My escape from North Korea | Hyeonseo Lee | TED

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Jelena Gugic Reviewer: Berina Basic

Dok sam bila mala,

When I was little, I thought my country was the best on the planet.

mislila sam da je moja zemlja najbolja na svijetu

And I grew up singing a song called "Nothing To Envy."

i odrasla sam pjevajući pjesmu koja se zove "Ne zavidim na ničemu".

Bila sam jako ponosna.

And I was very proud.

In school, we spent a lot of time studying the history of Kim Il-Sung,

U školi smo mnogo vremena provodili

učeći historiju Kim II-Sunga,

but we never learned much about the outside world,

ali nikad nismo previše učili o ostatku svijeta,

osim da su Amerika, Južna Koreja i Japan neprijatelji.

except that America, South Korea, Japan are the enemies.

Iako sam često razmišljala o svijetu van Sjeverne Koreje,

Although I often wondered about the outside world,

mislila sam da ću tu provesti cijeli život,

I thought I would spend my entire life in North Korea,

until everything suddenly changed.

dok se sve iznenada nije promjenilo.

When I was seven years old, I saw my first public execution.

Sa sedam godina sam prvi put vidjela javno pogubljenje,

But I thought my life in North Korea was normal.

ali sam mislila da je moj život u Sjevernoj Koreji normalan.

Moja obitelj nije bila siromašna

My family was not poor,

and myself, I had never experienced hunger.

i ja osobno nikad nisam iskusila glad.

But one day, in 1995, my mom brought home a letter

Jednog dana, 1995. moja je majka kući donijela pismo

from a coworker's sister.

od sestre kolege s posla.

It read, "When you read this,

Pisalo je: "Kada ovo budete čitali, nitko od pet članova obitelji

our five family members will not exist in this world,

neće više postojati na ovom svijetu,

jer nismo jeli posljednjih par sedmica.

because we haven't eaten for the past three weeks.

We are lying on the floor together,

Ležimo na podu zajedno,

and our bodies are so weak, we are waiting to die."

a naša tijela su tako slaba da smo spremni umrijeti."

I was so shocked.

Bila sam šokirana.

This was the first time I heard that people in my country were suffering.

To je bio prvi put da čujem

da ljudi u mojoj zemlji pate.

Ubrzo potom, dok sam prolazila pored željezničke stanice,

Soon after, when I was walking past a train station,

I saw something terrible that to this day I can't erase from my memory.

vidjela sam nešto užasno,

što ne mogu izbrisati iz sjećanja.

A lifeless woman was lying on the ground,

Beživotno tijelo žene je ležalo na tlu

while an emaciated child in her arms

dok je mršavo dijete u njenim rukama

just stared helplessly at his mother's face.

bespomoćno buljilo u majčino lice.

But nobody helped them,

Nitko im nije pomogao, jer su svi bili fokusirani

because they were so focused on taking care of themselves and their families.

na brigu o sebi i svojim obiteljima.

A huge famine hit North Korea in the mid-1990s.

Velika glad je pogodila Sjevernu Koreju sredinom devedesetih.

Ultimately, more than a million North Koreans died during the famine,

Konačno, vise od milion Korejaca

je umrlo tijekom perioda gladi, a mnogi su preživjeli

and many only survived by eating grass, bugs and tree bark.

samo zato što su jeli travu, kukce i koru drveća.

Power outages also became more and more frequent,

Nestanci struje su postali sve cešći

so everything around me was completely dark at night,

i noću je sve postajalo potpuno mračno

except for the sea of lights in China,

osim mora svijetla u Kini,

just across the river from my home.

upravo preko puta rijeke pored moje kuće.

I always wondered why they had lights, but we didn't.

Uvijek sam se pitala zašto oni imaju svjetla, a mi nemamo.

Ovo je satelitska snimka Sjeverne Koreje noću

This is a satellite picture showing North Korea at night,

compared to neighbors.

u poredbi sa susjedima.

This is the Amnok River,

Ovo je rijeka Amrok,

which serves as a part of the border between North Korea and China.

koja služi kao dio granice

između Sjeverne Koreje i Kine.

As you can see, the river can be very narrow at certain points,

Kao što vidite, rijeka može biti jako uska

na određenim mjestima sto omogućava Korejancima da tajno prelaze.

allowing North Koreans to secretly cross.

But many die.

Ali mnogi umru.

Sometimes, I saw dead bodies floating down the river.

Ponekad bih vidjela leševe kako plutaju rijekom.

