A must read...

I read Escape from Camp 14 after hearing about it somewhere on the expansive World Wide Web.  I thought it would be an interesting read with all the news about North Korea - their new leader, nuclear weapons, and the infamous labor camps.  

I didn't expect most of what I read.  Every now and again you hear about North Korea and their hard labor camps for those deemed criminals.  So who cares if a criminal is charged with hard labour? But we forget that such nations don't follow laws according to our own - were what is deemed criminal activity has less to do with violent and heinous acts....but more to do with what you believe, who your parents are, etc. 

After reading this book I'm surprised that there aren't more organizations and people trying to end these hard labour camps in North Korea.  These camps that N. Korea claims don't exist have killed hundreds of thousands since their inception over 50 years ago.  What's also different from Nazi concentration camps is that children are born and raised in these camps - they know nothing of the outside world.  And so you are introduced to Shin Hyuk...the only known person to be born and escape from one of these camps.  

What's it like to not understand the term "family"....but to see blood relatives as nothing more than competition for food.  To say that Shin grew up as an animal is too kind....here in America we treat our animals like family.  Our animals know and experience love....

I just can't fathom some of the things I have read.  I urge you to read the book....experience it all for yourself.  There are moments where the book is slow as you read about history, events of that time, and seemingly non-related stories.  But in the end it's all there to provide you with a background story...to provide a frame of reference and to give you a moment to digest the horror.