“In the spot where it had been bitten, some fresh juice had oozed out, meaning it had not been long since it was eaten. My mom was furious, and demanded from all three of us who had done it. Finally, my youngest brother stepped out, hesitatingly. He confessed that he ate it. He said he really wanted to eat all of it but stopped himself after only one bite because he wanted to share it with his sisters when the cucumber grew big enough”.
“Would a partially bitten-off cucumber grow well? Everyone knows that it would wither away, shrink and eventually fall from the vine. Of course, my little brother was way too young to understand this. My mother, out of patience, spanked him, but regretted it later. She later said that she was angry because she could not fill the tiny stomachs of her little ones”.
“Now I could say I am in a good shape. But when I left North Korea I was very weak. My mom visited me when I was receiving social adjustment training right after I arrived South Korea, and when she saw me, she could not hold back her sobbing”.
“She later told me she could not believe her eyes when she saw me (she had left for South Korea before me): I had not grown at all since she last saw me, and, of course, I had become bony. My face was white, covered with age spots and my hair had become rough and brittle. I looked shabby. She was not completely sure it was her own daughter in front of her. She said she had to hesitate for a second but, even at that moment, she could recognize me by my shining eyes which, as all our neighbors once said, looked exactly like hers”.
“Back then I suffered from severe vertigo. When I felt dizzy, I had to sit down for a while. Now while writing this, I realized my vertigo has been gone for a while but I don’t remember since when. Anyway, right now, I am healthy without any medical concerns”.
I for one find it virtually impossible to imagine a situation where I am starving hungry with little hope of finding anything to eat at all. What these people have been through and are going through beggars belief.
☛ More: Inside North Korea: Unbelievable Excerpts From UN Report #4