I can't reveal many details about how I left North Korea,

Ne mogu otkriti previše detalja o tome kako sam napustila Sjevernu Koreju

but I only can say that during the ugly years of the famine,

ali mogu reći da sam tijekom gadnih godina gladi

I was sent to China to live with distant relatives.

poslana u Kinu da živim s daljom rodbinom.

But I only thought that I would be separated from my family

Mislila sam

da ću kratko biti odvojena od obitelji.

for a short time.

I could have never imagined

Nisam mogla ni zamisliti

that it would take 14 years to live together.

da ce proći 14 godina dok ne budemo živjeli zajedno.

Kao mladoj djevojci u Kini bilo mi je teško živjeti bez moje obitelji.

In China, it was hard living as a young girl without my family.

I had no idea what life was going to be like

Nisam imala pojma kakav će mi biti život

as a North Korean refugee.

kao izbjeglice iz Sjeverne Koreje

But I soon learned it's not only extremely difficult,

ali uskoro sam shvatila da je ne samo jako težak,

it's also very dangerous,

nego i opasan

since North Korean refugees are considered in China as illegal migrants.

jer se Izbjeglice iz Sjeverne Koreje u Kini smatraju

ilegalnim migrantima.

So I was living in constant fear that my identity could be revealed,

Živjela sam u konstantnom strahu

da bi moj identitet mogao biti otkriven

and I would be repatriated to a horrible fate,

i da ću biti vraćena užasnoj sudbini

back in North Korea.

nazad u Sjevernu Koreju.

One day, my worst nightmare came true,

Jednog se dana moja najgora noćna mora ostvarila

when I was caught by the Chinese police,

kada me uhvatila kineska policija

and brought to the police station for interrogation.

i dovela u policijsku stanicu na ispitivanje.

Someone had accused me of being North Korean,

Netko me optužio da sam Sjevernokorejka

so they tested my Chinese language abilities,

pa su testirali moje poznavanje kineskog jezika

and asked me tons of questions.

i postavili mi gomilu pitanja.

I was so scared.

Bila sam tako uplašena

I thought my heart was going to explode.

da sam mislila da će mi eksplodirati srce.

If anything seemed unnatural, I could be imprisoned and repatriated.

Ako se nešto učini neprirodnim, mogla bih biti zarobljena

i vraćena u domovinu.

I thought my life was over.

Mislila sam da je moj život završen

But I managed to control all the emotions inside me,

ali sam uspjela kontrolirati sve svoje emocije

and answer the questions.

i odgovarati na pitanja.

Nakon što su završili s ispitivanjem,

After they finished questioning me,

one official said to another,

jedan je službenik rekao drugom:

"This was a false report. She's not North Korean."

"Ovo je bila lažna dojava.

Ona nije Sjevernokorejka."

And they let me go. It was a miracle.

Pustili su me. To je bilo čudo.

Some North Koreans in China seek asylum in foreign embassies.

Neki Sjevernokorejci u Kini traže azil

u stranim ambasadama,

But many can be caught by the Chinese police,

ali mnoge može uhvatiti kineska policija

and repatriated.

i vratiti u domovinu.

These girls were so lucky.

Ove djevojčice su imale sreće.

Even though they were caught,

Iako su bile uhvaćene,

they were eventually released, after heavy international pressure.

na kraju su puštene

zbog jakog internacionalnog pritiska.

Ovi Sjevernokorejci nisu bili tako sretni.

These North Koreans were not so lucky.

Every year, countless North Koreans are caught in China

Svake godine bezbroj Sjevernokorejaca bude uhvaćeno u Kini

and repatriated to North Korea,

i vraćeno u Sjevernu Koreju,

where they can be tortured, imprisoned, or publicly executed.

gdje mogu biti mučeni, zarobljeni

ili javno pogubljeni.

Even though I was really fortunate to get out,

Iako sam imala veliku sreću da se izvučem,

many other North Koreans have not been so lucky.

brojni Sjevernokorejci nisu bili te sreće.

It's tragic that North Koreans have to hide their identities

Tragično je što Sjevernokorejci moraju skrivati svoj identitet

and struggle so hard just to survive.

i boriti se samo da prežive.

Even after learning a new language and getting a job,

Čak i nakon što nauče jezik i dobiju posao,

their whole world can be turned upside down in an instant.

njihov cijeli svijet može biti prevrnut u sekundi.

