Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Female N.Korean refugees suffer abuse

March 2, 2010 by Ban

Many female North Korean refugees suffer violence or human trafficking after fleeing their homeland, a watchdog has said

If you are a North Korean, you would be in a dire need of protection of your human rights under the government’s oppression. If you are a North Korean and woman, you would know that wherever you go, the protection of your rights would be barely possible.

Even once a few of those North Koreans successfully flee their own country, they face the similar, if not worse, oppressions and  human rights infringements. The following  recently-reported article sheds light upon this situation of female refugees in China and how they live in a sickening fear until they find a safe haven.
s

The report by the National Human Rights Commission was its first on the plight of women refugees in third countries and followed interviews and a survey of 274 defectors last year.

“Border areas are where most of the human rights infringements against women take place,” university professor Lee Im-Ha, who helped conduct the survey, told a press conference.

Virtually all North Koreans fleeing their country cross into China, where they face forced repatriation if caught. Many travel on to Southeast Asian nations in the hope of eventual resettlement in South Korea.

Many suffered abuses at refugee camps in China and other countries, the survey found. Almost 20 percent of the women bribed North Korean guards with money or sex to get across the initial border, it said.

China’s forced repatriation policy has been strongly criticised by rights groups.

At a Washington press conference in April last year, North Korean women who escaped the sex trade in China said brokers there treated them like livestock by selling them to one or more “husbands”.

Almost 17,000 North Koreans have arrived in the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

[AFP - Feb. 21, 2010]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Concentration Camps, Health Issues, Refugees / Defectors | Leave a Comment »

Remember to Vote!

February 27, 2010 by Ban

I already wrote an introduction here, and we only have one more day to help Liberty in North Korea to win $250,000 from Pepsi’s “Refresh Everything” campaign. LiNK is at the 4th place now and it still needs to go up to the 2nd place. You can vote here. Let’s give a last push!
s

The money that the organization wins will be explicitly spent for the following goals:

  • Provide job training, and career counseling for refugees.
  • Provide medical and psychological services for North Korean refugees.
  • Provide food for North Korean refugees once resettled in the U.S.
  • Facilitate language acquisition and cultural orientation for refugees.
  • Provide housing for North Korean refugees once resettled in the U.S.

    • Posted in Others | Comments Off

    Thoughts on the 38th Parallel

    February 26, 2010 by Park

    A couple of months ago, a week away from the winter break, I was excited to go back to Korea. I called home, and asked my mother how things were. She said everything was fine, but told me that my grandmother was sick. She told me to pray for her. Oblivious of how serious her situation was, I just stayed in my bed, playing PSP.
     
    As I arrived in Incheon International Airport a week later with my sister, my parents came to pick us up at 3:00 in the morning.
    While heading back home in the car, my dad told me, “We have somewhere to go today.”
    My sister asked, sanguinely assuming that we are going on some vacation, asked, “Where are we going?”
    My dad turned to my mom and asked, “Did you not tell them?”
    And my mom answered, “I couldn’t…”
    s
    My sister and I knew what was coming. On that day when I was playing PSP and worrying about the incomplete homework for the next day, my grandmother passed away from one of the most painful causes of death I could think of. I cannot put into words how sad we were and how much we were crying. Only two phrases were ringing in my head. She was such a nice person. She loved me so much.
    s
    My grandmother was North Korean who came to the South before the war broke out in 1950. As I felt guilty and helpless by the twelve thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean that had to separate me from seeing her for the last time before she passed away, she must have felt the same way by the 38th parallel which had left her separated from her family, friends and home. North and Sourth Korea  is 223,170 square kilometer combined, and it takes less than a day to drive from the top of North Korea to bottom of the South. But the 38th parallel that has divided the two nations since 50 years ago still separates families and makes it impossible to even know whereabouts of one’s brother, sister, or parents, while it would only take a few hours to meet them if there were no border line..
    s
    I remember my grandfather, who also came from North Korea, always cried every time our family went to his mother’s grave. The last time we went there with my grandfather was in 2005. He still cried, though it has been more than 40 years since my great-grandmother died. When I think of it now, I don’t think it was just the death of his mother that made him shed tears. It was the reminiscence of his distant memories with his friends, cousins, brothers, sisters, and his father, and the fact that they are all suffering from famine and oppression that made him cry.

