Sunday, October 28, 2012
Question for Quigley
Is there a feasible way to establish accountability in reference governments that don't uphold their constitutions or statues in respect and reservation of human rights?
Professor Fran Quigley Questions
1. What do you think organizations such as the United Nations can do to be more involved in such areas as Haiti, even after billions of dollars have been pledged in aid?
2. How do we get countries that do not respect or have an absence of human rights in their governments to adapt human rights or take some sort of positive action toward recognizing them?
2. How do we get countries that do not respect or have an absence of human rights in their governments to adapt human rights or take some sort of positive action toward recognizing them?
GB Quigley Question:
Could a type of International Criminal Court be established to try to give a more fair trial regarding Duvalier's political crimes or does the U.N. already have such a court and is just not taking action?
Question for Quigley
What actions do you think the United States should take right now to aid Haiti's recovery?
Quigley question
How has the US specifically reacted to the UN ignoring the needs of the Haitian people? If the UN won't intervene, will/should the US intervene in Haiti?
Quigley Question
How much of an influence does the media have in a situation such as this, and would you consider the aftermath and current poverty today a result of a "natural disaster"?
AIDS Question for Quigley
What do you think about Haiti's rule in history as the "Mother of liberty" compared to what it has become today? Do you think more external assistance is needed to help Haiti, or should we start handing it off to their own people, such as the finissats? Thank you.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Progress Report #4 including outline
Progress
report #1
The
topic of Human Trafficking is an extensive and broad one that covers many
different regions of the world. For our group, we decided to specifically focus
on the trafficking that occurs between the North Korean and Chinese borders.
This area was chosen not only because a majority of our group members did not
have an extensive knowledge regarding what has been going on between these two
countries, but additionally, because two of our group members are from South
Korea and can provide our group as well as the rest of the class with some
insight they have from having lived near the ongoing issue. In order to keep
our topic focused on the Korea and Chinese border, questions the group will
work to answer will target the reasons why this is going on and what is being
done to help stop it. In terms of why human trafficking is taking place over
this border, our group is interested in knowing if the conflict is politically,
religiously, or economically driven; if not one of these reasons, then what
explanation is given as to why so many are being trafficked. Furthermore, we
are interested in what those that are being trafficked are being forced into
and what inhuman treatment they are being succumbed to. Lastly, we want to
focus a significant part of our presentation on the efforts that are currently
being made to help those that are currently being trafficked, and what is being
done to prevent more from being put through such inhumane treatment.
Resources:
In order to make a reputable and accurate report on the human trafficking that
is going on between North Korea and China, our group will use a myriad of
electronic and textual references. Electronic resources will include but are
not limited to news articles from papers found in the U.S. and Korea. We will
utilize the language abilities of our two Korean group members so that they can
translate the Korean articles and thus, incorporate the Korean news in our
research.
Campaign:
In order to build an effect
campaign, all our group members will be actively engaged in the research
process. We want to make sure we have a variety of sources so that our facts
provide the most in depth and accurate information. Furthermore, to ensure that
we are effectively informing the rest of the class about the severity of this
issue, we will use various means of displaying the information we have found;
examples include video clips, images, and numbers about how many and who are
being trafficked. We want to use all types of means of presenting to guarantee
that when we finish our presentation, the class leaves knowing more about what
is going on today and what can be done in the future to help. All group members
will be engaged in the presentation itself, and we will all contribute to
creating the powerpoint that we will use for our presentation. Our two Korean
members will aid in translating some of the research found, and our other group
members will be actively involved in finding ways to present the facts, such as
pictures and video clips. Our campaign will only be effective if we know that the
class members leave knowing more about human trafficking than they originally
did. We want to engage our audience in our presentation, and therefore will
hope to include a time to allow discussion prior to and after our presentation
so we can gauge how much our audience has learned. In knowing this, our group
will know if our campaign proved to be effective and informative.
