Hearing these words come out of Yeonmi Park’s mouth was devastating. As an American, the only thing I hear about North Korea is their dictator’s obsession with nuclear weapons. However, my assigned novel, Nothing to Envy has opened my eyes to just how unimaginable North Korea truly is.
Yeonmi Park opens her speech by describing the famine and death in her home country. In Barbara Demick’s novel, this is a recurring theme. As income dwindles and jobs become sparse (mind you, there is not enough money to pay employees), the North Korean government gave out food rations every month. The problem, however, was that instead of getting a months worth of food, families were left with around ten days worth- leaving many starving. And as Yeonmi accurately stated, it was never unusual to see dead and dying people on the street.
The situation in North Korea is truly dire. Outside intervention is a must. For other, more powerful countries to turn a blind eye on one of the worst human rights crises is a human rights crisis in itself. No matter what it takes, we need to end the dictatorship and save a dying country. People cannot survive on minimal food, sparse electricity, and almost no running water. And although the threat of a nuclear attack may loom, if many powerful countries banded together, the threat would neutralize under the pressure. North Koreans, although blissfully unaware of it, are in dire, dire danger. It is our job to help.