    Posted in Others | Leave a Comment »

    Some Suggestive Reading List

    February 26, 2010 by Ban

    In 2009, North Korea received 300,000 tons of food aid. However, 1/3 of North Koreans still remain starved.

    s
                                                                        

    Interview with a North Korean defector who survived in one of the most notorious Yoduk political prison camp.

    s
                                                                         

     s

    It’s very positive to hear that North Korean defectors who now reside in South Korea voluntarily decided to train to help others just like them to acclimate into South Korea. Indeed, educating newcomers from North Korea to adjust into South Korea is a crucial stepping stone for the smooth transition into the later unification which may occur anytime in our generation.

                                                                             
    s

    Four South Koreans are allegedly detained in the North for illegal entry.

     

    Posted in Concentration Camps, Health Issues, Others, Refugees / Defectors | Leave a Comment »

    Addressing North Korea’s Food Needs on a Human Level

    February 25, 2010 by janet3

    When political turmoil is high within an already unstable environment, general populations are often at high risk for becoming victims to decisions from above. North Korea is no exception. According to the U.N. World Food Programme, over a third of the population of North Korea is currently in need of food aid. Amidst North’s Korea affirmation of a refusal to abandon its nuclear weapons program, Lynn Pascoe, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, emphasized the need to genuinely address food needs within the reclusive country, regardless of other agendas. He spoke to CNN on the matter:

    “These are human beings that need the food. It’s not the political system. This shouldn’t be argued in a political way.”

    [CNN.com, Tom Evans]

     

    Lynn Pascoe, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs

     

    Despite Mr. Pascoe’s good intentions, there are obvious obstacles to realizing greater international attention to such humanitarian needs. Many other individuals, nations, and organizations can still be inclined to link the provisions of aid with a bargaining away of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, given the lack of transparency within North Korea, it could be extremely difficult to ensure that the aid ends up in the hands of the truly hungry people, and not in the hands of high-ranking government officials. But Pascoe asserted that the United Nations has such concerns under control:

    “Our people believe they have a very clear idea of who’s using the food, where it’s going, and it’s really for the good of the people who need it most.”

    [CNN.com, Tom Evans]

    Although the degree to which humanitarian aid can be isolated from political issues in this situation is debatable, it is clear that those who are hungry can benefit whenever their food needs are met.

    Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

    China sent 300,000 tons of food to N.Korea last year

    February 24, 2010 by Park

    It seems that China has just recently provided about 300,000 tons of food to North Korea last year to ease its chronic shortages.

    China, the North’s sole major ally, has long been its chief energy and food supplier.

    Unification Minister Hyun In-Taek gave the figure in a report Tuesday to a closed session of a parliamentary committee, his office said, adding the food was provided either on credit or as aid.

    The ministry, which handles cross-border relations, gave no further details. The website of Chosun Ilbo newspaper estimated that 300,000 tons equals one month’s supply for the communist nation’s entire population of 24 million.

    A bungled currency revaluation last November by the North has reportedly played havoc with distribution networks, aggravating food shortages and sparking inflation.

    Hyun said the North was trying to ease the problems.

    “North Korea has been suffering from problems in food supply and distribution since its currency reform and has been taking measures to deal with the situation,” he told legislators Tuesday.

    China, the North’s sole major ally, has long been its chief energy and food supplier.

     [AFP via Yahoo News]

    Meanwhile, South Korea has since 2008 suspended annual shipments of fertiliser and food to the North amid rising tensions.

    Posted in Civil Liberties, Health Issues | Leave a Comment »

    « Newer Posts - Older Posts »