Progress
report 2
After
beginning to research more and organize the presentation, each group member is
responsible for finding at least one academic and one media source that could
potentially be included our campaign. Maggie is responsible for posting the
progress reports on the forum, but every other group member is responsible for
finding useful and reputable sources. Each person should send a
bibliography and summary of their findings from their academic sources to
Maggie. In the academic sources, group members must be looking for definitions
of human trafficking and answers to the following questions: who is being
targeted in North Korea, what are the reasons for crossing the North Korean
borders, and what is the treatment of those that are being trafficked? Both Tom
and Maggie have been researching academic journals and articles to find answers
to these questions. In the near future, the group will be meeting together to
work on putting together a powerpoint presentation that will include video
clips found by Tom to help illustrate what is currently going on today on the
North Korean and Chinese border. Our bibliography will continue to grow as each
group member continues to find more information regarding what occurs on the
border.
In
the near future, after each group member has found the minimum 2 sources, we
will compile all our findings and create an appropriate media presentation in
both video and text format. It will be everyone in the group’s responsibility
to create the powerpoint, and therefore each person will be assigned a specific
number of slides. Maggie has begun to find information on what other
governments are starting to do to help those being targeted as human slaves,
and this information will be presented at the end of the campaign to illustrate
positive efforts made against the atrocities. In our group meeting, members
will all work together to think of ways in which other students can help the
efforts against human trafficking.
Bibliography:
Davis,
Kathleen. "Brides, Bruises and the Border: The Trafficking of North Korean
Women into China.." SAIS Review of International Affairs. 26.1
(2006): 131-141. Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
<http://kg6ek7cq2b.search.serialssolutions.com.ezproxy.lib.indiana.edu/?genre=article&isbn=&issn=19454716&title=SAIS
Review of International
Affairs&volume=26&issue=1&date=20061215&atitle=Brides, Bruises
and the Border: The Trafficking of North Korean Women into
China.&aulast=Davis, Kathleen&spage=131&sid=EBSCO:Social Sciences
Full Text (H.W. Wilson)&pid=>.
Kim, Young-jin. "US criticizes N. Korea's forced
labor."Korea Times 21 06 2012, National n. pag. Web. 1 Oct.
2012.
<http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/06/116_113544.html>.
Ling, Laura, perf. Vanguard Special: Captive in North
Korea. Prod. Yamaguchi Adam. Current TV, 2010. Web. 1 Oct 2012.
<http://current.com/shows/vanguard/92443219_captive-in-north-korea.htm>.
Moon,
Katherine H.S. "Beyond Demonization: A New Strategy for Human Rights in
North Korea.." Current History. 107. (2008): 263-268. Web. 1 Oct.
2012. <http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.indiana.edu/eds/detail?sid=4b33ff37-99d3-4d08-b1ec-27896165ab01@sessionmgr104&vid=4&hid=1>.
Progress Report 3
Maggie's findings -
Kathleen Davis:
Davis covers many of the important questions regarding the
issue of Human Trafficking that occurs over the North Korean and Chinese
borders. These important questions include why is there crossing the border,
who is being trafficked and how many, how does the smuggling and crossing the
border process occur, what are the victims subjected to, and what is being done
to help by the international community. According to Davis, the increase in the
border crossing is a direct result of the lagging economy in North Korea. The
stagnant economy post Cold War has caused there to be a lack in food available,
thus leading to rationing and women being subject to a low economic status in
North Korea. Additionally, because of Chinese child-bearing laws, there is a
shortage of wives available in China, thus leading men to look to North Korea
for women they can essentially purchase for a wife. Davis reports that nearly
80-90% of women who do cross the Chinese and Korean border are trafficked. Men
typically use coercion, abduction, force, threat and money to obtain the women
who are being trafficked. There are "distributors" who often times
can "re-sell" the trafficked women, and often times, these
distributors depend on border patrol who turn a blind eye or pretend to arrest
the women found crossing the border and then traffic the captives. As a
captive, these women are subject to physical abuse in labor camps, sexual
abuse, and mental abuse but cannot escape this inhumane treatment because of
their illegal status. If they were caught, they would be subject to more labor
and sexual abuse and then deported back to their home country, where they are
often regarded as outcasts.
One of the more disturbing finds from Davis is the response
of both the Chinese and the North Korean governments; both have given a
response of denial. International pressure exists to both of the countries and
there is a continued desire for both the countries' involvement in the UN
Trafficking Protocol.
