Relief

Thank God our journalists Laura Ling and Una Lee are home safe and sound from North Korea! Thank God! Watching their arrival in Burbank, their plane touching down, their reunions with family and Laura Ling's speech choked me up to no end. The fact that North Korea has seemingly been using these two women as political pawns and tools to punish the US and UN for our stances on their nuclear "activities" has terrified me from the get-go. I cannot imagine the sheer terror they have experienced for the last 140 days, nor can I imagine the sheer joy and relief when they were brought to a room for a "meeting" and saw President Clinton standing there waiting for them. The possibilities are overwhelming and I literally, for once, cannot imagine. Thank God they are home. Thank God the North Koreans followed through on their word that if President Clinton went there, they would let them leave with him. Thank God President Clinton went. (He looked anything but comfortable and happy in the pictures taken during his time there and no one seems to know how he felt about going). (Tearing up again as I type this). I had been very angry that VP Al Gore didn't seem to be doing enough to bring them home, they are working for him and his Current network, but they said today that the North Koreans didn't want him to go there, they wanted President Clinton and so Al was the one to call Bill and ask him to go. I also thank God he made that call.

Comments

Lisa said…

I have mixed feelings about this whole thing. I'm glad the ladies are home safely. I can't imagine what life has been like for them and North Korea certainly has been using them for political purposes. But these ladies went illegally into North Korea and knew the dangers. If my kid did something he knew was dangerous and he got in trouble, should I expect that he should be bailed out just because I don't want him to suffer? Actions have consequences even if we don't always like them. I do applaud these ladies courage for working to expose the trafficking of humans as I do all journalists that put themselves in danger to make the world a better place.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 2:01:00 PM EDT

Bloomin'Chick Jo said…

Well, there's no proof they actually went across the border. They admitted to doing it because that's what the North Korean government wanted them to do and they were told it would help them in their sentencing, which apparently wasn't the case. The North Korean government wanted an apology which President Clinton and the journalists gave, as a condition for release. North Korean guards entered into South Korea and "seized them" per accounts. They maintain that the waters there were in were South Korea's territory and South Korea has confirmed this as well as their guides. They came close to the North Korean border a number of times along their journey.

I'm not sure what to believe, but given North Korea's actions as of late, I'm inclined to give Laura and Una the benefit of the doubt.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 2:51:00 PM EDT