About a month ago I went to see Laura Ling, a prestigious journalist who was detained in North Korea in March of 2009. I had heard of ling before and how she was detained a few years back, and I was interested in hearing her story in full. She started off by talking about her job as a reporter. Ling talked about interviewing prisoners and collecting footage of crime scenes over the years. She showed a quick clip, which had a few of the interviews with the prisoners. The clip also showed the aftermath of a shootout and the family members reactions. These emotions on the screen were actually pretty hard to watch.
After the clip was over Ling began to talk about her capture in North Korea. Ling talked about how she was captured by Korean soldiers, knocked out with the butt of a rifle, and woke up in a dark prison cell. Ling spent five months in the prison, and all the while she told herself not to give up even when death was the most pleasing choice. Laura was finally returned to the United States when former president Bill Clinton went over to North Korea to meet with its leader.
Laura Ling’s tale of survival was really inspiring and terrifying at the same time. I don’t know if I could even keep strong in that situation and push forward. The things that Ling had to go through are unimaginable and it really makes me realize how real the dangers of this world are. But with the will to live, you can make it through the rough patches of life. That’s what I took away form Laura Ling.
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