Davis, Kathleen. "Brides, Bruises and the Border: The
Trafficking of North Korean Women into China.." SAIS Review of
International Affairs. 26.1 (2006): 131-141. Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
<http://kg6ek7cq2b.search.serialssolutions.com.ezproxy.lib.indiana.edu/?genre=article&isbn=&issn=19454716&title=SAIS
Review of International
Affairs&volume=26&issue=1&date=20061215&atitle=Brides, Bruises
and the Border: The Trafficking of North Korean Women into
China.&aulast=Davis, Kathleen&spage=131&sid=EBSCO:Social Sciences
Full Text (H.W. Wilson)&pid=>.
Katharine Moon:
In Moon's scholarly article also covering human trafficking
between the Korean and Chinese border, she discusses much about human rights
currently in North Korea. There is a significant lack in protection of and
involvement in human rights efforts by the government officials of China and
North Korea and other international powers. The government officials continue
to "turn a blind-eye" to the activities going on at the borders.
According to Moon, there is a disconnect with regards to punishing those
responsible for the human trafficking because anti-trafficking efforts are hard
to impose. Both countries need to be held accountable; China needs to look to
those crossing the border into China as refugees instead of criminals, and thus
need to help them and grant them amnesty instead of deporting them.
Furthermore, China needs to be more involved in UN involvement and treaties
discussing human trafficking.
Moon, Katherine H.S. "Beyond Demonization: A New
Strategy for Human Rights in North Korea.."Current History. 107.
(2008): 263-268. Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
<http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.indiana.edu/eds/detail?sid=4b33ff37-99d3-4d08-b1ec-27896165ab01@sessionmgr104&vid=4&hid=1>.
Mark Lagon
In Lagon's scholarly article, much of the trafficking that
goes on in China is discussed. Today, in China, North Korea continues to be one
of the top sources of trafficked women. The labor and sexual abuse are
conditions that the women and girls are subjected to could be considered modern
day slavery. According to Lagon, North Korean women in China are the most
vulnerable trafficked women because of their illegal status in China and their
fear of deportation back to their home country. Lagon's article does an
excellent job of highlighting what is going on in China in terms of human
trafficking and how this connects to women trafficked from North Korea.
Lagon, Mark. "Human Trafficking In China." DISAM
Journal of International Security Assistance Management. 30.1 (2008):
40-41. Print. <http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=afec1ee7-013a-4da6-be4b-8f22dbe80436@sessionmgr11&vid=9&hid=115>.
Ashley's findings:
Louise Shelley discusses the issue of human trafficking in
North and South Korea and how they are different. While South Korea
is considered one of the largest economies in the world, fewer women are
available for prostitution, and therefore, women are often imported from other
countries such as the Philippines, Russia, and Thailand. On the
other hand, human trafficking in North Korea is different in that the
government regulates the population. Human trafficking is important
to their economy in that it produces money for the state. Since
there is such a tight control over population, North Korean women are often
exported to serve as wives to China. Since the one-child policy
exists in China, there is a shortage of women to marry. She also
discusses the different clients that participate in this global
“business”. These clients are military personnel but also foreign
tourist from Europe, North America, the Middle East, and many other
places. Shelley explains that “different nationalities serve
different clienteles”. For example, Russian women serve both
American and Korean clientele, while Filipinos are required to work at “clubs”
that serve American servicemen because of their understanding of English.
“Human Trafficking: A Misunderstood Global Scourge”,
discusses the importance of human trafficking in the United
States. Hilary Clinton refers to the issue as “one of the world’s
largest and most pressing human rights concerns”. Clinton also
explains that human trafficking is also an American problem, arguing that, “It
doesn’t just take place in the sweatshops of impoverished Indian village or in
Thai brothels, but on US streets from San Francisco to New
York. This article could be used in our discussion of what the
United States is doing to help these countries regarding this issue and
also the fact that it is occurring in our own country.
Bibliography:
Shelley, Louise. “Human Trafficking: A Global
Perspective” Cambridge University Press, 2010
Hanes, Stephanie. “Human Trafficking: A
Misunderstood Global Scourge”. The Christian Science Monitor. Web.
