American Journalists Sentenced to 12 Years Labor

Two American Journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were sentenced over the weekend in North Korea for "hostile acts". They were first captured back in March and their families here in the States have been praying for their release. For months, all they have had to go on is notes that have been sent, but on June 4th, the two women went on trial and were sentenced to a shocking 12 years in a North Korean labor camp. My jaw dropped when I read the news, and I cannot stop thinking about these poor women.

You might be asking, "What did they do to deserve such a harsh sentence?" The answer is that no one really knows. They were near the North Korean border researching and reporting on refugees or people living in that area. When they left the US, the women had no plans to cross into North Korea, but according to the government over there, the women have been charged with "grave crimes against the Korean nation and illegal border crossing." No one is exactly sure what the women did, but in a country like North Korea it could simply be that they were attempting to report the truth about what is going on over there to innocent people. It breaks my heart to know that these two women are trapped in such a horrible place with no one to turn to.

Sometimes it is difficult to believe that there are really places still here on Earth that are so insensitive and still run by communist dictators who will kill without a second thought. It's hard to believe there are places where the word 'Freedom' is not a part of the vocabulary. These women took a severe risk by going so close to the border and even crossing it to get their story, but I believe that the Korean military owes us an explanation of what these supposed "grave crimes" are. To me, something described as a grave crime against the government has to involve something seriously violent (which I do NOT believe those women were capable of and would have done) or something treacherous and false. I know in my heart that the two American journalists were just over there trying to uncover some truth or something horrible that the people in that area are going through. To me, that is not a grave crime, but in North Korea, there is a different set of rules and a different set of beliefs.

Some people say it is the women's fault for going so close to the border and pushing their luck, and yes, they apparently did make that decision to take a risk. But how can you be so un-sympathetic here? We are talking about two women who are married and have families that love them. Euna Lee even has a four year old daughter here in the U.S. They were not bringing drugs into the country or smuggling anything or stealing anything. They were reporting the truth. They were possibly trying to expose the truth of the horror of what some people along the borders are going through over there. And for that, they will spend 12 years in hell? It's just not right, and I pray to God that our government does not just accept this and move on. I pray that we can find a way to get those two women home. I cannot imagine what they are feeling right now, and I wish there was some way to let them know that we will not forget them. It breaks my heart, and I feel completely helpless to do anything about it.