Not lost in translation: A report from North Korea by a Lebanese journalist
An Arab-speaking friend of mine just sent me his translation of an
article in Al-Akhbar, written by a journalist who was actually in
North Korea recently -- unlike most American journalists who are
basically arm-chair speculators who wouldn't go near Pyongyang with a
ten-foot pole and, instead, just want to make up negative stories.
The author was writing about celebrations of the 69th anniversary
of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea few days
ago. She says, "North Koreans have not been able to relax and take a
breath from hostilities since the end of World War II". Good grief.
That's a hecka long time to live in fear. And also remember that in the
two years after 1950, five million Koreans were slaughtered by American
invaders. Think Iraq's Shock and Awe -- only on a much larger scale.
Pyongyang, for instance, was totally flattened, all due to the same type
of lies that started the U.S. "war" on Iraq.
The article's author accompanies a Lebanese soccer team to the Hermit kingdom and here are the results.
"Months before my trip, I learned by chance
that a soccer match would be bringing the Lebanese national football team to play the Korean
team in Pyongyang, so I applied to accompany the team. 'No kidding!' was the first
reaction of my colleagues, who admitted that no one 'even thinks of
escorting the sports teams there'.
"'Why are you in Pyongyang anyway?' is a question
I've been asked constantly both before and during my five-day visit to
the Korean capital, and
before even reaching it." She was given many warnings before she left.
"Do you know that you will not be able to talk to anyone on the street
over there? You do know that you won't be able to write a political
article when you get back, right? And after this trip, you will not be
able to get any visa to any
other country!" Interesting. Sounds more like the USA's policy than
North Korea's. She was also warned that, "They will take away your books, pens, camera and phone."
"It was a tiring journey and after long travel, we
got to Beijing and from there to Pyongyang via Korean Airlines. The
elegant flight attendants smiled,
but nothing reduced our tension, enthusiasm and adrenaline as we entered
Pyongyang
airport, which was empty of any other passengers. The inspection was
precise,
automatic and manual, the security men and women checked our faces
carefully. One
of the security personnel at the entry window smiled
and stamped my passport, giving me permission to enter. No one searched
my larger suitcase, and the security men did not open my carry-on bag.
They asked me very
gently to hand over my phone and the camera. After a few seconds, they
returned them to me without any question, request or condition." TSA,
eat your heart out!
"Tension
gradually disappeared and the view of green fields along the road
leading to the city
helped to calm minds and souls. We entered Pyongyang at sunset.
Workers and
staff returning from their jobs, walking and biking, wide paved clean
streets semi-empty of cars, and lots of trees on both sides of the
road. Pyongyang welcomes
its visitors with an amazing serenity. The calmness was even present
inside the hotel's
huge lobby, until it was broken by the noise of the Lebanese soccer team
complaining about not having wi-fi, only cable internet.
"Despite the weight of the
boisterous Lebanese presence, the staff maintained permanent warm
smiles, quick service
and a helpful response to all demands. The female cleaning workers
apologized shyly when they entered our rooms to perform their duties.
They noted
that I am the only woman in the Lebanese delegation. The next day, they
replaced
the blue bed sheets with others embroidered with pink flowers. Koreans
do not pretend their kindnesses. They perform them every day, in their
smiling greetings in the elevators, in the shop,
and in the restaurant inside the hotel.... On the street, however,
passers-by look
at you directly in the eyes with a little surprise and a lot of
seriousness." Americans could use a few such lessons in politeness.
"The traffic of the passers-by does not get lighter
until nightfall. Everyone is walking with fast steps, walking a long distance on
their feet. No one has a private car, and the public transportation is very
small compared with the population, so the buses and trams are always
overcrowded. Women, as well as men, take part in cleaning the streets of the
city, mowing its grass, arranging the squares' gardens and paving their pavements. Hygiene
and cleanliness are eye-catching in the main and secondary streets and even in
the underground tunnels of the road.
The
beautiful and quiet city is lying between two rivers, with a constant
human
movement during the day. The atmosphere is polluted by the smoke of
nearby
factories, but the abundance of trees does not make you feel the smoke.
The
most striking aspect of the city are the green, pink, yellow and blue
buildings, like huge Lego pieces, a beautiful childish feeling in a
nuclear capital. The wide sidewalks
include a restless bicycle line and very few passers-by talking on their
cell
phones, which most often takes place in the vicinity of the train
station."
Can you imagine Americans taking care of their cities with such pride?
Or even putting their cell phones down long enough to enjoy the beauty
of their cities? Nah.
"Thus, a
visitor to Pyongyang is able to restore the pleasure of seeing the faces
of the
passersby and their features -- their heads in their natural position,
raised,
exposed, not curved and attached to cell phones. Revolutionary posters
and
national emblems adorn some columns and walls and pictures of flowers
are also spread across the city and on locally manufactured products.
The magnolia flower is a
national symbol of the country. There are public parks filled with them
in the
city. In the
residential neighborhoods, there are public parks, playgrounds for
children and
others facilities for sports. In the afternoon, these
playgrounds are filled with boys and young people who practice their
various
sports. Some families also stretched on the green gardens and rest from
productive daytime labor."
