INTERVIEW 3

MALE, Age 40

PLACE OF ORIGIN: Ch'ongjin

FIRST ARRIVAL IN CHINA: March 2003

He came to China because he had a problem with his throat so he hadn't been able to work at his job of milling rice since 1996."It's difficult for me to survive. I was living like a beggar and almost died."

Two of his sons died of starvation in 1998.He had no connections in China but friends told him that he could find food in China. He came across the river by himself in the middle of the night and came to a church close to the border.

"My impression of China is that I can breathe. It was like there was no oxygen in North Korea." North Korea is closed and they have no way of knowing international policies. The North Korean government sends people to prison because when people leave they condemn the North Korean government because of what they have learned about the outside situation.

He's now waiting for an operation but it's expensive. He has no idea about the future. He's just waiting for his operation. "Life is quite okay here because NGOs are helping us."