Many Tears

This has been on my mind for two days now.  I took a photo of this photo that is enlarged to be much taller than I, on a wall in the museum at the Third Tunnel.

This part of our stay had to do with the DMZ - Demilitarized Zone, and didn't want to go.  I didn't want to go when I saw it listed on the schedule we received a while back when we were still in California. 

If you know me at all, I don't read the news and try to isolate myself from things that make me feel bad, but here I had no place to run.  I was fine at this place, but the next day, at a place dedicated to unification of North and South Korea, I saw another photo and burst into tears.

I went to the bathroom, had a good cry, and came back out.  We were taken into a theatre and shown a video about how truly horrendous conditions are for North Koreans. Literally tens of thousands of people die every year from a lack of food while the North Korean leader leads a lifestyle so extravagant that I feel ill.  Then there's torture, and all manner of things I won't get into now.  They're on the list of the places with the worst human rights violations.

I burst into tears again.  The entire situation feels so very wrong, and needless. 

That night we had dinner with Rotarian higher-ups of the area we're in now.  The Rotarian who had guided us all day commented that he hadn't seen anyone cry like that for a long time and was touched.

And I must say that many Rotarians we've spoken to say their wish is for unification, even if they don't know anyone in North Korea.  And it's so heartfelt, always.  

My heartfelt wish is that those of you who read this and pay attention to world events be(come) aware that our fellow human beings in North Korea are in need of our help.  Now.