Others Should Learn from Journalistsī Dilemma
Terry L. Mitchell
June 16, 2009
Young American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have now been sentenced by a North Korean court to 12 years in a prison labor camp. Hopefully, though, these young ladies will soon be released so that they can return to their families in the United States. However, there is no guarantee of such a positive development. There is a chance they could be doing hard time in North Korea indefinitely.
At any rate, they should never have put themselves in a situation in which they could be captured by that isolated Communist country and accused of crossing its border illegally. They should have been more careful and not gotten anywhere close to it. Itīs not like they were on any kind of official business in that area.
They are not soldiers, members of the CIA, diplomats, and any of the like. Yes, they were working for a news organization, but their employer should have understood that freedom of the press is not held in such high esteem in that part of the world. People should not put themselves in unnecessary danger and then expect people to come rushing to their rescue when something goes awry. Others should learn from their dilemma.
There other day I became aware of a reality program on Animal Planet in which a group of people patrol the oceans, trying to stop illegal whaling. These people are not law enforcement officers nor have they been officially commissioned to do what they do. They have taken it upon themselves to try to save as many whales as possible.
Considering the fine mess that Ling and Lee have gotten themselves into, I couldnīt help but think these self-appointed do-gooders of the high seas might be in danger of suffering an equally (or perhaps more) terrifying fate. If they are captured or otherwise harmed by some angry whale hunters who see these people as an obstacle to their making an "honest" living, then they and/or their families shouldnīt come crying to the rest of us.
At any rate, they should never have put themselves in a situation in which they could be captured by that isolated Communist country and accused of crossing its border illegally. They should have been more careful and not gotten anywhere close to it. Itīs not like they were on any kind of official business in that area.
They are not soldiers, members of the CIA, diplomats, and any of the like. Yes, they were working for a news organization, but their employer should have understood that freedom of the press is not held in such high esteem in that part of the world. People should not put themselves in unnecessary danger and then expect people to come rushing to their rescue when something goes awry. Others should learn from their dilemma.
There other day I became aware of a reality program on Animal Planet in which a group of people patrol the oceans, trying to stop illegal whaling. These people are not law enforcement officers nor have they been officially commissioned to do what they do. They have taken it upon themselves to try to save as many whales as possible.
Considering the fine mess that Ling and Lee have gotten themselves into, I couldnīt help but think these self-appointed do-gooders of the high seas might be in danger of suffering an equally (or perhaps more) terrifying fate. If they are captured or otherwise harmed by some angry whale hunters who see these people as an obstacle to their making an "honest" living, then they and/or their families shouldnīt come crying to the rest of us.
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