Concentration Camps in N. Korea

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Hi there, DU people!

I recently wrote a petition on the care2 online petition site. It has gathered a few signatures, many people from around the world, but it's not really spreading. The main purpose of the petition is to spread awareness, because people really don't know the seriousness of the problem. It's a petition asking John Kerry to bring the issue of concentration camps in North Korea back to the senate floor. There was testimony a few years back but not much happened after that and public awareness isn't catching up so there's no pressure on our reps to act.

Hundreds of thousands of people are being tortured, starved and murdered in these camps. The death toll is thought to be over a million since they began, but nobody really knows. The situation is as bad as anything seen during Nazi Germany.

So could you guys sign my petition? And forward it to a friend? I would so be grateful!
My petition link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/768637641

Care2 will send a message to your email thanking you for signing it, and won't spam you or your friends.

I became aware of the camps when I read a 2002 Harpers article, entitled "Made in North Korea."
You can read the article using this link:
http://www.harpers.org/media/pages/2002/11/pdf/HarpersMagazine-2002-11-0079371.pdf
Here is a small excerpt:

In November 1989, I was detained in the punishment
cell for a week after attempting to cover
up a faulty piece of shirt made by a twenty-year-old
girl. The young girl was sent to the torture
chamber and never seen again. Among other
things, the freezing cold wind from the toilet
hole made the experience extremely painful.
During the summer, the prisoners struggle to
brush thousands of maggots back into the toilet
hole. They say it is a day of great fortune if a prisoner
finds a rat creeping up from the bottom of
the toilet hole. The prisoners catch it with their
bare hands and devour it raw, as rats are the only
source of meat in the prison. They say the wonderful
taste of a raw rat is unforgettable. If they
are caught eating a rat, however, the punishment
is extended. So they have to be very careful
when catching and eating a rat.

Thank you so much!!!!
BethE