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?
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Disgusted
- Sad
- Angry