Posted on 06/21/2009 11:09:37 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo
PARIS (Herald de Paris et Cie.) - Before Laura Ling and Euna Lee became household names for entirely the wrong reason; before North Korean missile tests; before UN resolutions for violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Laura’s sister, investigative reporter Lisa Ling, sneaked into North Korea for The National Geographic Channel’s EXPLORER series, in 2006, posing as a member of a humanitarian eye surgery team. The end result was a documentary titled, “Undercover in North Korea.”
Lisa’s hour-long Undercover in North Korea defied Kim Jong Il’s ban on outside journalists, and offered a glimpse of life above the 38th parallel previously unseen by the rest of the world. What Lisa and her team reported was a North Korea frought with humanitarian problems like famine, malnutrition, and almost non-existent healthcare. The Citizens of North Korea were portrayed as having been all but brainwashed by fear.
It has long been known that Kim regularly punishes, arrests, or worse, members of entire families, when someone breaks one if his many laws. This is his way of supressing opposition to his rule. It is, therefore, not inconceivable that Laura Ling was detained and subsequently convicted for her sister Lisa’s “grave crime they against the Korean nation”. Is it possible? Everything is possible under Kim.
Much has been made of the harsh, 12-year sentence Laura Ling and Euna Lee were handed for what amounted to an illegal border crossing. In most countries, such an offense garners little more than deportation, unless other crimes were committed on the infiltrated country’s soil. What was so unique about the possibility that Lisa Ling is being punished for her sister’s illegal entry and recording of North Korea is that Lisa’s documentary, which has been pulled from the National Geographic website, might offer a clue about the sentence.
Lisa Ling’s undercover documentary discusses #22, a prisoner work camp where entire families are sent to work hard labor in a prisoner work mine. Facilities like #22 are internment camps whose conditions are so poor that it is explained you have a better chance of dying than completing your sentence. This is exactly the kind of work camp Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to spend the next twelve years in.
Be clear, Lisa Ling did not cause her sister to be arrested, and regardless the result holds no responsibility for the illegal and inhumane incarceration of her sister and Euna Lee. However, trying to understand how the North Korean government might view the arrival of two American journalists, who may or may not have been trying to enter North Korea, offers a possible glimpse into how we may have arrived at this terrible situation.
There are innumerable reasons why Laura Ling and Euna Lee should be released, immediately. If, however, they were convicted for “crimes” committed by Laura Ling’s sister, that needs to be reason #1.
One thing may be sure. Generally speaking, the convicted in the DPRK are given 10 days between final pronounced court sentence, and starting (unspeakable, horrid) life in the NK concentration camp.
The girls were convicted on 8 June 2009.
Today is 22 June 2009.
Do the math.
Not good.
While a "snatch and grab" is nearly impossible, North Korean camps such as these are in such a state, that one could never even wish them on the most liberal of a fellow American. Poor kids.
Ping
Thank you for the ping American in Tokyo.
I doubt they arrested her for it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave her a 12 yr. sentence because of it.
If you pull on the tiger’s tail you better have a plan for his teeth.
These ladies weren’t thinking when they pulled on the tail (even if they were not on the NK side of an invisible line).
If on the other hand these Two sneaked in to N.Korea on some kind of idiotic mission. Then I hope they like fried lice (not a typo) and fish heads.
you know we have some ‘very’ quiet choopers these days .
Deploy Delta .
Here’s the diversion ; sink the Khang Nam , or cause it to somehow have mechanical difficulties on the high seas .
In the midst of the furor and focus on that , swing in and grab the girls .
If something goes wrong and we lose our team , call in a B-2
strike on Pyongyang .
We are going to end up in a big fight with these a-holes yet , we might as well call the shots and make them good .
Al Gore, or whomever they report to internally at the liberal “Current TV” network in San Francisco, bears some responsibility—if you want to know what I think. They were obviously not trained on escape/evasion or the real realities of what happens if you get too close to the tiger—and also have a San Francisco American metrosexual colleague bug out on you just as the Norkies are grabbing you and taking advantage of your female weakness. I believe a British paper referred to them as “backpacker journalists” or into “backpacking journalism”. This carries many risks. Going anywhere NEAR that border had having a sister who had earlier done an expose (hidden camera, etc) within North Korea had to be asking for trouble. What can you say? Kids do the darndest things; you still love them and try to get them out of a jam.
