2013-10-08 A woman is a flower

* What happens when people RSVP for a Facebook event--and they actually show up?!? You need to get more seats!

* This event was speech prep for one of the speakers. I had been invited to go to New Delhi, India, to give a speech. I had mentioned that I was doing some work with North Korean refugees, the hosts then asked if a North Korean refugee could join me. After selecting a speaker, I then organized this event to give her a chance to get prepared for India.

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* The speakers last night...Wow! They both escaped from North Korea. So it was a poignant reminder of how precious freedom is. It is humbling, realizing that they had to risk their lives to escape to freedom that so many of us take for granted. For most of us, we just buy a ticket (airplane, train, bus) and process government paperwork to move to a new country. But North Korean refugees must evade kidnappers, border guards, police, traffickers and others who prey on them, taking advantage of governments that label them as "illegal immigrants." It also reminded me of why I spend so much time organizing and volunteering for North Korean refugees--to do a small part to help people who started with so little, with the odds against them, to escape to freedom.

* As a reminder to everyone who attended--please be careful about posting photos of one of our speakers. She has some family reasons for not being identified as someone who escaped from North Korea. So please do respect that. And I hate it! Because there are some great photos of her from last night.

* Thanks to the organization TCK (Third Culture Kids) for hosting the event last night. They usually have about 15 people at their events--so last night blew them away. They rarely charge money for events, but they made an exception for last night.

* I mentioned the Mulmangcho School. Part of the proceeds for last night will be donated to the school to help the North Korean refugees there.

I give 100,000 won (about $90) to the school every month and encourage others to at least make a minimum donation. Even just a one-time 10,000 won ($9) donation can help cover the transportation cost of a volunteer.

* One of our speakers last night mentioned that she thought it was not appropriate to label refugees as "defectors." I agree with that more than she knows!!! For six months, I made this point at almost every North Korea related event. She has inspired me to renew that campaign. So expect to be corrected if you use the term "defector" within earshot of me.

* * *

For anyone interested, I am holding two sessions matching volunteer English teachers with North Korean refugees who want to improve their English. Not every match works out (either teachers or students get busy, students get discouraged, teachers get over the curiosity, etc.), but we are doing our best to provide opportunities for both sides.

Teaching ladies from TV show https://www.facebook.com/events/175000052688496/

Teaching North Korean teachers https://www.facebook.com/events/1404224479808104/

* It is common for people to click "going" or "maybe" on Facebook as if they are clicking "like." But last night, at five minutes before the meeting was to start, the room was almost full. And this was with limited publicizing of the event. TCK was scrambling trying to find more chairs, or the best way to get ready for the usual rush of people who would be late.

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Mentoring while Black (Korea Times 2/16/2023)

Mentoring while Black by Casey Lartigue Jr. February 16, 2023 www.patreon.com/caseylartigue

Scam? Yo Momma!

Note: This was originally posted shortly after Jesse Lee Peterson's book was published, reposted in 2005, and now because of a fight between black customers and a Korean merchant in Dallas, Texas. Scam? Yo Momma! During the summer of 2002 I was an observer to a dispute between the Asian owners of a Chinese takeout and some of their black customers in Washington, D.C. The month-long boycott began when a local activist accused a cook at a Chinese takeout of attempting to cook a piece of chicken he had allegedly dropped on the floor. Despite the best efforts of human rights activist Dick Gregory, popular talk-show host Joe Madison, and Rev. Walter Fauntroy, the protestors were unable to coax any media to report on the protest. On some days there were, by my unofficial count, as many as 100 people chanting songs and marching. But one key person was missing: Rev. Jesse Jackson. It was important to the foot soldiers at the boycott that someone from the media report on...

Get rid of that watermelon!

Part 1: When I was a youngster I used to collect Confederate money, posters and photographs with caricatures of blacks, and "No blacks allowed signs." I loved the money because it was a reminder of how far the sorry Confederacy had fallen. I had one poster of a dark-skinned black boy munching on a watermelon. I would look at that small poster and wonder, "What in the world is wrong with anyone wanting to eat watermelon?" Yes, white people, I'm talking to you. Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who thought making fun of blacks for eating watermelon were crazy ! Even people who say that nothing has changed in race relations must acknowledge that the many stereotypes of blacks are no longer prevalent. But then, there are also some ready to remind us of days-gone-by by debunking stuff that doesn't need to be debunked today. According to the Washington Post: The sound you just heard was yet another racial stereotype going kersplat ! Some ...

Random photos from today

I went walking around today. Whereas some people like to go walking in the mountains, I enjoy walking around in the city. Well, not D.C. or other cities with many homeless, crazy and/or armed people walking around... * * * Here's where I had lunch today. About $1.90 for a hamburger hamberger. * * * Ha-ha! Bet you never would have guessed that Batman is a drinking place in Korea! * * * Man Clinic? The Koreans walking by seemed to be very curious about why I was taking a photo of a "Man Clinic." They may know something I don't know...Actually, I wasn't curious enough to go in and find out what it was... * * * Right down the street from the Man Clinic...there's a Love Shop! I love the euphemism. "Love Shop" sounds much better than Sex Shop. I'm guessing that if you don't go to the "Love Shop" to buy condoms that you may need to visit the Man Clinic a short time later? * * * Nobo...

From nothing to something super special (2023-02-10)

FSI has moved into a better institutional neighborhood where we are the poorest in the area. In August 2022, I was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Freedom Speakers International (FSI) and in January 2023 FSI achieved incorporation status in South Korea. This has meant that FSI must upgrade operations and structure and I am the one, as chairman and co-president, who will be blamed if it doesn’t happen. I really should not be the chairman, for a variety of reasons, but anyway I am. Eunkoo and I are not the typical executives of a growing organization. In addition to being mainly responsible for building and fundraising for the organization, we are the hands-on leaders who are constantly in contact with North Korean refugee speakers. We look forward to the day we can afford staff to handle many tasks. Until then we can expect to continue having more days like yesterday, even on Eunkoo’s birthday. 2023-02-10 Meeting #1: planning We started Eunkoo’s birthday with a planning...

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