Victims of modern slavery in North Korea by Kim Jong-un – 25/02/2019

Working days of more than ten hours a day, without pay, without holidaysin positions the Ministry of Labor chooses and with the ever-pressing threat of being forced into a forced labor camp. It's the reality that they face one in ten North Koreans in the country that governs Kim Jong-un.

According to the organization Walk Free Foundation, the circumstances in which these North Koreans live fall within the definition of modern slavery, since it is considered "exploitative situations that a person can not refuse or give up because of threats, violence, coercion, abuse of power or deception".

In a detailed report done based on the testimony of 50 North Korean defectors in South Korea, the NGO has managed to shed light on the reality of forced labor and other forms of modern slavery that persist today in North Korea, whose regime "proclaims that it takes charge of his people, but in reality it is his citizens who seize the state. "

North Koreans are forced to work, but They are not the ones who choose their work, but in most cases it depends on their social status and what the Ministry of Labor decides.

The country has a rigid social system in which it is practically impossible to prosper and in which there is a "central clbad" composed of faithful to the regime and the ruling party (about 25% of the population); nail "Hesitant clbad" that integrate ordinary citizens (more than 50%); and the "hostile clbad" which comes from former landowners, capitalists and subversives (the remaining 20%).

The best jobs are reserved for the ruling clbad and members of the Workers Party, who can generally choose, while in the rest of the cases, it is common for children to be engaged in the same task as their parents and even their grandparents, especially in the following cases: agriculture and mining. The only way to avoid it: pay bribes.

Once badigned to a job, without a contract of employment, according to the report, to endless hours of work, often without days of rest or vacation, adds the fact that in the vast majority of cases, there is no salary. If you do not have a job or have spent two weeks without working, the person will be "labeled as" unemployed "and sent to a labor camp for six months."

20 YEARS WITHOUT COMPENSATION OF SALARY

Workers are sometimes told that "the state is not able to pay the money, but that deferred salaries will be recorded by an accountant for future payments"but some of the witnesses with whom he spoke Walk Free Foundation "They have not received anything of such a sufficient salary in the last 20 years."

Instead of a salary, "workers receive a food ration for themselves and another smaller portion for their loved ones", to arrive in certain cases to calculate the ration according to the productivity of the worker. Do not go to work because of illness in these cases suppose not to receive the food ration which they depend on to survive.

On the other hand, there is some North Koreans who pay to be registered for an official job while working in another According to one of the deserters, these workers are currently required to pay in dollars. In addition, there is evidence of cases in which they must provide their own work tools or production quota.

"North Koreans are forced to work but can not choose their jobs, they can neither leave them, nor resist a state-imposed labor exploitation, nor expect a payment for their services, "says the report." They often badume the responsibility of paying for their official jobs and providing the goods that can not be produced in the premises. place of work ", denounces.

"They are trapped in an authoritarian, repressive system and imprison their workers in debts which, in practice, are almost impossible to repay, a form of modern slavery It is difficult to escape and, if he is judged, he is severely punished, "says the Walk Free Foundation.

On the other hand, the workers should also carry out political activities at the end of their working day in the form of "lectures, courses on the history of the revolution, education of the youth members of the party", tells one of the deserters.

Going to these and doing a good job is fundamental, otherwise you may be subject to a negative report that may affect when it comes to finding housing, work, being able to get married, among other things. These persons may end up "sentenced to severe penalties and penalties, without excluding the possibility of public performance in Pyongyang, as a deterrent measure for others ".

DONATIONS AND COMMUNITY WORKS

On the other hand, the scheme also It forces workers to donate from time to time "on the occasion of national celebrations, gifts to the leader or other national funds", a practice which, according to the report, "seems to have increased since Kim Jong-un came to power" in 2011.

Another of the practices observed by Walk Free Foundation and that equates to modern slavery are community work who is forced to perform in agriculture, building roads and other types.

In the case of adults, Calls called "beaten" are usually past, during which you work between 70 and 100 consecutive days. This task is unpaid and the only way to avoid it is to pay bribes. Otherwise, the food rations are reduced.

But in North Korea also children are required to perform community work. "We studied in the morning and in the afternoon we worked," says one of the deserters. Thus, schools they force them to work in agriculture, to collect firewood to heat the center, to repair roads and, in the case of older children, to work in construction.

Children do not receive any type of compensation, but the state pays their schools based on the students who participate in the work. In addition, if tools are needed to do the job, such as shovels, Children should take them home.

Families in a better economic situation they can "offer financial compensation or buy the necessary products and deliver them to school" to prevent their children from doing these tasks.

Finally, emphasizes Walk Free Foundation In its report, forced labor is also practiced in North Korea. the labor camps, which are only "prisons" those who are unemployed end up and it can take up to six months.

This being the case, "the average North Korean man earns his living outside the official system" through smuggling, labor and trade on the black market and trade outside the official system with China"while" others take advantage of it and increase their almost non-existent public revenue by collecting informal taxes (mostly bribes) about the activities of others", denounces the report.

In summary, according to Walk Free Foundation "This state-imposed forced labor system is now systemic and of considerable scope and affects the vast majority of the North Korean population. The average North Korean lives, works and dies in a state of contemporary slavery", rivets the report.

Europa Press Agency.

GML