9 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2012/0909/Human-trafficking-a-misunderstood-global-scourge>
Tom’s findings
I'm focusing more on the media aspect of the report. For
progress report 2/3, I found a number of online videos that we can incorporate
into our presentation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iYRAkizQIM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9FZ5N3ZjgA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4NZPVWotvI
http://current.com/shows/vanguard/team/laura-ling/
A couple of these are fairly lengthy, but as a group, we can
select appropriate segments to show to the class. As we will be presenting for
the entire class period, we want to be sure to captivate our audience and keep
them engaged. That being said, if we were to talk in monotone voices for over
an hour, our audience could potentially lose interest. I believe that cinematic
breaks and video clips will help to keep our audience interested as well as to
support our research and findings on human trafficking thus far.
Human Trafficking #2
I.
Human Trafficking in North Korea and Chian
a.
To begin our presentation, Maggie and Tom are
responsible for introducing the topic of human trafficking in North Korea and
China to the class. Their goal is to answer the following questions regarding
the topic.
i. Who
is being targeted?
ii. Where
are they being trafficked?
iii. What
are they being subjected to?
iv. Who
is responsible for trafficking the women and children?
v. Why
are women and children being trafficked?
vi. What
is the current involvement of the North Korean and Chinese governments?
b.
In addition to answering these important
questions that for the base of knowledge regarding human trafficking, Tom is
going to connect human trafficking to human rights. He is going to focus on
specific UN declarations and documents that state basic human rights for all
individuals and for women and children. In incorporating this in the
presentation, the class is able to understand how human trafficking is a human
rights issue and how it infringes on peoples basic human rights.
c.
After the class is more informed about what is
going on in North Korea and China, Brian and Jason are going to report on a
woman who was a human trafficking victim in China and was able to escape. They
will introduce the woman and her story, and give information regarding how she
was trafficked and how she managed to escape. In addition to presenting a first
hand example of human trafficking, Brian and Jason are going to discuss details
regarding border patrol and how those who guard the border are involved in
human trafficking. There is more information becoming available regarding the
connection between those that pay for trafficked women and those that are
responsible for border control. Brian and Jason will present the class with
their findings and the information they found connecting the border control and
the brokers.
d.
To end our presentation, Ashley will present the
class with two types of involvement: that done by large action groups and that
that can be done by the students. Today, there are numerous organizations that
focus on combating the problem of human trafficking as a global issue. Ashley
will inform the class on these organizations, such as UNICEF, and will also
discuss the United States government’s involvement in eliminating human trafficking,
specifically President Obama’s policy. Additionally,
Ashley will discuss the impact of social media and how websites like Facebook
and Twitter are contributing to the social movement campaign against human
trafficking. Finally, Ashley will give suggestions as to how students can get
involved to help fight human trafficking in North Korea and China, and all over
the world. She will include ways that will help students become more aware of
the issue of human trafficking, including her idea to put more information
about human trafficking in classroom textbooks, thus raising more awareness
about the seriousness of the issue and encouraging more involvement against it.
Multimedia
Introduction to the Declaration of Human Rights •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTlrSYbCbHE
Video introducing the trafficking of women •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4NZPVWotvI
Introduction to the Declaration of Human Rights •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTlrSYbCbHE
Video introducing the trafficking of women •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4NZPVWotvI
-
Video of President Obama from his announcement
-
Youtube video of the Korean bride who was able
to escape and thus, share her human trafficking story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9FZ5N3ZjgA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9FZ5N3ZjgA
Works Cited
Shelley, Louise. “Human Trafficking: A
Global Perspective” Cambridge University Press, 2010
Hanes, Stephanie. “Human
Trafficking: A Misunderstood Global Scourge”. The Christian
Science Monitor. Web. 9 Sept. 2012.
Office of the Press Secretary. "Fact
Sheet: the Obama Administration Announces Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking
at Home and Abroad". Web. 25 Sept. 2012.
"STOP THE TRAFFIK Blog
Spot." STOP THE TRAFFIK Blog Spot. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. <http://stopthetraffik.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights/>.
"University of Minnesota Human
Rights Library." University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. N.p., n.d.
Web. 21 Oct. 2012. <http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/korea2004.html>.
Davis, Kathleen. "Brides,
Bruises and the Border: The Trafficking of North Korean Women into
China.." SAIS Review of International Affairs. 26.1 (2006):
131-141. Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
<http://kg6ek7cq2b.search.serialssolutions.com.ezproxy.lib.indiana.edu/?genre=article&isbn=&issn=19454716&title=SAIS
Review of International
Affairs&volume=26&issue=1&date=20061215&atitle=Brides, Bruises
and the Border: The Trafficking of North Korean Women into
China.&aulast=Davis, Kathleen&spage=131&sid=EBSCO:Social Sciences
Full Text (H.W. Wilson)&pid=>.
