Thoughts After Vigil for Journalists Euna Lee & Lisa Ling
by Lee Ann Kim, photos by Daniel K. Lew and Jose Bucud
We want to thank the volunteers, supporters, and attendees who came out on June 18 for the San Diego vigil for Euna Lee and Laura Ling, the two U.S. journalists imprisoned in North Korea. About 12 different community organizations helped support this vigil at the Korean United Methodist Church, with more than 200 people in attendance. During the vigil, attendees helped write postcards to North Korean ambassador of the United Nations, heard from Lisa Ling live by phone, learned ways to support Liberation in North Korea, and watch a gripping documentary on North Korean refugees. A special thanks to Jini Shim for editing a short video that played before the vigil that included recent clips of the women's families on CNN. You can see Jini's tribute video here.
With support from other vigil organizers around the country, we created special flyers, yellow ribbons, candles, and yellow carnations for attendees.
It was a very interesting mix of attendees - both Asian and non-Asian, business and community leaders, students, activists, journalists, and just people who care.
I was happy to see City Councilmember Donna Frye and other city representatives who cared enough to come out. Donna really touched me by quietly providing these personal city certificates to the families of Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Take a look at her message to them.
"Politics aside, this gathering is about the humanitarian effort to bring these girls home," is the message that Cox 4 reporter Jessica Chang emphasized at the beginning of the vigil. Chang is also the president of the San Diego Asian American Journalists Association.
Among the speakers was City councilmember Marti Emerald, who worked as a journalist for many years at KGTV. She gave an impassioned speech about the importance of freedom of the press and uncovering stories of truth. You can listen to Marti Emerald's speech here.
We also heard from long-time CBS correspondent Gary Shepard, who shared his experience of covering dangerous stories overseas. Gary is now retired and lives in San Diego.
But the woman everyone wanted to hear from Lisa Ling, the sister of Laura Ling. She's been fighting hard to keep the plight of Euna and Laura in the media, and is obviously so emotionally wrecked over the fact no one knows where her sister is being held in North Korea. Lisa joined the vigil live by telephone because she was on-assignment, covering a story in Arizona.
Our friends at LiNK (Liberation in North Korea) also came down from Los Angeles to explain what the organization is doing to help North Korean refugees. This is an AMAZING organization, and I hope anyone reading this will take the time to learn about what LiNK is doing on their website. They do dangerous, meaningful, and life-altering work. We admire them tremendously. Also, I found out they have a collection of really cool t-shirts, including this RUN DMZ shirt.
Finally, we wrapped up the vigil with the presentation of a heart-wrenching documentary from director Jung-Eun Kim called "Shadows and Whispers." There's too little information about the plight of North Koreans. Reading about famine and human rights abuses is one thing… but to see it on video is another. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Ultimately, we hope that everyone who stayed for the film were enlightened… and enraged enough to do what they can to end what's happening in North Korea. No child, no human being, deserves to live like that. And to think that Euna and Laura are trapped in a country like that is just frightening. Our prayers and thoughts go out to them and to those who are negotiating their release.
Latest Information:
• Blog
• Twitter
Media Coverage:
• KTSD
• KUSI Channel 9
• CW Channel 6
• San Diego News Network
Liberty in North Korea:
We had special guests, LiNK (Liberty in North Korea) at the event. They've got some really neat t-shirts and merchandise that helps support their activities and cause.
Letter from City Council Member Donna Frye:
Download here