Death Star

Throughout the year the animals worked even harder than they had worked in the previous year. To rebuild the windmill, with walls twice as thick as before, and to finish it by the appointed date, together with the regular work of the farm, was a tremendous labour. There were times when it seemed to the animals that they worked longer hours and fed no better than they had done in Jones’s day. On Sunday mornings Squealer, holding down a long strip of paper with his trotter, would read out to them lists of figures proving that the production of every class of foodstuff had increased by two hundred per cent, three hundred per cent, or five hundred per cent, as the case might be. The animals saw no reason to disbelieve him, especially as they could no longer remember very clearly what conditions had been like before the Rebellion. All the same, there were days when they felt that they would sooner have had less figures and more food. [George Orwell, Animal Farm]

The Buddhist charity Good Friends is reporting that most of South Hwanghae Province, which has historically been North Korea’s rice bowl and the source of most of its seafood, is now experiencing famine. I’ve pasted the text of Good Friends’ latest dispatch below the fold, and I’ve also uploaded another at the link below:

nkt126-eng1.pdf

The picture these dispatches collectively create is catastrophically tragic. North Korean parents are being forced to make agonizing choices about whether to eat their last morsels of food to try to survive and provide, or to feed it to their kids and sacrifice their own lives … knowing that their kids will become street orphans and probably end up starving in a state orphanage anyway. Others are contemplating suicide to put an end to a prolonged agony that offers no hope of any other outcome. It is, simply put, a crime against humanity that any government would have higher priorities than feeding its starving people (worse, it actively prevents them from providing for themselves). Yet that is exactly what Kim Jong Il is contemplating.

The regime that’s allowing this to happen and the most morally impenetrable boosters of “engaging” it want us to share their giddiness at its plans to take more scarce resources from the starving and desperate North Korean people and squander them on “the worst building in the history of mankind.” This is from an e-mail newsletter from the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University which was passed on to me by a reader.

Sources recently returning to China from Pyongyang have reported that North Korea has resumed efforts to complete the 105-story Ryugyong Hotel. With only 20 buildings in the world taller than the 330-meter structure, it would be by far the largest building in all of North Korea.

Baekdu Mountain Architects and Engineers began building the highrise in 1987 but halted construction in 1992 amid economic hardships and rumors of structural deficiencies. The North has been seeking foreign investment of up to 300 million USD to complete the structure.

Traders in Shenyang, China with ties to Pyongyang say the North has now found that funding, partnering with Egypt’s Orascom Group. Orascom has publicized significant investment plans for North Korea in the last twelve months. [IFES Newsletter]

Yonhap is also reporting the same thing, which doesn’t make it true.

If it is true, it tells us two things we knew and one thing we didn’t. We knew that the North Korean regime was untroubled about letting millions suffer and die while squandering their survival on useless vanities. We also knew that among those who would “engage” with this regime, there is a class of people who can look on this obscenity with approval, even enthusiasm. It would also suggest that even while everyone else starves, the regime feels capable of feeding its “core” population and a sizeable number of construction workers for the duration of this project, or until the Ryugyong finally topples into the alluvial mud on which its foundation rests.

There is, of course, another possibility. The North Koreans have a very long history of extracting capital from gullible investors, only to walk off with the money and lock the gates behind them. Just ask disgraced former Senator Robert Torricelli. We can only hope that this is the case yet again. It would not be entirely unpleasant to watch capitalism at its predatory worst crawl into bed with socialism at its repressive worst and break out with something noxious the morning after. That is how economic Darwinism works. It would be far better than seeing so many die for something so false and useless.

[Pic: Cavit Erginsoy]

Good Friends, News Flash – North Korea Today – No.127

People Starving to Death in Most South Hwanghae Province

In 20 cities and counties in South Hwanghae Province, with the exception of 1 or 2 places, cases of people who are dying of starvation are starting to emerge.

The lack of food supplies in farming regions is severe enough that its reputation as grain basket put to shame. South Hwanghae Province’s grain harvest has been drastically reduced because of the extensive damage caused by last year’s flood and because members of the military are personally watching over the supplies of rice reserved for military use.

The amount of rice that farms much reserve has increased, leading to a severe shortage of food available for farmers. One official said, “Usually, the region with the most pressing need for food is Gangwon Province, but right now it is Hwanghae Province. This is something that has not happened before. They used to say that the area facing the most difficulties was North Hamgyeong Province but North Hamgyeong Province is doing the best.

There is still news that people in North Hamgyeong Province are starving to death, but because the food situation in other areas has become that much worse and there has been a substantial increase in the number of those who are starving to death, North Hamgyeong Province has the highest standard of living.

South Hwanghae Province was affected the least during the Arduous March, but now, it is responsible for most of the deaths that are being reported. As a result of this, the government is planning to plant potatoes nationwide. The government is hoping to restore the faith and loyalty of the people by planting potatoes, which it says grows the quickest and has the highest amount of nutrients, but the problem is that they do not have any seeds.

There is a lot of discord because without any seeds, they can’t plant anything, but even if they had seed potatoes, the government would make fuss that the farmer have rebuke on the orders from the government. The official went on to say that “there is continued unrest and resentment among the people because the government is not doing anything while it still continues to make demands like these.

Weakened Immune Systems Causes Sudden Deaths

Amidst the increasing numbers of people who are dying from starvation, doctors are unanimously voicing their concerns that the immune systems of the populace have become dangerously weak. Jung Gwang-hyuk, a doctor from Sariwon, worried that “because everyone’s immune system is weak, even those who are breathing right now face the immediate danger of dying.

Sung Ryung Hyae (53), a doctor from Haeju, said “If you look at the general case of South Hwanghae Province, there are 8 or 9 people out of 10 who are subsisting on nothing more than porridge water. The porridge itself is not properly made because of the lack of food, and even though people mix in things such as grass, the nutritional value of the porridge is quite low. As a result, people can faint or die without warning. Unlike older times when people got weaker before dying, now, there are many people who suddenly faint and die. This is the frightening consequence of a weakened immune system.

Jang Hwa-sun (52),a physician from Wonsan, echoed this sentiment. “The majority of the people who are dying are farmers. During the Arduous March when there was no food, people died after being bed-ridden for one of two years and did not die suddenly. However, because of the weak state of people’s immune systems, even if they are able to eat, they face the risk of dying suddenly. Recently, a patient who suffered from malnutrition came to me. I gave him some maize-rice that I found with some difficulty, but he soon suffered from indigestion. Because his digestive functions were impaired, the patient suffered even though he had eaten and died shortly thereafter. I was shocked when I saw that.

70-80% of Youth Stopping Schoolwork, South Hwanghae Province

In South Hwanghae Province, the effects of the food shortage on the education of young children are becoming evident. According to one official in South Hwanghae Province, “In areas where food supplies have fallen, there is a corresponding drop in the rate of school attendance among children. The rate of school attendance among children of military families in Haeju is clearly higher than other areas. In contrast, school attendance among children living in farming areas is only 20-30% while some children receive a certificate to transfer schools. Even though children receive a transfer of school certificate, the vast majority of children do not report to their new school. Instead, they go to the mountains with their grandparents and dig up grass roots and greens to eat.

Kim Hyung Jin (12) of Bongsan-ri봉산리, Byuksung County벽성군 in Hwanghae Province, said that he is comfortable not going to school. Hyung Jin’s mother said that she is also more comfortable now because she does not have to deal with the many demands for items made by her child’s teachers, and the fact that her children are berated in front of class when he is unable to bring the requested items. “I feel so sorry for my child as it is because he has become so thin because of the food shortage, it’s better not to send my child to school,” said the mother.