After crossing "illegally" into North Korea from China on Christmas Day with a letter addressed to North Korean leadership appealing for an end to the country’s notorious prison camps, Robert Park has been released.
So now he's back after being held captive for 43 days, interview(s) yet to come, it is hoped.
But what was accomplished?
Phoenix New Times blogger Stephen Lemons likens it all to border politics, comparing Kim Jong il to Uncle Sam, writing:
"I was struck by the mention in several reports that Park had done missionary and humanitarian work among the poor in Nogales, Sonora, so he is undoubtedly familiar with the plight of migrants seeking to enter the U.S. illegally, and those who are unceremoniously dumped back over the border by Wackenhut buses under contract with the federal government."Continuing:
"Their [migrants and Robert Park] motives for violating the border policy of the respective nations involved may be vastly different, but both Park and the migrants have this in common: Their incarceration and their unjust treatment. And that means that Kim Jong-il and Uncle Sam have a lot more in common than they might anticipate or desire."I suppose that such a view is understandable in certain context or company.
However, somehow it just remains impossible for me to see the relative parity in relations between Mexico and the USA and the relations between North and South Korea.
How is the imprisoning and deportation of illegal immigrants (sometimes "brutal" or not) within America the same (or similar) to the internal policy of North Korea imprisoning (for life sometimes) so many of its own citizens?
