Yeonmi Parks speech #OYW North Korea is an unimaginable country, there is only one channel on TV, there is only one internet. We arent free to sing, say, wear or think what we want. North Korea is the only country in the world. They execute people for making unauthorised international phone calls. North Koreans are being terrorised today. When I was growing up in North Korea, I never saw anything between love stories between men and women, no inaudible, no songs, no press, no movies about love stories. There is no Romeo and Juliet, every story was propaganda to brainwash us about the Kim dictators. I was born in 1993 and I was abducted at birth, even before I knew the words freedom or human rights. North Koreans are desperately seeking and dying for freedom at this moment. When I was nine years old I saw my friends’ mother publically executed, her crime inaudible movie. Expressing that about the greyness of the regime can get three generations of family imprisoned or executed. When I was four years old, I was warned by my mother not to even whisper, the birds and mice could hear me. I ultimately I thought the North Korean dictator could read my mind. My father died in China after we escaped North Korea and I had to bury him at 3am in secret, I was fourteen years old. I couldnt even cry, I was afraid to be sent back to North Korea. The day I escaped North Korea I saw my mother raped, the rape was by the Chinese broker(possibly the person who helped the family escape into china) He targeted me, I was thirteen years old. There is a saying in North Korea, when we are weak our mothers are strong. My mother allowed herself to be raped in order to protect me. North Korean Refugees about 300,000 are vulnerable in China. 7% or 70% of North Korean Women and teenage girls are being victimised sometimes actually sold less for 200 dollars. We walked across the Gobi Desert following a compass, when that stopped working we followed the stars to freedom. I felt only the stars would lead us. Mongolia was our freedom moment. Death or dignity, inaudible we were prepared to kill ourselves if we were going to be sent back to North Korea, we wanted to live as humans. People often ask me, “How can we help North Koreans?” There are many ways but I would like to mention three for now. One, educate yourself so you can raise awareness about human crisis in NK. Two, Help and support NK refugees who are trying to escape to freedom. Three, Petition to stop China repatriation. We have to shed light on the darkest place in the world. It isnt just NK human rights, it’s our rights that the NK dictators have violated for seven decades. We need to inaudible to put more pressure on China to stop repatriation, In particular Chinese delegates of One Young World can play a part by speaking out. North Korea is indescribable. No humans deserve to be oppressed just because of their birth place. We need to focus less on the region and more on the people who are being forgotten. One Young World we are the ones who will make them visible, fellow delegates please join me as we make this a global movement to free North Koreans. When I was crossing the Gobi Desert scared of dying, I thought nobody in this world cared, and thought only the stars were with me, But you have listened to my story, you have cared, thank you very much.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 06:05:47 +0000