I think in general, the rights of North Koreans should be the same as any citizen of the world, however, they have not been treated with human dignity. In this case, they might need to be treated as a special, perhaps protected group of people. Differentiated citizenship would definitely include guaranteed rights to the North Koreans who escape from their country. Koreans are now being treated with a "universal" notion of citizenship-- especially in China and Russia. They are being seen as illegal immigrants and shipped back to their home country. This needs to change so that the North Koreans can be treated with respect, and as refugees instead of immigrants so that they can know that they can safely escape the country.
On another note, there are rumors coming from North Korea that they have been sending out new propaganda in support of Kim Jong-Il's son, Kim Jong-Un. They have also been having some troubles with their currency, and it is causing a bit of uprising within the country. It is uncertain how far this uprising will go. The UN Human Rights council also condemned North Korea for their torture & labor camps. Even though this is just talk, it is important for the UN to follow through on their words with actions.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Citizenship & the Rights of Others
Totalitarianism is completely relevant to North Korea and its refugee problem. It is the issue. Kim Jung Il has been ruling with an iron fist since he took power when his father, Kim Il Sung died. This could potentially be attributed to the propaganda that is put out by the North Korean government, but it is more due to the brainwashing tactics used by the government. Some citizens of North Korea don't know that there is much more in the world than North Korea-- most of them don't even know that there has been a man on the moon!
Benhabib's article is also extremely relevant because the North Korean's need to be able to escape the country and be able to be protected elsewhere when they do. They need to be protected when they escape to China, South Korea, or elsewhere, both from repatriation and from human rights abuses from the government in which they seek refuge.
The reason that China is deporting the North Korean refugees is that they are being considered illegal immigrants. Unfortunately that means that the North Koreans have nowhere to go, except South Korea, which is virtually impossible to defect to.
Benhabib's article is also extremely relevant because the North Korean's need to be able to escape the country and be able to be protected elsewhere when they do. They need to be protected when they escape to China, South Korea, or elsewhere, both from repatriation and from human rights abuses from the government in which they seek refuge.
The reason that China is deporting the North Korean refugees is that they are being considered illegal immigrants. Unfortunately that means that the North Koreans have nowhere to go, except South Korea, which is virtually impossible to defect to.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Mulitcultural and Cosmopolitain Citizenship
North Koreans do deserve rights-- the same rights as everyone else in the world (at least the basic ones, laid out by the UN). They do not necessarily deserve to be a protected group throughout the world, they just need to be treated with dignity and respect, especially in their own country! One of the major problems that North Koreans run into when fleeing their own country is deportation back into NK. They might need to be given protections allowing them to claim refugee status, since that is what they are-- NOT illegal immigrants, as China seems to think.
Modern (or Western) ideals have been spreading quickly, especially since the end of the Cold War. These include human rights and democracy. North Korea is one of the few countries left in the world with an authoritative, Communist government. As far as purposely spreading Western ideas, there has been major resistance from the North Korean government, and not much effort on the part of any Western countries to "westernize" North Korea. There has not been much push for Western ideals in North Korea, nor has there been much attention paid to the situation at all.
The system that is in place currently is one of complete oppression of the people, just to keep them under the control of their leader, Kim Jung Il. The system is clearly working for the elites, and the people have absolutely no say, making it difficult for anything to change. Another challenge in this situation is the nuclear arsenal that North Korea has been building up for a while. They might not have perfected the delivery of these weapons, but they are dangerous none the less, making it harder for any changes to be suggested or made.
There has not been much thought given to the issue of North Korea or North Korean refugees (except maybe when President Bush included them in the "Axis of Evil"). If the problem was acknowledged, I think there would be a fair amount of consensus that something needs to be done, but the extent to which something should be done would be a major debate. If something were to be done, there would be a large amount of resistance from North Korea-- mostly the government, but also from the people. They have been forced into submission, and have been told that the North Korean way is the only, best, correct way, and that their leader, Kim Jung Il is essentially equivalent to a god.
On another note, I went down to the LiNK headquarters in Torrance with Megan this past Thursday. It was a really fun day, with some awesome experiences. We were essentially in charge of contacting their past supporters to ask them to vote for LiNK in the Pepsi Refresh project, where LiNK is in the running to win $250,000 towards the Liberty House (which is the safe house that North Koreans can stay at until they learn English & are legally allowed to move freely).
Modern (or Western) ideals have been spreading quickly, especially since the end of the Cold War. These include human rights and democracy. North Korea is one of the few countries left in the world with an authoritative, Communist government. As far as purposely spreading Western ideas, there has been major resistance from the North Korean government, and not much effort on the part of any Western countries to "westernize" North Korea. There has not been much push for Western ideals in North Korea, nor has there been much attention paid to the situation at all.
The system that is in place currently is one of complete oppression of the people, just to keep them under the control of their leader, Kim Jung Il. The system is clearly working for the elites, and the people have absolutely no say, making it difficult for anything to change. Another challenge in this situation is the nuclear arsenal that North Korea has been building up for a while. They might not have perfected the delivery of these weapons, but they are dangerous none the less, making it harder for any changes to be suggested or made.
There has not been much thought given to the issue of North Korea or North Korean refugees (except maybe when President Bush included them in the "Axis of Evil"). If the problem was acknowledged, I think there would be a fair amount of consensus that something needs to be done, but the extent to which something should be done would be a major debate. If something were to be done, there would be a large amount of resistance from North Korea-- mostly the government, but also from the people. They have been forced into submission, and have been told that the North Korean way is the only, best, correct way, and that their leader, Kim Jung Il is essentially equivalent to a god.
