TORRANCE, California- LINK, or Liberty In North Korea, is a grassroots organization working out of Torrance, CA. In a nutshell, LINK’s mission is “Redefining North Korea by focusing on the PEOPLE while rescuing and providing resettlement support to North Korean refugees and pursuing an end to the North Korea crisis.”
LINK advocates for the Korean people while working to ensure basic rights for the people of North Korea, specifically. This is an extremely difficult task as 24 million people face the most repressive regime on Earth.
The ruling elite regime uses a dehumanizing repressive system of enforced political control in order to stay dominant in every single facet of life. Just three of the extreme ways the regime represses the people includes collective punishment, public executions and political prison camps.
The North Korean people suffer ruthless social challenges including no freedom of movement, no freedom of speech, no religious freedom, an abundance of stateless children and sex trafficking. Furthermore, the worst enforced action by the regime is the lack of access to information. That is to say, the North Korean regime has thoroughly invested in creating an information blockade. The Internet does not exist for the populace while landlines and cell phones alike can not make international calls.
Furthermore, the regime refuses to change its failed agricultural systems, which combined with drastic climate changes has created a situation that has caused food shortages since the 1990s. Millions of babies, children and pregnant and nursing women are malnourished, which in turn has led to stunted growth and increased health problems. Ever since the healthcare system fell apart in the 1990s, healthcare has only been available in big cities or to those who can afford it.
Despite the strong hold the regime has on the people, many are fighting back. The people have created a growth of markets across the nation as a way to connect to the outside world. These unofficial markets have started to provide the people with technology and ideas that provide new perspectives. Additionally, North Korean refugees send an estimated $10-$15 million back home every year. The North Korean people show incredible resilience despite the challenges they face.
In addition, by educating the public about the issues concerning the North Korean people, LINK also rescues refugees via rescue teams. Colleges across the nation have rescue teams, in which money is raised to physically rescue a refugee through an underground train, while ensuring a safe getaway. Each mission costs $2,500.
For more information on this growing cause, please visit http://www.
– Laura Reinacher
Sources: Liberty In North Korea, Read The Horn
Photo: The Rogue News