Instead, we picked bears, rabbits and cats.”

In Muslim culture, dogs are regarded as unclean animals.

The children will be staying with their families at the National Human Resource Development Institute in Jincheon County, North Chungcheong Province.

“Since it is a public institute, there aren’t enough facilities for children,” a ministry official said. “Once the two-week quarantine is over, we’ll be preparing indoor slides and toys for the children to play with.”

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