The Foreigner, Racial Order, and Power

My service project will include volunteering with Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) in their office in Torrance, CA. I have not been able to set up an exact date yet, however, it will be within the next month. I have been in contact with the organization, and was offered a volunteer position over this weekend, but was unable to go due to prior commitments.

Update 3/4/10:
Megan & I will be traveling down to the LiNK headquarters in Torrance, CA next Thursday, March 11th for the afternoon. They are having a month-long campaign to win a $250,000 grant from Pepsi & need volunteers to help get the word out.

Campus Activism:
Film screening on Thursday, March 18th at 7:00 PM in the Chapel. "Inside North Korea." Presented by LiNK.

Clearly, North Koreans are foreigners here in the United States. The reason that I was originally interested in this issue was because I went to the screening of "Seoul Train," which told the stories of three groups of North Korean refugees fleeing to China and all getting caught in the process. Just seeing the film inspired me to do more. I am probably more interested in this particular issue because I am passionate about international human rights, but seeing the suffering of the North Koreans alone will convince others to care about these people.

I don't believe that racial order has much to do with this issue, at least in relation to the United States. The North Koreans are being persecuted because they are from North Korea, but not because they are Asian, or because they look or act different than anyone else, but because there are political benefits for the Chinese government's relations with North Korea for repatriating the refugees, who they see as illegal immigrants. My campus activism project does not engage the racial order, because it is not an issue on this campus, in the community, or even in the country.

Power has a very important role in campus activism. Showing a film about North Korea does not necessarily directly engage the powers of the US and NK governments, but it does allow for the people (at least of CLU) to get involved. The statement "knowledge is power" can be demonstrated here because the film will inform everyone as to what life is like inside North Korea.
The US government is focusing mostly on North Korea's nuclear proliferation (clearly a more prominent threat than refugees), which makes it difficult for them to see beyond that to the suffering of the North Korean people. Sure, there is food aid going into North Korea, but it is the bare minimum, and sometimes it doesn't even make it to that. The people are suffering greatly, and food aid has been diminishing as a response from the world to North Korea's nuclear activity. It is important for the powers that be to acknowledge the growing challenges that the North Korean people face instead of just focusing on the nuclear proliferation.

Also, check out the Pepsi grant competition: Vote for LiNK to win $250,000 this month! Vote every day until March 31st!
http://www.refresheverything.com/link