I think the reality of these camps is so shocking that the world doesn’t want to acknowledge they really exist. It doesn’t count because it’s just north korea or something. Horrific death/labor/starvation camps where entire families are sent.
>>Kids do the darndest things; you still love them and try to get them out of a jam.<<
And I pray we can get these kids out of this jam. But, as you can tell from my post, I am irritated that they got themselves into it and expect the USA to get them out.
Prayers up for their soon and safe return.
This will sound callous, but I really don’t care what happens to these women. You lay down with dogs, you’re going to get fleas. Anybody leftwing enough to work for Al Gore is not somebody I need in my country. If they sneaked into or got too close to NK on behalf of Al Gore’s cable tv station, that’s their and Gore’s problem. I’d prefer that this hadn’t happened to them, of course. But now that it has, oh well. Maybe others will give second thought to working for Gore. I mean, why didn’t Gore go do his own sneaking around or whatever it was?
a) CONVERTED ANTI COMMUNIST CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS TO THE CORE AND SWEAR OFF THE BAY AREA FOR GOOD, RELOCATING TO RURAL MONTANA
b) Pay some monies to the US government for such a rescue or effort to help them, and bill it all to Al Gore, and
c) be fully debriefed by our guys and the South Koreans and the Japanese to see if there is any actionable intelligence on aged US MIA, or Korean/Japanese hostages up there they might have encountered
I thought that for a week, too, really really pissed off at them; then I guess my human side took over which transcended partisan politics, as stupid as those girls were traipsing into North Korea with handycams thinking it was nothing more dangerous than South Central LA. That is only because of the very very horrendous nature of the North Korean camps I have come to know, and the Golden Rule tells me not to wish for them something that I would not want visited upon me.
They were trying to slide on this “Journalists walk on water” and an idea of freedom of the press that ain’t worth squat over there.
You take yur chances and you pay the price.
Seems to me they had a very unrealistic attitude (and yes, I do believe they were already in NK when captured, and they already made it plain they were there to report on things the NK government would rather not have on the nightly news...)
When the Norks imprison someone worth rescuing, then I would be for it. Right now, with the state of the media, I am having a VERY hard time finding any sympathy for these two.
Lets look at the other side of this story. Did the Ling girl go to North Korea to do what her sister did?
Her sister got away with it and garnered a lot of ttention and journalists are known for doing almost anything for attention.
My belief is that she meant to sneak into N. Korea and get a story similar to the one her sister came out with. She will now get an even bigger story if and when she comes out in 12 years.
Do I think her sentence is unjust?? I do. 12 years in a work camp as described here,is a bit much for sneaking into a country. However she should have thought of that before she made her move.Only an idiot sticks his head in a Lion’s mouth. It is well known that N. Korea is a rogue nation.She knew it, she took her chances and she lost.
Sometimes as humans we have to have some level of compassion and humanitarianism, even reserved for idiots like these liberal (but probably not liberal/leftist anymore) girls essentially just one level above cub reporters stringing for a college newspaper. I think I know you. If you heard these two’s terrified screams and crying of themselves to sleep nightly in some dank DPRK cell with rats and piss and NK guards ready for a rape at a moments notice, while they look at other prisoners talking to themselves and out of their minds, I believe you would want them out of there I am sure, I think most good Freepers would. At any rate, stupidity, yes, but certainly a said story. Like I said, this should all be billed to Al Gore afterward, PTSD counseling sessions, medical treatment and the like, when/and if/they get out of that HELL.
You are correct, I hold no ill will towards these women.
I would love to see them returned unharmed.
Do I believe the girls are being punished for the sins of the sister? Yes.
I see this as a bit like the person who jumps off a bridge tied to a bungy cord.
However, if they knowingly crossed the border, then why should anyone be surprised that they are in a camp there? If I swerve into oncoming traffic am I to wail about the consequences? It would be foolhardy to do so.
THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CROSS THE NK BORDER!
If they were snatched while in China I might feel differently, but it sounds as though they crossed over.
Deadly mistake.
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