That's why, after 10 years of hiding my identity,

Zato sam nakon 10 godina skrivanja svog identiteta

odlučila riskirati i otići u Sjevernu Koreju

I decided to risk going to South Korea.

And I started a new life yet again.

i ponovo početi novi život.

Settling down in South Korea

Stvaranje života u Sjevernoj Koreji je bilo mnogo zahtjevnije

was a lot more challenging than I had expected.

nego sto sam očekivala.

English was so important in South Korea,

Engleski je bio tako važan u Sjevernoj Koreji

so I had to start learning my third language.

da sam morala početi učiti i treći jezik.

Also, I realized there was a wide gap between North and South.

Uvidjela sam da je veliki jaz

između sjevera i juga.

We are all Korean, but inside,

Svi smo Korejci, ali iznutra

we have become very different, due to 67 years of division.

smo postali jako različiti

zbog 67 godina podjele.

Prošla sam i kroz krizu identiteta.

I even went through an identity crisis.

Am I South Korean or North Korean?

Jesam li Sjeverno-korejanka ili Južno-korejanka?

Where am I from? Who am I?

Odakle sam? Tko sam ja?

Suddenly, there was no country I could proudly call my own.

Iznenada, nije postojala zemlja

koju bih s ponosom zvala svojom.

Even though adjusting to life in South Korea was not easy,

Iako prilagođavanje životu u Južnoj Koreji nije bilo lako,

I made a plan -- I started studying for the university entrance exam.

napravila sam plan.

Počela sam učiti za prijemni ispit na fakultet.

Just as I was starting to get used to my new life,

Baš kad sam se počela navikavati na novi život,

I received a shocking phone call.

primila sam šokantan poziv.

The North Korean authorities intercepted some money

Vlasti Sjeverne Koreje

su presrele neki novac koji sam poslala obitelji

that I sent to my family,

i za kaznu je moja obitelj trebala biti

and, as a punishment, my family was going to be forcibly removed

prisilno uklonjena

na napuštenu lokaciju na selu.

to a desolate location in the countryside.

They had to get out quickly.

Morali su brzo pobjeći

So I started planning how to help them escape.

pa sam počela planirati kako da im pomognem da pobjegnu.

North Koreans have to travel incredible distances

Sjevernokorejci su proputovali nevjerovatne udaljenosti

on the path to freedom.

na putu ka slobodi.

It's almost impossible to cross the border

Gotovo je nemoguće prijeći granicu

between North Korea and South Korea.

između Sjeverne i Južne Koreje,

So, ironically, I took a flight back to China

pa sam, što je ironično, odletjela do Kine

and headed toward the North Korean border.

i zaputila se prema sjevernokorejskoj granici.

Obzirom da moja obitelj ne govori kineski

Since my family couldn't speak Chinese,

I had to guide them somehow through more than 2,000 miles

morala sam ih nekako prevesti

preko više od 3000 km do Kine

in China, and then into Southeast Asia.

i onda do jugoistočne Azije.

Putovanje autobusom je trajalo sedmicu

The journey by bus took one week,

and we were almost caught several times.

i nekoliko puta smo skoro uhapšeni.

One time, our bus was stopped and boarded by a Chinese police officer.

Jednom, naš je autobus zaustavio

kineski policajac koji se potom ukrcao.

He took everyone's I.D. cards,

Uzeo je sve lične karte

and he started asking them questions.

i počeo ih ispitivati.

Since my family couldn't understand Chinese,

Obzirom da moja obitelj nije razumjela kineski,

mislila sam da ce biti uhapšeni.

I thought my family was going to be arrested.

Dok se kineski policajac približavao mojoj obitelji,

As the Chinese officer approached my family,

I impulsively stood up, and I told him

nagonski sam ustala i rekla mu

that these are deaf and dumb people that I was chaperoning.

da su to gluhonijemi ljudi

za koje se brinem.

He looked at me suspiciously,

Pogledao me sumnjičavo,

but luckily, he believed me.

ali mi je srećom povjerovao.

We made it all the way to the border of Laos.

Dospjeli smo sve do granice s Laosom,

But I had to spend almost all my money

gdje sam morala dati sav svoj novac

to bribe the border guards in Laos.

za podmićivanje stražara u Laosu.

Ali nakon što smo prešli granicu,

But even after we got past the border,

my family was arrested and jailed for illegal border crossing.

moja je obitelj uhapšena i zatvorena

zbog ilegalnog prelaska granice.

