Untitled
Office to help North Korean refugees to open Saturday
Office to help North Korean refugees to
open Saturday from durihana
on Vimeo.
Danielle
Todesco
Fri, 20 May 2016 22:37:38 MDT
Some
call him the "Schindler of Asia." Pastor Chun Ki-won's ministry Durihana
has rescued more than 1,100 refugees from North Korea. Now, there is a long-term
goal to one day have some of those people live in New Mexico.
In
fact, they're setting up their U.S. headquarters in Santa Fe.
Pastor
Chun has been called the "Schindler of Asia" because people who have
seen conditions in North Korea compare it to the Nazi concentration camps. The
difference is that the North Korean people have endured the pain and suffering
for decades. Some are getting out, but there are so many more to rescue. The
Santa Fe office set to open Saturday will help.
Americans
may think they know what happens in North Korea under the dictatorship of Kim
Jong Un who is known to lead with an iron fist and little to no regard for his
people. But those people who have lived it say it's so much worse.
"It
took me like one hour to walk to school, so on the way there I got hungry and
I just picked up the grass on the ground and sometimes it got me sick,"
a refugee now named Selina said. "Sometimes I stole food from someone else's
farm, like potatoes. I would pick up acorns and try to make it into food and
it doesn't ever really taste good. One time, I stole a dog from next door...and
then...we just had to do it for survival."
She
goes by Selina now after escaping North Korea. The only reason she could speak
with KOB 4 on camera is because none of her family still lives in North Korea.
Otherwise, they would be executed for her actions. Her story is rare because
it's not as tragic as so many others.
A
woman KOB spoke with off-camera who still has family in North Korea escaped
and was sold as a sex slave to a Chinese man. Many like her have to be rescued
twice: once from North Korea then again, out of the sex trade in China.
"For
every one that's rescued, there's thousands that aren't," Pastor Ryan Ellsworth
said.
"When
we know what's going on, we have got to act."
Pastor
Ellsworth in Santa Fe linked up with Pastor Chun, who says they both have the
same beliefs and passion to save the North Koreans. That is why his ministry
Durihana is setting up its U.S. office in Santa Fe. One day, they hope to house
refugees there, educate them and show them a life of freedom.
"They're
slaves. They're slaves and there's 24 million of them," Pastor Ellsworth
said.
"I
firmly believe that the U.S. could do a lot more, we could actually get together
and speak about these international issues," Pastor Chun said.
Both
of the women KOB interviewed said even knowing the wonderful life they have
now, they wouldn't escape again because of what it took to get here.
The
Durihana branch opens Saturday in Santa Fe. Everyone is invited to attend. It's
at the Light at Mission Viejo located at 4601 Mission Bend from 1 p.m. to 4
p.m.