Daily Cal Editorial

From the Daily Californian, April 14 2006

Genocide in North Korea goes Unchecked

by Eugene Lee

The entrance to the Holocaust Museum in Washington has two words adorning the doorway: never again. Through a tour of the museum, you are overwhelmed with stories and images of horrible atrocities, filling visitors with a sense of disgust and anger, sadness and bewilderment. This was the lowest point in the history of mankind, the ultimate manifestation of man's cruelty and the display of our worst potential. The two words, as simple as they appear, are full of hope, hope for a better future with lessons learned from the past.

But history has a tendency to repeat itself. Currently there is a genocide occurring halfway around the world. It is lost amidst power politics and skewed American foreign policy. Millions of people die each year in silence as the world calmly turns away.

You might be thinking that I am talking about Darfur, but I'm not. I am talking about North Korea.

For many Americans, North Korea is seen only in the context of nuclear weapons, the George W. Bush-proclaimed "Axis of Evil," and through satirical pieces such as "Team America." When people hear North Korea, they immediately think about Kim Jong-Il, with his tan jump suit and oversized aviator sunglasses. The country is as enigmatic as its leader, instilling a slight fascination in its peculiarity, but nothing more.

What is lost amidst these issues and peculiarities are the egregious human rights violations at the hands of the despotic regime. Amnesty International deems North Korea as one of the worst violators of human rights. In April 2004, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution "expressing deep concern about continuing reports of systemic, widespread and grave violations of human rights." North Korea ranks among the worst in censorship and freedom of the press. According to a study published last year by the Food and Agricultural Organization, 13 million people in North Korea, over half the total population, suffered from malnutrition.
Reports also indicate that there are numerous labor and torture camps established throughout the country by the regime to punish dissidents and political prisoners. The regime tightly controls its subjects' every movement, punishing anything that would be construed as counter-revolutionary.

Each day, thousands of North Koreans desperately cross the Yalu River into China, hoping to escape their dismal existence and to pursue political asylum. However, the Chinese government continues to maintain their policy of returning captured North Korean refugees, sending them to a certain and grim fate. Many risk their lives against the elements, North Korean agents and Chinese security forces, knowing that their decision to leave North Korea has very final and dire consequences. How can we continue to pretend that nothing is going on?

This past fall, we established Liberty in North Korea here at UC Berkeley. Part of a larger umbrella organization based out of Washington, DC, the organization strives to bring awareness to these issues that are largely ignored by the media and our own government. Our organization is nonpartisan, nonreligious and nonethnic. Our philosophy is empowerment from a grassroots level, as we hope to bring change from the bottom up, through education and empowerment of the student body and the local community. We are not here to demand for regime change or to criticize our own administration. Politics is not our game. We demand a change for the better for those who wish to live without constant fear, to speak without limitation, and to achieve a certain amount of happiness.

As an executive member, I invite you to our annual North Korean human rights week, from April 24 to April 27. There will be film screenings, a debate with different professors and speakers all addressing the current problems in North Korea each evening at 7:00 p.m. in 2060 VLSB. In addition we will end with a benefit concert featuring a local band called The Moving Picture and a band all the way from the East Coast called The Ides at 7:00 p.m. in Pauley Ballroom on May 1. I hope you come to these events with a sense of curiosity and leave with a sense of obligation. Education, we believe, is our greatest weapon in our struggle. While this event is sponsored by many Korean groups on campus, this by no means is a Korean issue. This is a human issue that should be recognized by everyone as an injustice.

I do sincerely hope you attend and are inspired by what normal everyday people out there are doing in the name of human rights. While this might seem like a gargantuan issue that is simply overwhelming for any one person, I respond with an idea, taken from the Berlin Wall: "Many small people who in many small places do many small things that can change the world."