Imagine if one day your government told you that your $50,000 in savings was only worth $1000? This would be a far worse financial shock than anything the Wall St debacle has cost westerners. But it is exactly what happened to North Koreans last fall, especially devastating since most had no where near $50,000 to start with.
From the NY Times: "It hardly seemed that life could get worse. And then, one Saturday afternoon last November [2009], his sister burst into his apartment in Chongjin with shocking news: the North Korean government had decided to drastically devalue the nation’s currency. The family’s life savings, about $1,560, had been reduced to about $30."
Already teetering on the edge of starvation and desperation, this drastic act by a corrupt regime has probably put the final nail in the coffin for the viability of North Korean as a functional state. For the first time in decades, North Koreans are openly criticizing their government as they continue to seek news from the 'outside world' -- relatively wealthy China across the sea; South Korea, their supposed enemies to the south; and anywhere else where they can replace the triple-speak of their government with anything bordering on objective accuracy. Families are dissolved as members disperse to make whatever money they can in hopes of returning to help the rest. Corruption increases exponentially, as the haves can openly barter with the lives of the have-nots...
It can be difficult for untraveled westerners to understand the daily, abject travails that billions around the world endure -- generation after generation. For myself, reading this article reminds me to remain silent regarding trivial trials and to appreciate the endurance of our species when we undergo such horrors as an impoverished dictatorship.
Imagine! and read:
No comments:
Post a Comment