This victim is a 27-year-old man who came from Undok, North Korea, to China in June of ‘03. As with all the refugees, his chances of survival in North Korea had come to the near-zero mark. So he left parents and siblings and made the trip by himself into an all new world.

His first impression of China was the stark contrast between it and his home country. How prosperous the Chinese! Then he began wondering what he will do in this foreign land. His family members are farmers. At least they work for farmers, much like slaves on the old southern plantations of the United States worked for farmers, and were "permitted" to live so they could keep prospering the farmers. His family of six was allowed to keep only 150 kilograms of food... per year. That includes the cornhusks. That's 330 pounds divided by 6, or 55 pounds each. If my math isn't faulty, that's one pound of food per week. Just ounces per day.

This gentleman claims there is no other way to get food. He says that if they don't finish planting, and don't have enough food, the manager will give them a little corn and allow them to buy some food. But if they have no money to buy food, they can't expect the manager to show any generosity in terms of cash.

So it's off to the mountains, to join the many other desperate North Korean souls who are collecting medicinal plants to sell in the market place. This is seasonal work, up to half of the year. It's possible to collect maybe a kilogram in a day of working. 2 pounds. 2 pounds will sell for 450 won. In today's market, that's about 50 cents a day.

Speaking of medicine, three of his family members have serious illness. But there is no serious medicine available. Even if there were, they have no money. And they can't sell their goods for some quick cash because they have no goods.

What does this family have? Hope. It seems that there are varying degrees of hope in North Korea. One hope that this family has latched onto is the outbreak of war and the overthrow of the present regime. Things cannot remain as they are. The aid being sent in is being diverted to the government and the military. "Everybody knows this," he says. That's why the military is willing to give its life for the present dictator.

And the common people are constantly bombarded with invitations to love their leaders too. From baby to adult, North Koreans are educated about the Kim family. 3-4 hours of a typical school day is given to learning about the Kim family. That's if a child is even allowed to go to school. Quite often, students are left at home to "battle for crops" on the farm.

One must decide whether these students are the lucky ones, or the others.