My escape from North Korea | Hyeonseo Lee | TED

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Blaž Koritnik Reviewer: Sara Tanjga

Ko sem bila še majhna,

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

sem mislila, da je moja država najboljša na svetu.

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

Odraščala sem ob pesmi z naslovom "Ničesar za zavidati".

Bila sem zelo ponosna.

And I was very proud.

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

V šoli smo se dosti časa

učili o življenju Kim Il-Sunga,

but we never learned much about the outside world,

nismo pa se učili kaj dosti o preostalem svetu,

razen tega, da so ZDA, Južna Koreja in Japonska sovražnice.

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

Čeprav sem se pogostokrat spraševala, kakšen je zunanji svet,

Although I often wondered about the outside world,

sem mislila, da bom vse življenje prebila v Severni Koreji.

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

until everything suddenly changed.

Vse dokler se ni nenadoma vse obrnilo na glavo.

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

Pri sedmih letih sem bila prvič priča javni usmrtitvi.

But I thought my life in North Korea was normal.

Kljub temu sem mislila, da je moje življenje v državi normalno.

Moja družina ni bila revna,

My family was not poor,

and myself, I had never experienced hunger.

pa tudi sama nisem nikoli trpela lakote.

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

Toda nekega dne, leta 1995, je moja mati prinesla domov pismo

from a coworker's sister.

sodelavkine sestre.

It read, "When you read this,

Glasilo se je: "Ko berete to, vseh pet članov družine

our five family members will not exist in this world,

ne bo več na tem svetu,

kajti nismo jedli že dva tedna.

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

We are lying on the floor together,

Vsi ležimo na tleh,

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

in naša telesa so tako šibka, da smo na robu smrti.

I was so shocked.

Bila sem šokirana.

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

Prvič sem slišala,

da moji sodržavljani trpijo.

Kmalu zatem, ko sem hodila mimo železniške postaje,

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.

sem videla nekaj groznega,

kar mi še vedno ostaja v spominu.

A lifeless woman was lying on the ground,

Ženska je negibno ležala na tleh,

while an emaciated child in her arms

medtem ko je v njenem naročju shiran otrok

just stared helplessly at his mother's face.

nemočno gledal v njen obraz.

But nobody helped them,

Nihče jima ni pomagal, ker so vsi gledali na to,

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

kako bodo poskrbeli zase in za svoje družine.

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

V sredini 90-ih let je Severno Korejo prizadela huda lakota.

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

Nazadnje je več kot milijon ljudi umrlo od lakote.

Mnogo jih je preživelo le tako,

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

da so jedli travo, žuželke in lubje.

Power outages also became more and more frequent,

Izklapljanje elektrike je postalo vedno bolj pogosto.

so everything around me was completely dark at night,

Ponoči je bilo vse okoli mene temno kot v rogu,

except for the sea of lights in China,

razen morja luči na Kitajskem,

just across the river from my home.

ki jo je od mojega doma ločila le reka.

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

Zmeraj sem se spraševala, zakaj imajo lahko oni luči in mi ne.

To je satelitska slika Severne Koreje ponoči

This is a satellite picture showing North Korea at night,

compared to neighbors.

v primerjavi s sosedami.

This is the Amnok River,

To je reka Amrok,

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

ki služi kot del meje

med Severno Korejo in Kitajsko.

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

Kot lahko vidite, je reka na nekaterih delih zelo ozka.

Tako jo lahko Severni Korejci skrivno prečkajo.

allowing North Koreans to secretly cross.

But many die.

Toda mnogi pri tem umrejo.

Sometimes, I saw dead bodies floating down the river.

Od časa do časa sem videla trupla plavati po reki navzdol.

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

Ne morem razkriti veliko o tem, kako sem odšla iz države,

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

ampak vam lahko povem, da so me, med obdobjem lakote,

I was sent to China to live with distant relatives.

poslali na Kitajsko k daljnim sorodnikom.

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

Mislila sem,

da bom ločena od družine samo za kratek čas.

for a short time.

I could have never imagined

Nikoli si nisem predstavljala,

that it would take 14 years to live together.

da bom prebila 14 let z njimi.

Na Kitajskem mi je kot dekletu brez družine bilo težko živeti.

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

I had no idea what life was going to be like

Nisem vedela, kakšno življenje me čaka

as a North Korean refugee.

kot severnokorejsko begunko.

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

Kmalu sem spoznala, da je ne le zelo težko,

it's also very dangerous,

temveč tudi nevarno,

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

kajti na Kitajskem severnokorejski begunci

veljajo za ilegalne preseljence.

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

Tako sem živela v stalnem strahu,

da bo moja identiteta razkrita

and I would be repatriated to a horrible fate,

in me bo čakala kruta usoda

back in North Korea.

ob deportaciji nazaj v Severno Korejo.

One day, my worst nightmare came true,

Nekega dne se je uresničila moja najhujša mora,

when I was caught by the Chinese police,

ko so me ujeli kitajski policisti

and brought to the police station for interrogation.

in pripeljali na postajo na zaslišanje.

