Carpe Diem! Seize the Day!
Helping Hands Korea
www.helpinghandskorea.org
Current Conditions for North Korean Refugees in China
• No protection of human rights
• Utterly vulnerable to traffickers
• Subject to forced repatriation
CN,NK Border Patrols Tightened
• Winter
brings an icy but treacherous opportunity for NK refugees to cross Tumen and Yalu Rivers
Hazards at Border More Severe
• Heat and motion sensors installed on Chinese side of Tumen and
Yalu Rivers
• Fences going up near Sinuiju
• High-tech vehicles now patroling border area to better detect
fleeing refugees
2007 NK Border Patrols Equipped with Dragonov
Sniper Rifles,Dogs
Transition from Urban Shelters......... to Rural, Wilderness
Shelters
Abandoned farm-houses, makeshift lean-to’s
provide some warmth & cover.This simple Mt. house is deemed
quite comfortable.
Shelters Now More Widespread
• Previous
assumption that NKRs remain close to CN_NK border not entirely
accurate.
• This shelter much nearer SE Asian borders with CN.
• Wider
dispersal contributes to undercounting of NKRs
International Dimensions to ‘Underground Railroad’
• Tragic Price paid by one NK Family
• Yoo Chul-min,10, died crossing the Gobi Desert at the Chinese-Mongolian
border in July of 2002
• Yoo Sang-joon, Chul-min’s father,dedicated himself to helping
other NKRs after son’s death.Imprisoned in China 8.07
Yet…China is Vulnerable Now!
• As 2008 Olympic Sponsor, Beijing is desperate to have a good
PR image
• Its repatriation of NK refugees, violation of the1951 Refugee
Convention, treatment of Falung Gong & house church leaders,
silence on Burmese crackdown, Tibet has made China VERY NERVOUS….(YSJ)
What Can You Do?
• ACT on your feelings about China’s policies:
• Demonstrate in front of any Chinese diplomatic or cultural facility
worldwide!The Gideon Project---Be one of the “300”.
• Link your concern to other individuals and organizations, even
if they’re not identical to your your network,e.g. Abductee
groups can link with other broad-based NK human rights causes.
• Write to the Chinese embassy or consul general in your area regarding
forced repatriation of N.Korean refugees;stand up & be counted!!
• Communicate your concern to Olympic sponsors, etc, etc.
Seoul’s daily 444 Campaign to Halt Refugees’Forced
Repatriation from China to North Korea
• Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate
• Before Sweden’s Parliament
• Chinese Embassy,Stockholm
• Chinese Embassy,the Hague
• International Criminal Court,Holland
• UN Bldg. and Chinese Embassy,New York City
• Washington D.C.
• TOKYO? Osaka? Fukuoka?
Conclusion
• A breakthrough on NK refugees and human rights may be much closer
than we realize. China is the key to the refugee crisis and a
pre-Olympics China is NERVOUS.The next 11 months is our “golden
window of opportunity!”Carpe Diem!!
• Each one of us has the potential to change China’s policy
far more than we realize
• Let’s work TOGETHER! The synergy of Unity!
Thank you for your time & attention!
Any thoughts, suggestions, advice, corrections and/or interest
to network with the volunteers of Helping Hands Korea will be
most welcome & much appreciated
----- Tim Peters
