By Andy Jackson
As North Korea steps closer to a second great famine and North Koreans continue to endure the depredations of the repressive regime that rules over them, an exodus of refugees slips out of the country. The twin imperatives of food and freedom (much more of the former, at least initially) are driving them hundreds or thousands of kilometers from their homes.
During their perilous trek, they will be hounded by agents of repressive regimes and thwarted by the indifference of governments that could and should do more to help them. That they should have to endure such inequities is a shame on several governments, including those in Washington and Seoul.
In order to crack down on the movement of refugees, both the North Korean and Chinese militaries have recently boosted troop strength on their border. Those refugees who do not have enough funds to bribe their way past guards on both sides of the border will find it increasingly difficult to get out.
China is especially eager to end the North Korean refugee ``problem'' before the Olympic Games begin this August by forcibly repatriating as many as possible back to North Korea.
While U.S. President George W. Bush has given speeches on the plight of the North Korean people, his concern for them has clearly taken a back seat to his desire to score a diplomatic success, however fleeting, in the ongoing nuclear talks with Pyongyang.
Jay Lefkowitz, U.S. Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea, has become a voice in the wilderness in the State Department in his seeking to include human rights in negotiations with North Korea.
When Lefkowitz had the temerity to try to interject human rights into the six party talks last January he was sternly rebuked by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who told reporters ``[Lefkowitz is] the human rights envoy. He doesn't know what's going on in the six-party talks and he certainly has no say in the six-party talks.''
It is hard to find a clearer indication of how important human rights for North Koreans are for Condoleezza Rice's State Department.
Lefkowitz continues to speak out, recently stating in a speech at Johns Hopkins University that helping North Koreans achieve freedom is a ``pragmatic security necessity'' for the United States, but he and his portfolio have become ghettoized in the State Department.
Even on something as seemingly straightforward as following U.S. law on admitting those North Korean refugees who manage to escape North Korea and China, the conduct of the State Department has been little short of pathetic.
The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 mandates that the United States accept North Korean refugees. Although there are up to 300,000 North Korean refugees in hiding, including hundreds in Southeast Asia, the U.S. has only admitted a few dozen. Of the estimated 150,000 refugees from around the world United States has resettled since 2004, fewer than 50 have come from North Korea.
A group of North Korean refugees are sitting in detention centers in Thailand awaiting their chance to go to the United States. They wrote a letter in April entitled ``A letter of request to the United States of America,'' a translation of which was obtained by the Rosett Report (part of the Pajama Media online journal).
In their letter, the refugees express their gratitude to President Bush for creating national policies allowing them to settle in the United States.
They go on to explain why they wish to settle in the United States: ``[W] e have come to know that the USA, a place we only thought of as evil, is the North Korean refugees' real safe haven and a place with the fullness of true freedom.'' They also expressed a desire to ``rescue our North Korean brothers and sisters who are still living in the unhappiness and pain that Kim Jong-il's dictator regime has caused'' once they arrive in the USA.
Yet they continue to wait in a Thai detention center, many for over a year, while U.S. officials take their sweet time to fulfill their duty.
It is well past the time for the State Department to live up to its obligations and speed up the processing of North Korean refugees.
Seoul has become a relatively bright spot over the past few months. President Lee Myung-bak has at least shown some inclination for trying to improve the human rights situation for North Koreans.
The National Human Rights Commission, which had claimed to have no jurisdiction over North Korean issues during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, has changed course and now views North Korean human rights to be an important area of concern. The commission has created a panel which will meet regularly to provide the government recommendations for improving human rights conditions in North Korea.
The commission also plans to dispatch a team to investigate conditions for North Korean refugees in Southeast Asia.
Of course, those efforts in Southeast Asia would not be necessary if the situation in China were addressed. Lee raised the issue of North Korean refugees with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao, although there are no indications that he was able to influence Chinese policy.
It is still early in Lee's term and it remains to be seen if Seoul will be part of the solution for North Korean human rights and refugees, but at least it is no longer part of the problem.
I wish I could say the same of the US State Department.
Andy Jackson teaches American Government in the Lakeland College bridge program at Ansan College, Gyeonggi Province. He can be reached at andyinrok@lycos.com.