The scenes of Lisa Ling and Euna Lee being reunited with their families are heartwarming. It is hard not to be moved seeing these women return to American soil, knowing that they faced what may have been a death sentence, considering the harsh conditions in North Korean work camps.
It was clearly not an easy diplomatic decision. More harm than good may have been done in the bigger picture by giving a crazy despot an air of legitimacy. But seeing the images of Lee hugging her 4-year-old, it seems the right course was taken.
And who knows? Now that Kim has rubbed elbows, maybe he'll desire to do it again. Assuming that Americans now know to stay far away, there won't be any more hostages held for trumped-up charges. He won't have any cards to deal -- he'll have to make concessions to get back to the table. Only time will tell.
But what has been lost in this story -- and I assume that Lee and Ling will remind us -- is why those women were on that border. As I wrote in June, these two brave souls were trying to expose the human trafficking that North Korea turns a blind eye to.
They wanted to expose the horrors faced by young women who don't have a voice. No former U.S. president can step in on their behalf to rescue them.
There is an organization that works toward the abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation that I support. It's called Love 146 and their website is at www.love146.com
Watch this video, and if you are moved -- make a donation. If you are as moved as I was, make it a monthly pledge.
It is, perhaps, not a delicate thing to say. But you are never going to make even a dent in this problem by ignoring the demand side of the equation. I don't think I can speak more plainly without running up against your ideas of common decency. But I will go so far as to remind you that such notions only survive because some people who utterly reject them do what's necessary to permit them to exist.
Posted by: ChunLing | August 08, 2009 at 10:50 PM