Alienation involves isolating a certain group of people by being indifferent and discriminative. This paper focuses on an article that provides a detailed account of suffering that North Koreans underwent through the rule of Kim- Jong- il and his current predecessor Kim- Jong- un through the eyes of the Myth of Sisyphus, a compilation of essays by Albert Camus. I chose the article by Tom Phillips about a refugee who escaped the inhumanity in North Korea because refugees are some of the people who face great alienation. Also, through Yeonmi Park’s experiences, a refugee, described in this article, one is able to see the suffering various North Korean’s underwent through the dictatorship of Kim- Jong- il as a result of his destructive attitude.
The article dabbed ‘Escape from North Korea’ depicts the great extent of violation of human rights under the command of a dictator. A dictator is discriminative and alienates others merely because they lack the attribute of compassion. In this article, innocent people are killed by death from a firing squad. For example, Yeonmi’s Mother’s best friendis killed for watching movies and loaning DVDs to her friends (Phillips, 2014). According to the Myth of Sisyphus, people’s beliefs and ideas that fill them with hope to move on with life may get them killed (Camus, 1955). As is shown in the article, dictatorship was a form of imprisonment for the North Koreans as they barely had freedom to make any choices.
The Myth of Sisyphus describes inhumanity as a result of the arising of the strangeness, hostility and density of the world (Camus, 1955). This clearly describes this repressive regime as filled with hatred and lack of compassion and through it, the economy collapsed leading to great poverty. The GDP was 28,272,848. 17 won. A family of four’s income should have been 100 won to survive. The poverty rate was 3 times higher than that of the OECD average. The polarization of North Korea’s income was worsening as time went by (Phillips, 2014).
Killing and impoverishing a country are forms of alienation because of the discriminative approaches they possess. The Myth of Sisyphus describes Oran as a ghost town with lone, dusty streets filled with emptiness and reduced to nothing (Camus, 1955). This description of Oran represents the poor state of North Korea. The facilities in North Korea were poor and dysfunctional. Bodies of people trying to escape trailed everywhere even in rivers (Phillips, 2014). Mistreatment of Prisoners and sexual violence against women are other forms of alienation depicted in this article about North Korea. Those who wanted to survive had to obey the dictator rule of Kim- Jong- il. This is depicted symbolically in the Myth of Sisyphus; one had to obey the Minotaur so as to be spared. Those not spared faced the farewell of the Minotaur through forces filled with inhumanity (Camus, 1955).
Alienation in North Korea is developing as a result of the male dominance of Kim- Jong- il and Kim- Jong- un according to the article by The Telegraph. They are both depicted as chauvinists having no respect whatsoever for human rights. Women are victimized under their repressive rule through sexual violence and death. Men are victimized through imprisonment, death and punishment by standing or sitting for long hours or in certain difficult positions without food or water. Refugees are victimized through threats of deportation and discrimination. As a result, some die, others get illnesses, for example, Yeonmi’s father gets colon cancer, and even succumb to their illnesses, while others are deported facing death as a penalty (Phillips, 2014).
In conclusion, alienation is a form of inhumanity that can only be carried out by a person who lacks compassion, filled with hatred and malice. The Myth of Sisyphus though symbolic clearly represents the alienation North Koreans are facing both at home and away.
References
Camus, Albert. (1955). The Myth of Sisyphus and other Essays. Canada: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.
Phillips, Tom. (2014). Escape from North Korea. New York: The Telegraph.
Reuters (2014). UN compares North Korea to Nazi, Germany, Chinese Reactions. New York:Reuters