On another note, I went down to the LiNK headquarters in Torrance with Megan this past Thursday. It was a really fun day, with some awesome experiences. We were essentially in charge of contacting their past supporters to ask them to vote for LiNK in the Pepsi Refresh project, where LiNK is in the running to win $250,000 towards the Liberty House (which is the safe house that North Koreans can stay at until they learn English & are legally allowed to move freely).
Friday, March 12, 2010
Vote Daily for LiNK
Vote Daily for Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) to win $250,000 from Pepsi for the Liberty House!
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For more information about LiNK, www.linkglobal.org. You can also check them out on Facebook: LiNK: Liberty in North Korea, Liberty in North Korea Pepsi Grant
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Social Citizenship
If the United States decides to do something about the refugee crisis in North Korea, some may question why we would help a country that does not support the human rights laws of the world, and has a major disregard for any international laws, especially those about nuclear proliferation. Korean Americans might argue yes-- because they are related to those people who are being affected. Others might argue no-- because the money we spend giving aid to North Korea or its citizens could be used to help other problems back home here in America (such as homelessness, poverty, or even to reduce taxes).
Each of these arguments presents a very strong side, and on the topic of citizenship, it does not matter. Both sides are becoming more involved in the issues, and therefore are becoming better citizens. However, by helping the North Koreans, we are also indirectly helping their citizenship. If we get them food, water, and shelter, we are giving them a better quality of life with which they can begin to question their government. This is definitely a social right, but they are the basics. These people do not even have the ability to think about having liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is definitely skewed, since happiness for them is believing in their great leader, Kim Jung Il. I think it is important for those in North Korea to start by increasing their social citizenship, and then they can move on to have more civil and political citizenship (in that order).
At the same time, I think my project will be working to improve the civic and political engagement of the North Koreans. The civic would be human rights-- really to the right to be treated like a human being. They need to be given their basic rights. Political rights also need to be a major focus because of resource allocation. The North Koreans need to be given more resources, including education (that is not brainwashing), as well as open and unbiased information. This project is focusing mostly on getting the people out of North Korea, but there are many other things that can and need to be done to completely solve the issues.
The New Right Critique would argue otherwise. They would say that North Koreans need to get themselves up off the ground without the help of outsiders such as the United States giving them aid. They need to be self reliant. I have to disagree with this approach, at least on this issue because the North Korean people are not able to get up on their own. If it was a smaller, select group of people in the country, the N.R.C. would make sense. However, it is an entire country, and they will not be able to completely pick themselves up and go in an entirely different direction, at least while under the same leadership.
One question that needs to be asked is whether the goal of helping the North Koreans is to moderate the leadership (Kim Jung Il) or to get the people out of the country (safely). I think it is important to let those who want to leave out. Those who stay need to be allowed to have access to good information and to have a leader that does not force horrible ideas and ideals on them. It needs to become a more open system.
In this situation, I think both Positive and Negative liberty need to be addressed. The government of North Korea needs to back off of its citizens, especially on the education of the people (at least the biased education), but at the same time, it needs to help the people to get on their feet, feed them, and make sure that they can survive. The focus of my project is more on negative liberty, because it is important for the government to get out of these people's way as much as it is right now.
Each of these arguments presents a very strong side, and on the topic of citizenship, it does not matter. Both sides are becoming more involved in the issues, and therefore are becoming better citizens. However, by helping the North Koreans, we are also indirectly helping their citizenship. If we get them food, water, and shelter, we are giving them a better quality of life with which they can begin to question their government. This is definitely a social right, but they are the basics. These people do not even have the ability to think about having liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is definitely skewed, since happiness for them is believing in their great leader, Kim Jung Il. I think it is important for those in North Korea to start by increasing their social citizenship, and then they can move on to have more civil and political citizenship (in that order).
At the same time, I think my project will be working to improve the civic and political engagement of the North Koreans. The civic would be human rights-- really to the right to be treated like a human being. They need to be given their basic rights. Political rights also need to be a major focus because of resource allocation. The North Koreans need to be given more resources, including education (that is not brainwashing), as well as open and unbiased information. This project is focusing mostly on getting the people out of North Korea, but there are many other things that can and need to be done to completely solve the issues.
The New Right Critique would argue otherwise. They would say that North Koreans need to get themselves up off the ground without the help of outsiders such as the United States giving them aid. They need to be self reliant. I have to disagree with this approach, at least on this issue because the North Korean people are not able to get up on their own. If it was a smaller, select group of people in the country, the N.R.C. would make sense. However, it is an entire country, and they will not be able to completely pick themselves up and go in an entirely different direction, at least while under the same leadership.
One question that needs to be asked is whether the goal of helping the North Koreans is to moderate the leadership (Kim Jung Il) or to get the people out of the country (safely). I think it is important to let those who want to leave out. Those who stay need to be allowed to have access to good information and to have a leader that does not force horrible ideas and ideals on them. It needs to become a more open system.
In this situation, I think both Positive and Negative liberty need to be addressed. The government of North Korea needs to back off of its citizens, especially on the education of the people (at least the biased education), but at the same time, it needs to help the people to get on their feet, feed them, and make sure that they can survive. The focus of my project is more on negative liberty, because it is important for the government to get out of these people's way as much as it is right now.
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