After I paid the fine and bribe,

Nakon što sam platila kaznu i mito,

my family was released in one month.

moja je obitelj puštena nakon mjesec dana,

But soon after, my family was arrested and jailed again,

ali ubrzo potom, ponovo je uhapšena i zatvorena

in the capital of Laos.

u glavnom gradu Laosa.

This was one of the lowest points in my life.

Ovo je bio jedan od najgorih trenutaka mog života.

I did everything to get my family to freedom,

Sve sam učinila da oslobodim svoju obitelj

and we came so close,

i bili smo tako blizu,

but my family was thrown in jail,

ali moja obitelj je bačena u zatvor

just a short distance from the South Korean embassy.

nedaleko od ambasade Južne Koreje.

I went back and forth between the immigration office

Odlazila sam od imigracijskog ureda

and the police station,

do policijske stanice

desperately trying to get my family out.

očajnički pokušavajući izbaviti svoju obitelj

but I didn't have enough money to pay a bribe or fine anymore.

ali nisam imala dovoljno novaca

da platim kaznu i mito.

I lost all hope.

Izgubila sam nadu.

U tom me trenutku neki muški glas pitao:

At that moment, I heard one man's voice ask me,

"What's wrong?"

"Šta nije u redu?"

I was so surprised that a total stranger cared enough to ask.

Bila sam iznenađena

što je totalnom strancu bilo dovoljno stalo da me to pita.

In my broken English, and with a dictionary,

Na slabom engleskom i uz pomoć rječnika

I explained the situation, and without hesitating,

objasnila sam situaciju i bez oklijevanja,

the man went to the ATM,

čovjek je otišao do bankomata

and he paid the rest of the money for my family,

i platio ostatak novca za moju obitelj

and two other North Koreans to get out of jail.

te oslobađanje još dvojice Sjevernokorejaca.

I thanked him with all my heart, and I asked him,

Od srca sam mu zahvalila i pitala:

"Why are you helping me?"

"Zašto mi pomažete?"

"I'm not helping you," he said.

"Ne pomažem tebi," rekao je:

"I'm helping the North Korean people."

"pomažem ljudima Sjeverne Koreje."

I realized that this was a symbolic moment in my life.

Shvatila sam da je to simboličan trenutak u mom životu.

The kind stranger symbolized new hope for me and the North Korean people,

Dobri stranac je simbolizirao nadu za mene

i za Sjevernokorejce kada nam je ona bila najviše potrebna,

when we needed it most.

And he showed me that the kindness of strangers

te mi je pokazao dobrotu stranaca

and the support of the international community

i podršku međunarodne zajednice

kao stvarne zrake nade koje su bile potrebne Sjevernokorejcima.

are truly the rays of hope we North Korean people need.

Eventually, after our long journey,

Konačno, nakon dugog putovanja,

my family and I were reunited in South Korea.

moja obitelj i ja smo ujedninjeni u Sjevernoj Koreji,

But getting to freedom is only half the battle.

ali smo bili na pola puta do slobode.

Many North Koreans are separated from their families,

Mnogi su Sjevernokorejci odvojeni od svojih obitelji

and when they arrive in a new country,

i kada stignu u zemlju,

they start with little or no money.

počinju s malo ili nimalo novaca.

So we can benefit from the international community

Tako da možemo iskoristiti međunarodnu zajednicu

for education, English language training, job training, and more.

za obrazovanje, treninge engleskog jezika,

treninge za posao i više.

Možemo i djelovati kao most

We can also act as a bridge

between the people inside North Korea and the outside world.

između ljudi u Sjevernoj Koreji

i vanjskog svijeta,

Because many of us stay in contact with family members still inside,

jer mnogi ostaju u kontaktu

sa članovima obitelji koji su još tamo,

and we send information and money

pa im šaljemo informacije i novac

that is helping to change North Korea from inside.

što pomaže promjeni Sjeverne Koreje iznutra.

I've been so lucky, received so much help and inspiration in my life,

Bila sam jako sretna i dobila toliko pomoći

i inspiracije u svom zivotu

so I want to help give aspiring North Koreans

da želim pomoći oživljavanje nade Sjevernokorejaca

a chance to prosper with international support.

u šansu za poboljšanje

uz međunarodnu pomoć.

I'm confident that you will see more and more North Koreans

Vjerujem da ćete vidjeti sve više

Sjevernokorejaca koji uspjevaju diljem svijeta,

succeeding all over the world,

including the TED stage.

Uključujući i TED-ovu scenu.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)