Interview 9

Woman, Age 28

First arrival in China: 1999

This unnamed refugee came into China with two friends and her cousin. Some Chinese "businessmen" at the border captured the women and sold them into the section of China that is south of Beijing. All the women were "assigned" to a man. This lady stood by "her man" for all of two hours! When he went off to work, she climbed over the fence and ran from the area. She had to walk all night to reach the nearest major city.

She had to keep quiet so that her Korean tongue did not betray her. But somewhere along the line she had learned to write Kim Il Sung's name in Chinese. A lot of blank stares this brought her until finally a Chinese man figured it out and arranged for her trasportation back to the border area of North Korea and China. Nothing was required of her in return.

Meanwhile her cousin escaped her "assignment" which had been much closer to home, in Yangi. But, soon she was discovered and sent back to her home land.

The lady whose story we are following then stayed in "Yanbian", the Chinese side of the border with NK, for three years with a Korean-Chinese man. In 2000, however, there was a random check of the area by the government, and she was arrested. Upon arrival in North Korea she was sent to a labor-training center for 2 months. Here, fed corn porridge, she was forced into digging and construction jobs by day and singing and memorizing Kim propaganda by night.

Her parents became aware of her imprisonment and signed a contract swearing her loyalty to the regime, for her release. Then she escaped again. She's hoping her parents only received a warning.

Brings up a lot of questions. How many women are still on the run? How many have died on the run and their parents still do not know? Did her parents receive "just a warning?" How do these Chinese "businessmen" get away with their very obvious trafficking? How can the Chinese be so brutal to those wanting freedom of speech (Tiananmen Square, eg) and so lenient to human traffickers? How many women just give in and lead lives of bondage?