And there's culture here too. "There is a
huge People's Library building, an Art Museum, the National Theater,
the Cinema Hall, the Recreation Center, Hairdressing and Body Care. Here is
an outdoor music band playing and practicing, and women in colorful traditional
costumes practicing for the upcoming National Day celebrations.
"The silence
of the city is enchanting, but it may sometimes feels sad and gloomy.
People
are calm and tired as well. Fatigue appears on faces and slim bodies --
the hard
work of a country under the harshest economic sanctions in the world,
and in political
isolation for decades. In fact, Koreans have not yet taken a safe
breath since
the end of the Second World War! After the Japanese occupation was
disbanded in
1945, the Korean War between its northern and southern parts came only
five
years later, with much blood spilled and divisions within one people on a
land no
longer united." That "war" on Korea was sad, sadistic and unnecessary
in my humble opinion -- even after watching too much MASH.
"The
Americans had completely destroyed Pyongyang, and its people rebuilt it with
their hands, but the truce that ended the Korean War in 1953 did not end the
tragedies of the Koreans. While the country began to promote urbanization,
industrialization and agriculture, it was also hit by floods that caused great
famine, destruction of infrastructure and land between 1995 and 1998, and new
floods within the last year. Despite all this, many today do not speak about
what the Korean people have suffered and still suffer up to this moment. All that
matters to Western and U.S. propaganda makers is to present an exaggerated,
cynical and often unrealistic picture of the most anti-US radical regime in both word
and deed since the collapse of the Soviet Union (USSR).
"But what about the citizens
themselves and the rise of their country and the challenges they face daily due to
sanctions? What about their achievements in sports and music despite
everything? There is no mention of this in the Western daily media because it does not serve
the cartoonish picture that the Western media seeks to circulate.
"During my
stay in the Korean capital, I took 166 photos with my camera. The
Korean attendant
of the Lebanese team asked to see some of them but then deleted only two
pictures
because one of them had a slanted frame that had an impact on the image
of the late Korean president's
face; and the other because it showed one of the slogans written on the
walls
in a truncated manner that diminished its meaning. The slogan, by the
way, says, 'The more crises ... the more straight ahead we go.'
The main feeling in Pyongyang seems to be, "What does the West want from us? To surrender to their sanctions?"
Then the journalist had the same experience that I had when I was in
North Korea a few years ago. "To provide
visitors to Pyongyang with an accompanying person to go with them
wherever they go
outside the hotel, is known to anyone who wants to visit the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea, and if the visitor is a journalist, the
escort
seems inevitable. The accompanying person of the Lebanese sport team in
Pyongyang, named Sen, was joined by another accompanying person who
serves
as an interpreter (translator) for the Asian Football Confederation
(AFC), named Ree. Sen and Ree were two young men in their 20s. They
committed no
repressive behavior. They did not let us feel that there was any
censorship or restraint in our movement. On the contrary, they eased
our visit in more than one place. Sen,
for example, organized tours of the Zuchei Tower, Kim Il Sung Square and
the
largest sports stadium in the world -- while Ree, the interpreter, spoke
to me about
politics, the 'nuclear subject', life in general and the conditions of
Lebanon and its region."
Regarding the nuclear subject, Ree asked her, "Have you heard the news
today? What do you think about
what happened," with regard to the test of the hydrogen bomb. The
journalist had followed the news on TV in her hotel room, which received
Chinese and Japanese TV channels, France 24, English Aljazeera and
Russia Today
(RT).
She answered, "From one side, I do not like the idea of a nuclear
bomb, and it frightens me; but from the other side, you are telling the world
that you are strong as well." Ree smiled and said, "Do not be afraid,
we will not throw the bomb at your country, it is only for the peace of our
country."
Ree learned his excellent English at the Pyongyang Institute of Languages. What? Not by watching Sesame Street?
"'It is
our right to protect the security of our country and our people,' Ree
explained regarding his view of possessing of nuclear weapons, and then
asked, 'How should we
act, for example, toward the implementation of military drills on our
borders
by the United States and South Korea? Why can't we address their
constant threats?' He paused a little then continued saying: 'What do
they want from
us? To surrender and submit to their sanctions?'
"On
one occasion, Ree gently invited me to taste Korean beer, Taedonggang, made locally from
white rice. We sat in the lobby of the hotel
more than once to continue our discussions on a variety of things. The
young man was surprised when I told him that South Lebanon had been under
Israeli occupation for years and he admired the popular and armed resistance that
drove the Israeli enemy out of Lebanese territory. 'Resistance and
patriotism are the most important things I have learned in life,' Ree
said. This young Korean dreamed of visiting some of the world's capitals that he
hears about while accompanying tourists. His face changed positively when
I told him that in Lebanon, there are many who saw Israel and the United States
as enemies, and that I, too, hated U.S. imperialism." Me too!