Moon, Katherine H.S. "Beyond
Demonization: A New Strategy for Human Rights in North Korea.."Current
History. 107. (2008): 263-268. Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
<http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.indiana.edu/eds/detail?sid=4b33ff37-99d3-4d08-b1ec-27896165ab01@sessionmgr104&vid=4&hid=1>.
Lagon, Mark. "Human
Trafficking In China." DISAM Journal of International Security
Assistance Management. 30.1 (2008): 40-41. Print.
<http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=afec1ee7-013a-4da6-be4b-8f22dbe80436@sessionmgr11&vid=9&hid=115>.
"North Korea: Freedom in the World in 2012." Freedom in the World: Freedom House. 20 October 2012. http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2012/north-korea
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Progress Report # 4
Progress Report # 4
The following is an outline of our presentation. We have also
decided who will speak and when they will speak. We plan to present this
information in a Prezi form. Within our presentation we include facts,
statistics, games, activities, and other forms of interaction with the class.
In addition, we also plan to use images and videos to appeal to our audience’s
pathos and to encourage them to take action towards the genocide in Darfur.
- Feature
Introduction Terri
- Historical
tragedies comparison with graphs Austin
- Rape
Victim Video Alex
- Mission
statement Terri
- Boomerang
Effect (Sikkink) Sinikka
- Darfur
Timeline Larry
- historical
and political background leading up to genocide (Britain) Brent
- Decolonization
Terri
- Cultural
relativism (group ID reading) Terri
- Key
players Larry
- Gangs
vs. ethnic warfare (Ethnic Warfare reading) Terri
- “Rwanda
in Slow-Motion” Terri
· Numbers
Activity Austin
o Human
rights violated Alex
· Definition
of genocide Sinikka
· UN
convention says... (Ethnic Warfare reading) Terri
· Humanitarian
Aid Larry
o Statistics
Larry
o UN
stalled... Brent
· George
Clooney + Don Cheadle: movie Austin
o Video
Austin
o Prosecution
of offenders is difficult Terri
· Current
Events: Russian helicopters and such... Sinikka
o Doctors
beyond Borders (Southern Sudan state) Larry
o NYTIMES:
Rebellion quote Terri
· Women
and Children Austin
o Video
game Sinikka
o • Camp life Larry
o • 1-800-GENOCIDE
Mitch
o • Save Darfur Mitch
o STAND
Mitch
o Information
accessible (NYTIMES) Terri
o •
Becoming and NGO (Simon) Terri
o • Petition Terri
Human Trafficking
The idea that a modern world such as ours still struggles over a century after the global abolishment of slavery is simply an atrocity. Like the displaced women and children of Darfur, who cannot walk to the water spout without fear of rape and injury, even death, women and children all over the globe are forced into and oftentimes born into a network of slavery where a human life can be bought and sold. More importantly these individuals are not connected with their families to a single master, as many remember the traditional forms of American slavery, but are separated from their families and used as a product to perform work or acts and then be thrown away when deemed 'useless.' As we have learned to view the conflict in Darfur as a game with a few ruthless players who take the lives of individuals without remorse, we see human trafficking as an even greater threat the rights of humanity because the conflict is not concentrated into any one region, but spans the globe. The only solution is to take the identified corporations who incur profit from the work of enslaved individuals and hold them accountable. In a wealthy world that consumes more products and services than one can fathom, it is more important and relevant that we know where our money goes, and to whom's direct disservice.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Song of the Exiled
You can find Sweet Honey In The Rock's rendition of Alicia Partnoy's poem Song of the Exiled here: http://www.myspace.com/music/<wbr></wbr>player?sid=84498459&ac=now
Monday, October 15, 2012
Question for Alicia Partnoy
Did you realize the scope of what was happening in Argentina at that time while you were imprisoned? Did you think that you would ever have the capability to seek justice against your capturers/torturers?
