My escape from North Korea我的北韩逃亡记

My escape from North Korea我的北韩逃亡记

李炫秀Ted英语演讲：(中英)

When I was little, I thought my country was the best on the planet, and I grew up singing a song called "Nothing To Envy." And I was very proud. In school, we spent a lot of time studying the history of Kim Il-Sung, but we never learned much about the outside world, except that America, South Korea, Japan are the enemies. Although I often wondered about the outside world, I thought I would spend my entire life in North Korea, until everything suddenly changed.

我小的时候以为我住在全世界最棒的国家有首叫做「我们最幸福」的歌陪伴着我长大当时我好骄傲在学校我们花很多时间学习有关金日成的历史但从来没有人告诉我们外面的世界长甚么样子我们只知道美国南韩和日本都是敌人即便我对外面的世界充满好奇心那时的我也没想过自己这辈子会离开北韩直到一切忽然急转直下

When I was seven years old, I saw my first public execution, but I thought my life in North Korea was normal. My family was not poor, and myself, I had never experienced hunger. But one day, in 1995, my mom brought home a letter from a coworker's sister. It read, "When you read this, all five family members will not exist in this world, because we haven't eaten for the past two weeks. We are lying on the floor together, and our bodies are so weak we are ready to die."

我七岁那年第一次看到公开处刑但我还是觉得在北韩的生活很正常我的家境并不穷困

而我也不曾饿过肚子.1995 年的某一天我妈妈带了一封信回到家那封信是她同事的姊姊寄的信上写着「当你读到这些字的时候我们一家五口已经离开这个世界了因为我们已经足足饿了两个礼拜我们五个人现在全倒在地上身体虚弱地感受死亡的逼近」

I was so shocked. This was the first time I heard that people in my country were suffering. Soon after, when I was walking past a train station, I saw something terrible that I can't erase from my memory. A lifeless woman was lying on the ground, while an emaciated(瘦弱的，憔悴的) child in her arms just stared helplessly at his mother's face. But nobody helped them, because they were so focused on taking care of themselves and their families.

我当下真的好震惊那是我第一次知道原来我们国家也有如此生灵涂炭的一面那之后没多久的一天当我经过经过火车站的时候我看到一个可怕的景象我这辈子永远忘不掉一个女人奄奄一息地倒卧在路边手里却仍紧抱着嬴弱的孩子那孩子瞪大了双眼无助地凝视着妈妈的脸庞但没有一个人帮助他们因为大家都忙着照顾自己和自己的家人

A huge famine（饥荒）hit North Korea in the mid-1990s. Ultimately,(最后) more than a million North Koreans died during the famine, and many only survived by eating grass, bugs and tree bark(树皮). Power outages（供断）also became more and more frequent, so everything around me was completely dark at night except for the sea of lights in China, just across the river from my home. I always wondered why they had lights but we didn't. This is a satellite picture showing North Korea at night compared to neighbors.

90年代中期北韩发生大饥荒超过一百万的北韩人民因为那场飢荒而死亡而许多幸存者靠着吃草抓虫嚼树根才活了下来没电的情况也越来越严重所以当夜色降临时我的世

界天昏地暗我唯一能看到的是中国的灯火照在海波上反射过来的光中国距离我家仅有一河之隔我总是在想为什么他们有光而我们却没有这张是北韩夜晚的卫星空照图可以和邻国们相比

This is the Amrok River, which serves as a part of the border between North Korea and China. As you can see, the river can be very narrow at certain points, allowing North Koreans to secretly cross. But many die. Sometimes, I saw dead bodies floating down the river. I can't reveal many details [about] how I left North Korea, but I only can say that during the ugly years of the famine I was sent to China to live with distant relatives. But I only thought that I would be separated from my family for a short time. I could have never imagined that it would take 14 years to live together.

这是鸭绿江(Amrok River) 她就恰巧压在北韩和中国的边境线上如你所见这条河川的河道十分狭窄北韩人民可以从某些地方偷偷跨境然而有很多人因此死了有时候我会看到河面上漂着浮尸我不能透漏太多我是怎么怎么离开北韩的我能说的就是在那可恨的飢荒岁月中我被送到中国的远房亲戚那去了但那时我认为我和我的家人过不久一定能再见面我从来没想过这一别就是14 个年头

In China, it was hard living as a young girl without my family. I had no idea what life was going to be like as a North Korean refugee（难民，避难者）, but I soon learned it's not only extremely difficult, it's also very dangerous, since North Korean refugees are considered in China as illegal migrants. So I was living in constant fear that my identity could be revealed, and I would be repatriated（遣返）to a horrible fate back in North Korea.

在中国没有家人的陪伴下很难不马上长大我根本不知道身为北韩难民人生会变成什么样子但很快地我就明白这样的生活不仅艰难困苦更是危机四伏因为中国将北韩难民视为非法移民所以我无时无刻都活在恐惧之中我担心我的身分会被发现也担心我会被遣返回北韩接受可怕的命运

One day, my worst nightmare came true, when I was caught by the Chinese police and brought to the police station for interrogation（审讯）. Someone had accused me of being North Korean, so they tested my Chinese language abilities and asked me tons of questions. I was so scared; I thought my heart was going to explode. If anything seemed unnatural, I could be imprisoned and repatriated. I thought my life was over, but I managed to control all the emotions inside me and answer the questions. After they finished questioning me, one official said to another, "This was a false report. She's not North Korean." And they let me go. It was a miracle.

有一天我的噩梦成真了中国的警察抓了我把我带回警察局去侦讯原来有人向他们告发我是北韩人于是他们考我中文问我一大堆问题我好害怕我的心脏简直要跳出来了如果哪里表现的不自然我很可能会面临牢狱之灾甚至被遣返当时我觉得我人生简直要画上句点了但我努力控制自己的情绪回答那些问题他们问完我之后其中一个警察向另一个警察说这是误报她又不是北韩人然后他们就这样放我走了这简直是奇迹

Some North Koreans in China seek asylum（避难所）in foreign embassies, but many can be caught by the Chinese police and repatriated. These girls were so lucky. Even though they were caught, they were eventually released after heavy international pressure. These North Koreans were not so lucky. Every year, countless North Koreans are caught in China and repatriated to North Korea, where they can be tortured, imprisoned or publicly