"'I learned yesterday
that the U.S. threw a bomb in Syria and killed many civilians, and that saddened my
heart,' he said seriously and honestly. Ree
was shocked when he learned that in Lebanon we had to pay huge sums for
medicine, education and sports -- while they were all free in his country.
"Ree
accompanied me at the Kim Il Sung Stadium during the enjoyable
Korean-Lebanese
match. He was enthusiastically encouraging his own country's team yet
delighted me by being the only person among the 29,000 spectators who
encouraged the Lebanese
team. Then he reassured me: 'No one will
bother you. People here are friendly.'
"He worked hard to convince the
organizers to allow me to take pictures from the pitch, because I was not a
certified press photographer. He succeeded and, thanks to him, I was able to
take pictures of the Lebanese team and the match. In the break between the two
halves, we talked about God and faith, and we agreed that faith in one's own
abilities is very important.
"When we left North Korea, Ree escorted us to the airport, to say farewell to us, and we shook hands with some
team members with affection. 'You are not alone,' I finally told
him. 'We are with you and understand your suffering because we have lived wars
and tested its horrors in Lebanon as well.' Ree lowered his eyes and said, 'Thank you.'
"Ree
told me in an earlier meeting that he listens to Korean and Russian music
because 'music makes him feel calm and with tranquility,' after long and
hard work as an interpreter. So, I left him a Fayrouz Ziad Rahbani album as a gift, wishing him to have
the best and the most elegant image of Lebanon.
In the Lebanese journalist's next dispatch, she wrote, "Leave them in peace. They are
the workers who go to their jobs and factories on foot every day. They are the
children who learn in their schools that patriotism is like a mother's love. They are the people of Pyongyang,
so good and so shy. They are the tired ones of the injustice
of the entire world. They are hard-working in order to remain in their world,
which stands in the face of imperialism in all its forms.
"North Korea is the sun that
shines on the impact of music and factory wheels.
She is the
state that, despite the blockade, is keen on free medicine and education, green
gardens, superior sport and early music education. They are the thin bodies and
slim faces, their daily worries greater than the mountains. Leave them in
peace, and do not increase their load more."
Holy crap. North Koreans receive free "MediCare for all" and their government actually cares about them? Wow.
"You in the West talk
about them with arrogance and irony, describing their world as 'closed', and treating them as 'robotic' -- but for God sake, look in the mirror and in the images spread on
your own 'social' networking sites. You are the robotic ones to the
limit of boredom. You are robotic in your external shapes that don't match
your identities; in the way you speak; your clothes; your smiles; your jokes;
your mainstream music; the absence of your wrinkles; the forms of your
relationships even including the intimate ones; and the way you live in the smallest
details. Look around you, your dominant culture isolates free thinkers, and your
generalized ideas classify the different as 'backward'. You are
boasting of your freedom, but the more allegedly open-minded you become, the more racism increases.
And your closed mindset builds up even more when borders are erased. You too are walled in, but
while your wall is huge, the Korean wall is ... Great!
"I
will not pretend to know the truth about North Koreans' lives, their mental state,
and how they think. I did not ask them if they were happy, and I did not know
whether their love for their leaders was real, but certainly, their love for
their country is clear. They are tired and admit it, even in their songs. They
are honest. I do not need to ask them this. A look in their eyes says enough. They
teach you kindness and they are the most suffering people. They forgive us, although
they are floundering in crises that they are not guilty of. They forgive us, we
who stood watching them suffering and did nothing.
"I will not claim that
the Koreans are perfect, and I will not speculate on what is best for them, but I will salute their productive daily fatigue. I will silence myself in
particular, the tourist journalist who came from Lebanon. How can a visitor
coming from Lebanon, a country of garbage and feces in food, sewage in fresh water,
and poison in medicine, feel superior to any other country in the
universe?
"We
may deserve what the U.S. and the West have forced upon us by their excessive
speed of culture and intellectual flattening, and we may also deserve nuclear missiles
sent from oppressed peoples because we do not want to see their tragedies... But
surely no one in the world deserves the kindness of the Korean people and their shy smiles. Therefore, let them alone, they do not want anything from us. Let
them exist in peace
and stop inflicting your misery on them. Perhaps, just then, you may
also wake up to your lives, look into the eyes of your beloved ones,
finally see the depth of your own tragedy --
and also begin to resist."
PS:
But what does all this mean? If North Korea isn't a Bad Guy after all,
then why is the American media trying so hard to make it into one? Why?
For money of course. Ka-ching.
Endless "war"? Cold War on Russia and China? War on Muslims? War on
crime, war on drugs, war on American protestors? War on Black people, war on immigrants, war on kids, war on
pets, war on climate, war on grandma -- whatever.
As long as there's a "war" going on somewhere, then there's money to be made by people who are not us.
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Stop Wall Street and War Street from destroying our world. And while you're at it, please buy my books -- thus helping me support my addiction to Justice and Truth. http://straitwellbooks.blogspot.com/2016/04/our-top-best-seller-right-now-is-bring.html
Would you really want to invite these dudes to your party? Might as well just invite Freddy Kreuger.