Someone had accused me of being North Korean,

Nekdo me je obtožil, da sem Severna Korejka,

so they tested my Chinese language abilities,

zato so preizkusili moje znanje kitajščine

and asked me tons of questions.

in mi postavljali mnogo vprašanj.

I was so scared.

Bila sem tako prestrašena,

I thought my heart was going to explode.

da sem mislila, da mi bo počilo srce.

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

Če bi bilo karkoli sumljivega, bi končala v zaporu

in bi me deportirali.

I thought my life was over.

Mislila sem, da je mojega življenja konec,

But I managed to control all the emotions inside me,

toda uspelo mi je zadržati vsa svoja čustva v sebi

and answer the questions.

in odgovarjati na vprašanja.

Po zaslišanju

After they finished questioning me,

one official said to another,

je uradnik rekel drugemu:

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

"To je bila lažna prijava.

Ona ni Severna Korejka."

And they let me go. It was a miracle.

In so me izpustili. To je bil čudež.

Some North Koreans in China seek asylum in foreign embassies.

Nekateri Severni Korejci na Kitajskem

iščejo zavetišče na tujih veleposlaništvih,

But many can be caught by the Chinese police,

ampak mnogo jih konča v rokah kitajske policije,

and repatriated.

ki jih nato deportira.

These girls were so lucky.

Ta dekleta so imela srečo.

Even though they were caught,

Četudi so jih ujeli,

they were eventually released, after heavy international pressure.

so bila izpuščena

po pritisku svetovne javnosti.

Ti pa niso imeli take sreče.

These North Koreans were not so lucky.

Every year, countless North Koreans are caught in China

Vsako leto je veliko Severnih Korejcev ujetih na Kitajskem,

and repatriated to North Korea,

ki jih nato deportirajo nazaj v Severno Korejo.

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

Tam so mučeni, zaprti

ali javna usmrčeni.

Even though I was really fortunate to get out,

Čeprav sem imela srečo, da sem se izognila temu,

many other North Koreans have not been so lucky.

mnogi drugi sodržavljani niso imeli te sreče.

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

Tragično je, da morajo skrivati svojo identiteto

and struggle so hard just to survive.

in se hudo truditi za golo preživetje.

Even after learning a new language and getting a job,

Tudi po usvojitvi znanja tujega jezika in pridobitvi zaposlitve

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

se lahko njihov svet v hipu obrne na glavo.

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

Zato sem se po 10 letih skrivanja identitete

odločila tvegati in iti v Južno Korejo,

I decided to risk going to South Korea.

And I started a new life yet again.

kjer me je spet čakalo novo življenje.

Settling down in South Korea

Ustaliti se v Južni Koreji je bil večji zalogaj

was a lot more challenging than I had expected.

kot sem pričakovala.

English was so important in South Korea,

Angleščina je bila zelo pomembna,

so I had to start learning my third language.

zato sem se začela učiti svoj tretji jezik.

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

Spoznala sem, da obstaja velika razlika

med severom in jugom.

We are all Korean, but inside,

Vsi smo Korejci, toda znotraj

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

smo postali različni

zaradi 67 let razdelitve.

Doživela sem tudi krizo identitete.

I even went through an identity crisis.

Am I South Korean or North Korean?

Sem Južna Korejka ali Severna Korejka?

Where am I from? Who am I?

Od kod sem? Kdo sem?

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

Kar naenkrat ni bilo države,

ki bi jo s ponosom klicala za svojo.

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

Čeprav prilagajanje življenju na jugu ni bilo lahko,

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

sem naredila načrt.

Začela sem se učiti za univerzitetni sprejemni izpit.

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

Ravno, ko sem se začela privajati novemu življenju

I received a shocking phone call.

sem prejela vznemirjajoč telefonski klic.

The North Korean authorities intercepted some money

Severnokorejske oblasti

so prestregle denar, ki sem ga poslala svoji družini

that I sent to my family,

in za kazen jih je čakala

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

prisilna selitev

na zapuščeno lokacijo na podeželju.

to a desolate location in the countryside.

They had to get out quickly.

Morali so hitro oditi iz države,

So I started planning how to help them escape.

zato sem začela načrtovati, kako jim pomagati.

North Koreans have to travel incredible distances

Severnokorejci morajo prepotovati neverjetne razdalje,

on the path to freedom.

ki jih ločijo od svobode.

It's almost impossible to cross the border

Skoraj nemogoče je prečkati mejo

between North Korea and South Korea.

med Severno in Južno Korejo,

So, ironically, I took a flight back to China

zato sem, ironično, letela nazaj na Kitajsko

and headed toward the North Korean border.

in se napotila proti meji s Severno Korejo.

Ker moja družina ni znala kitajsko,

Since my family couldn't speak Chinese,

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

sem jih morala nekako voditi

na poti več kot 3.200 km skozi Kitajsko

in China, and then into Southeast Asia.

in naprej v jugovzhodno Azijo.

Potovanje z avtobusom je trajalo en teden

The journey by bus took one week,

and we were almost caught several times.

in večkrat so nas skoraj ujeli.