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Questions for Alicia
what was the moment you realized why you were being held captive and what was your immediate reaction? How did that reaction change?
how do you think we can better first and second generation human rights?
you said that everyday you woke up saying, "I, Alicia Partnoy, am still alive." do you still do that to this day? was that something you could cling to as hope or motivation?
how do you think we can better first and second generation human rights?
you said that everyday you woke up saying, "I, Alicia Partnoy, am still alive." do you still do that to this day? was that something you could cling to as hope or motivation?
HT Team 1 Questions for Alicia Partnoy
1. Why do you think the issues in Argentina get considerably less attention in the United States media when compared to other occurrences that involve corrupt government systems?
2. How does being a victim of military exile, torture, and imprisonment change your sense of patriotism and how does it change your relationship with your own government and country?
2. How does being a victim of military exile, torture, and imprisonment change your sense of patriotism and how does it change your relationship with your own government and country?
alicia partnoy question
As a survivor of such inhumane treatment, and now today working towards a greater recognition and understanding of the Argentinian disappearances, what is your reaction to the information regarding the inhumane treatment of prisoners done by American soldiers? In your opinion, how can Human Rights groups do more to help fight against this problem that still exists today? Lastly, how has your opinion of your home country changed since you were captured and tortured and then escaped to the United States?
ALICIA PARTNOY QUES
From "My Names" you end with the sentence, "Maybe that is why every day, when I wake up, I say to myself that I, Alicia Partnoy, am still alive." In what ways did your inhumane treatment and overall cruel experience change your outlook on life?
Partnoy Question (Refugee)
Some people weigh
between the term “freedom” against “bread” comparing economic development with
justice and freedom. This gives excuses
to the dictators and certain governments in developing nations for their
oppression. What ways would there be to
convince these people who argue that “bread” is more important than “freedom”?
International Human Rights as an Evolving Definition
Through Clark's recount of the international adoption of a definition of "disappearance" and the subsequent path that citizens and NGOs alike must take in order to defend the persons involved, it is made obvious that making a claim for the international 'citizen' is no easy or short process. Creating norms for the global community is an effort that demands incredible vigilance and a dedication to the rights of an individual despite the claims of violation of the sovereign state. As made evident by the atrocities of missing people in Chile and later Argentina, the UN met quite possibly it's greatest difficulty in creating policy in a circumstance where the state often wholly denies any involvement. Creating accountability here starts at the basest level.. that a state must pledge to uphold the rights of an individual to be treated fairly during and after their arrest. A state's ability to simply dispose of a person on whatever grounds and then lie about any information or involvement is quite possibly the most tragic violationsof one's human rights in that it simply ignores them. Simultaneously it was nearly impossible for the international community to police prior to the invocation of the 14-point program by Amnesty International to identify and defend the cases of 'disappearance' as a cynical term. AI's champion effort to find the facts and bring individual cases to light is what spurs enough response to generate an international 'norm'. Essentially this is what NGOs seek to do in pursuit of their individual goals, and what Amnesty has been able to set as a precedence for other like organizations.
Partnoy Question-GB
Why do you think so few people received justice for their actions in Argentina and around Latin America?
What would happen if the U.N. or A.I. decided to take action to help the disappeared persons without implementing a normative idea or framework for handling such an unprecendented issue?
Where did you and your fellow prisoners find the strength to endure such terrible circumstances?
Progress Report #3 Michael Bienz
For my topic, Burmese refugees, I
have four sources that range from an article and a newscast to a multimedia
recording project. The main point I have taken away from my research thus far
is that Burmese refugees have been displaced due to a civil war in their
country, and they now live in the jungle, refugee camps, or as illegal
immigrants in neighboring countries. One of my resources, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27p3MGGYbFs,
tells the story of a family who moves from a refugee camp in Burma to America.
Another resource I found is the website for Refugees International. The website
tells about the history of Burma’s civil war, and then it discusses the refugee
crisis the country faces today. To frame the presentation, I included an
article from the “Fort Wayne Insider”. The article states that Indiana, and particularly
Fort Wayne, Indiana, has the highest number of Burmese refugees in the nation.
This shows that the topic of Burmese refugees in very relevant to the students
in human rights class because the most popular place for Burmese refugees to
settle is in our state. Finally, my most intriguing source is a multimedia
project created by graduate students at Columbia University in New York City
called “From Burma to New York”. The project follows Burmese refugees as they
arrive in NYC, attempt to find a foothold in American society, and make new
lives for themselves. All in all, I think that I have a good variety of sources
that will make for an informative and interesting campaign.
AIDS Group Alicia Partnoy Question 1
Did you ever come to any possible conclusion as to why your life was spared out of many, regardless of being threatened to be killed and eyeing death in the face many times? Do you think something like this is still capable of happening in the modern world, given that international pressure has more experience and force?
Thank you.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Progress Report #3 HT2 (Byoungjun Ryou & Cheolhee Hong)
Article 1 summary
Dictatorship through three generations in
North Korea have been running the system of slave camps modeled similar to that
of Joseph Stalin’s in the past Soviet Union era. Hundreds of thousands of North
Koreans have suffered the same fates for such crimes as having the wrong ideas
or knowing too much about South Korea.
In North Korea, one of the considered
crimes is being the parent or child of a supposed wrongdoer; the first of the
country’s dynasty, Kim Il-Sung, had a policy of purging “class enemies for three
generations.”
Another crime is being a pregnant woman.
Perhaps the most shocking passages in “The Hidden Gulag” are descriptions of
what happens to women who flee to China, are lured into sexual slavery by human
traffickers, then caught by Chinese police and forced back to North Korea. When
they return pregnant, some of them are forced to abort, if too late then the
infants will be beaten to death by guards or buried alive.
The Chinese government has a key towards
this massacre since they can play a significant role towards North Korea in
terms of politics, economics and in diplomatic wise.
Article 2 Summary
Out of all the human
rights violations in North Korea, it shouldn’t be a surprise to find news about
human trafficking within the country. When people are fighting to make ends
meet, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Women crossing over the border of China is one of the
cases for many citizens who are trying to make money in a country that are
financially starved and, sadly, North Korean women are the victims in this
black market business for a while.
With China’s “one-child policy” there is a
disproportionate ratio of men to women, as most girls were either aborted or
left to die, leaving more single men than there are women.
Further, many of the men that purchase
these brides are said to be unfit husbands as most are farmers and are less
preferred than the men living in urban communities. Melanie reports that many
of these men are either physically or mentally disabled and are “unsuitable as
husbands in the eyes of Chinese women.”
While some women try to escape after being
sold, others accept their fate, since their new life and new husband provides
some kind of security compared to their lives in North Korea. Plus should they
be caught trying to escape, they might be arrested and sent to labor camps in
North Korea for illegally leaving the country.
So, North Korean women, in their
desperation for a better life, are presented with an opportunity to make some
cash, not knowing that they are actually merchandise to men, who are themselves
victims of an inhumane population control policy that has left them lonely and
desperate.
progress report by BYOUNGJUN RYOU
Mi-young Kim, who has escaped from the North Korea,
had an interview with a Korean reporter.
She said that there are still many North Koreans get sold to Chinese in
black market. Chinese people have lied
to them that they can eat and live well, if they escape from the North Korean
border. However, indeed, they are
getting sold in black market, mostly like slaves. Mi-young said that she has seen many people
getting sold, and the Chinese government does not recognize about this human
trafficking. Among them, most of people
were virgins. They might think that it
is a trap; however, they are dying to hunger, so they cannot think of anything
like that. The costs of North Korean
virgins are mostly like 4500 dollars.
2012-08-20
Kim
clearly has his hands full. The only practical escape route for fugitives from
North Korea is through China, and human-rights groups say roughly 80 percent of
those thousands of refugees are women and girls who have become “commodities
for purchase,” in Kim’s words. The most popular marketplaces are in the three
Chinese provinces closest to the North Korean border—Liaoning, Jilin, and
Heilongjiang—but North Korean brides are sold to men throughout China. Many of
the buyers are farmers. Some have physical or mental disabilities that make
them unsuitable as husbands in the eyes of Chinese women. In almost every case,
the men are buying the one thing they want most in life: a wife.
But
why import brides from North Korea? The answer is China’s family-planning laws.
Ever since the one-child policy went into effect in 1979, Beijing has enforced
it through fines, imprisonment, forced abortion, sterilization, and even,
human-rights groups charge, infanticide. The policy has had its intended effect
of slowing the rate of expansion of China’s population. But there has been an
unwelcome side effect: an unnaturally high male-to-female ratio.
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