Excited
The backlash against American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee has already begun, but not on our own soil. Human rights advocates are speaking out against the two freed women, stating that their research for Current TV and stint in captivity has compromised the identities of activists who rescue refugees from North Korea. According to the Los Angeles Times, Ling and Lee’s carelessness over their investigation into refugee efforts in China has brought the wrong attention onto their secret operations: one South Korean pastor whom the two visited found himself under police scrutiny and was eventually deported, forcing him to shut parts of his organization down and leave his refugees behind.
Current TV is still keeping Ling and Lee’s reasons for being at the North Korean border under wraps, and though the two journalists could have kept themselves out of danger, I have a hard time understanding why these human rights advocates are focusing their time condemning the two women rather than the North Korean government. Shouldn’t these activists utilize the media’s attention to bring awareness to North Korean policies than two women who were striving to help their efforts?
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I find it interesting that the blame is turning towards Laura and Euna who did what so many reporters have done to get vital information out to the masses. Had they not been caught and gotten the story we would have been nominating them for some journalism award. Many other reporters in similar situations never lived to tell their side of the story. Laura and Euna's silence could very well be that they experienced trauma that none of us yet know or will ever know. Telling their story is their right not our entitlement.
As for others who may have been exposed...If Laura and Euna were able to follow the trail to their identity then why not also the Chinese and Korean governments? We don't know if they were reckless. We only know that they were captured. The accusations are disappointing even if inevitable. They are reporters. Reporters break rules. If they don't the general population might never learn of so many truths.
I find it interesting that the blame is turning towards Laura and Euna who did what so many reporters have done to get vital information out to the masses. Had they not been caught and gotten the story we would have been nominating them for some journalism award. Many other reporters in similar situations never lived to tell their side of the story. Laura and Euna's silence could very well be that they experienced trauma that none of us yet know or will ever know. Telling their story is their right not our entitlement.
As for others who may have been exposed...If Laura and Euna were able to follow the trail to their identity then why not also the Chinese and Korean governments? We don't know if they were reckless. We only know that they were captured. The accusations are disappointing even if inevitable. They are reporters. Reporters break rules. If they don't the general population might never learn of so many truths.
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