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

Enkrat je naš avtobus ustavil

kitajski policist.

He took everyone's I.D. cards,

Vsem je vzel osebne izkaznice

and he started asking them questions.

in jim začel postavljati vprašanja.

Since my family couldn't understand Chinese,

Moja družina ni razumela kitajsko

in sem mislila, da bodo aretirani.

I thought my family was going to be arrested.

Ko se jim je policist približal,

As the Chinese officer approached my family,

I impulsively stood up, and I told him

sem kar vstala in mu povedala,

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

da so to gluhonemi ljudje,

ki sem jih spremljala.

He looked at me suspiciously,

Sumničavo me je pogledal,

but luckily, he believed me.

toda na srečo mi je verjel.

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

Uspelo nam je priti vse do laoške meje.

But I had to spend almost all my money

Porabila sem skoraj ves svoj denar

to bribe the border guards in Laos.

za podkupnino laoškim carinikom.

Tudi po prečkanju meje

But even after we got past the border,

my family was arrested and jailed for illegal border crossing.

je bila moja družina aretirana in priprta

zaradi ilegalnega prečkanja meje.

After I paid the fine and bribe,

Po plačilu kazni in podkupnine

my family was released in one month.

so bili po enem mesecu izpuščeni.

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

Toda kmalu zatem so bili zopet aretirani in priprti

in the capital of Laos.

v laoški prestolnici.

This was one of the lowest points in my life.

To je bila ena izmed najnižjih točk mojega življenja.

I did everything to get my family to freedom,

Storila sem vse za svobodo svoje družine.

and we came so close,

Bili smo tako blizu,

but my family was thrown in jail,

ampak bili so priprti

just a short distance from the South Korean embassy.

zelo blizu južnokorejskega veleposlaništva.

I went back and forth between the immigration office

Hodila sem od urada za priseljence

and the police station,

do policijske postaje in nazaj,

desperately trying to get my family out.

v obupnem iskanju rešitve za svojo družino.

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

Nisem pa več imela dovolj denarja

za plačilo kazni ali podkupnine.

I lost all hope.

Izgubila sem vso upanje.

Takrat sem zaslišala moškega, ki me je vprašal:

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

"What's wrong?"

"Kaj je narobe?"

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

Presenečena sem bila,

da je popolnemu tujcu bilo mar in me je vprašal.

In my broken English, and with a dictionary,

S pomočjo slovarja in svojo polomljeno angleščino

I explained the situation, and without hesitating,

sem mu razložila situacijo in brez pomisleka

the man went to the ATM,

je moški šel do bankomata

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

in plačal preostali znesek za izpustitev iz zapora

and two other North Koreans to get out of jail.

moje družine in še dveh drugih Severnih Korejcev.

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

Zahvalila sem se mu iz vsega srca in ga vprašala:

"Why are you helping me?"

"Zakaj mi pomagate?"

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

"Ne pomagam vam", je odvrnil.

"I'm helping the North Korean people."

"Pomagal sem severnokorejskem narodu."

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

Spoznal sem, da je to bil simbolični trenutek v mojem življenju.

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

Prijazni tujec je bil simbol novega upanja zame

in za Severne Korejce, takrat ko smo ga res potrebovali.

when we needed it most.

And he showed me that the kindness of strangers

Pokazal je, da so prijaznost tujcev

and the support of the international community

in podpora svetovne javnosti

resnično žarki upanja, ki jih severnokorejski narod potrebuje.

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

Eventually, after our long journey,

Naposled, po dolgem popotovanju

my family and I were reunited in South Korea.

sem bila ponovno skupaj z družino v Južni Koreji,

But getting to freedom is only half the battle.

toda prihod v svobodo je bil le en del bitke.

Many North Koreans are separated from their families,

Mnogo Severnih Korejcev je ločenih od svojih družin

and when they arrive in a new country,

in ko prispejo v novo državo,

they start with little or no money.

imajo komajda kaj denarja.

So we can benefit from the international community

Od svetovne javnosti imamo lahko koristi

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

v izobraževanju, učenju angleščine,

službeni praksi in še kaj.

Lahko tudi služimo kot most

We can also act as a bridge

between the people inside North Korea and the outside world.

med ljudmi znotraj Severne Koreje

in zunanjim svetom,

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

kajti mnogo od nas ohranja stike

z družinskimi člani tam

and we send information and money

in jim pošiljamo denar in informacije,

that is helping to change North Korea from inside.

ki pomagajo spreminjati Severno Korejo od znotraj.

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

Imela sem srečo, da sem bila deležna pomoči

in navdiha v svojem življenju,

so I want to help give aspiring North Koreans

zato hočem pomagati dati ambicioznim Severnim Korejcem

a chance to prosper with international support.

možnost uspeha

z mednarodno pomočjo.

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

Prepričana sem, da boste videli

zmeraj več Severnih Korejcev, ki uspevajo po vsem svetu,

succeeding all over the world,

including the TED stage.

vključno s TED odrom.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplavz)