Remembering Why Laura Ling and Euna Lee Were At the N. Korean Border

The scenes of tearful reunion between journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee and their families yesterday, silhouetted against the stoic form of Bill Clinton, were moving to say the least.  After months of captivity and living in fear of a sentence of 12 years in a forced labor camp, we all breathed a sigh of relief when the journalists came home.  But let's not forget why Ling and Lee were captured in March- they were reporting on human trafficking across the Chinese-North Korean border.

The cross-border trafficking between China and North Korean primarily affects women and girls.  They are sold as brides and forced into serviles marriages.  Some North Korean women are promised greater job opportunities and education in China, along with freedoms not granted in North Korea.  Too often, those jobs are forced prostitution or domestic servitude.  Women in this region of the world are incredibly vulnerable to trafficking, due to the dire economic situations many of them face and the heavy corruption and criminal activity in the region.

Such cross-border trafficking between two countries is not unusual, but the situation between China and North Korea is even more complicated by the fact that both countries deny there is a serious problem with human trafficking over the border.  Corruption among border officials in the region is high.  Even the New York Times' Nicholas Kristof has speculated that Ling and Lee were sold by their guide to a North Korean border official, and that their guide tricked them into crossing the border.  Fighting cross-border trafficking is hard enough when both countries admit the problem and take steps to address it.  But in this case, denial is a river that runs across East Asia.

So as we celebrate Lee and Ling's safe returns, let us not forget why they suffered months of fear and imprisonment- to discover and report the truth about human trafficking.  Let us also not forget that while they are thankfully safe at home with their families, thousands of women and girls in China and North Korea have been torn away from theirs.  These women are imprisoned in brothels, homes, marriages, and workplaces.  They too are scared and uncertain, Like Ling and Lee were, and wondering when they will see their families and friends again.

Who will help these women, the ones who are not yet home safe?  Will it once again be Bill Clinton? 

Or will it be you?