Rescue team hosts presentation on North Korean refugee crisis
Students listen to GP Nomad's presentation on Oct. 23 in Pearce Hall.
Liberty In North Korea's Great Plains Nomads visited Central Michigan University on Friday with a presentation on the North Korean refugee crisis In China.
The event, organized by Asian Cultural Organization member Sandy Tran and Rescue Team President Victoria Dennis, took place in Pearce Hall, room 135. The presentation focused on the stories of refugees' struggles and how they have been helped through LINK's rescue teams and the donations they have received from donors to aid their cause.
"The title of the presentation was 'People Can' and it was about how people can make a change in North Korea, we can help by fundraising and helping to support empowerment programs, resettlement programs, and programs to help North Korean refugees get the resources they need to be successful in their new societies, whether it be the United States or South Korea," said Rescue Team President Victoria Dennis.
Founded in March 2004, LINK is an organization created to provide assistance to North Korean refugees escaping through China with resettlement, academic and empowerment programs. North Koreans hiding in China are subject to dangers such as; death upon being returned to North Korea, prostitution and being jailed. The Nomads are groups of representatives that travel giving presentations on the refugees to raise awareness of their situation nation wide at varies locations.
"At Liberty In North Korea we have five different teams where we do these tours every fall, so we visit high schools, churches, businesses and colleges, and we host events like the one we did today, it consists of a California team, pacific north west, great plains, south east and north east, so what we're trying to do is really change the narrative on North Korea, trying to shift the attention away from politics and put it back on the people," said GP Nomad representative Richard Elmore.
Students like junior Nicole Thompson were surprised to find out some of the situations that were presented during the Nomads 'People Can' presentation.
"I did not know that North Koreans were not allowed any outside information, that they were completely closed off from the rest of the world," said Thompson.
