Tag Archives: lfnkr
Kato Answers Emails of Concern
11-Year-Old Former Refugee Plays Chopin
Entire Family Succeeding
One of LFNKR’s directors is Dr. W, a Zainichi (ethnic Korean resident of Japan). Recently he was invited to visit a former North Korean refugee family. They are the first family that LFNKR ever helped resettle in Japan. When they reached safety in Japan 11 years ago, their daughter was only one year old. In the intervening years, Dr. W has witnessed this family’s hardship and their difficulties securing work in Japan.
Joint Appeal Sent to UNHCR on 7 in Thailand
7 NK Refugees in Thailand Awaiting UNHCR Action
The following appeal was sent to the High Commissioner today jointly by our group (LFNKR) and Tim Peters’ Helping Hands Korea NGO.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Geneva, Switzerland
20 September, 2006
As you probably have been informed, seven North Korean refugees, all women, have presented themselves to the police authorities in Nong Khai, a border town in Northern Thailand, at 09:00 hrs. Monday, 18 September in accordance with Article 31 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits, among other things, the imposition of penalties on refugees based on their illegal entry to a third country.
Joint Appeal to Thailand
175 NK Refugees Still Need Help
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (LFNKR) has jointly submitted the following Appeal to the Immigration Authorities of Thailand.
We urge you to send another letter to the Thai Ambassador in your country requesting that these refugees be safely released to South Korea or other country where they will be safe from repatriation to North Korea.
Hunger Strike Spreading Among Detained NK Refugees
Reports Indicate New Spirit of Protest
According to The Commission to Help North Korean Refugees (a South Korean based NGO), news reports are beginning to filter out of China about a hunger strike among North Korean detainees who are being held in a facility preparatory to their shipment back home where they are sure to face prison or worse.
Mother visits Noguchi in Chinese Jail
Takayuki Noguchi
Noguchi before priso
Ever since Takayuki Noguchi was arrested illegally by China in early December 2003, fears have mounted that he could be tried and sentenced to prison time, unlike previous aid workers who had been caught helping North Korean refugees, interrogated then released.
However, thanks to the intervention of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Noguchi’s mother and one of his aunts were allowed to visit him briefly in Nanning.