A Newspaper Article on North Korea: An example of Social Injustice

North Koreans See Few Gains Below Top Tier

The New York Times: Andrew Jacobs, October 14, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/world/asia/north-koreans-say-life-has-not-improved.html?ref=northkorea&_r=0  

This online news article talks about the injustices between different societies in the very isolated country of North Korea. Due to the country's nature as a communist state and its current nuclear testing crisis, the state has very few international help. That as well as the placement of gigantic amounts of government funding into their military, these factors have resulted in the state's inability to provide relief for their citizens during times of hardship, such as the recent floods and famines that have struck the nation. However, while the common people suffered (During the 1994-1998 famine, up to 3.5 million people starved to death and reportedly, there were several accounts of cannibalism.), the government officials lived comfortable lives.

A view of the rapidly-modernizing city of Pyongyang. Recent years has seen
more and more skyscrapers as well as newer technology that has been released to the public.

In fact, in the heart of Pyongyang (The capital city of North Korea), there has been construction of new apartment buildings, "...an increasing number of Mercedes-Benzes that roam once-empty boulevards..", and new skyscrapers that dominate the Pyongyang skyline. There is even a amusement park that children of the elite may attend, and "howl with laughter when they slide down a water slide..". To many, it seems that the country has finally begun to modernize and allow its people to lead prosperous  lives.

However, it is not as it seems. When four North Koreans were interviewed, a farmer named Mrs. Kim did not seem happy about the country's current situation. "Why should I care about the new clothing of government officials and their children when I can't feed my family?" she said. Around the countryside, farmers and workers alike are plagued with unemployment, hunger and disease. There has been no improvements to their daily lives after Kim Jong-Un  has become the leader of the nation, and things may be turning for the worse; food prices have spiked as a result of drought and the denial of food aid from the United States. "The price of rice has doubled since early Summer, and chronic shortages of fuel, electricity and raw materials continue to idle most factories, leaving millions unemployed." Pyongyang, being the central capital of North Korea, suffers fewer electricity shortages than other parts of the country.

This is an almost identical scene in 1984. The Outer Party members and the Proles live in miserable living conditions, with elevators that do not work and electricity shortages every few days. They suffer from hunger, especially the Outer Party members, as they are not given any other food than tasteless Party rations and Victory Gin and Victory Cigarettes, which are very inferior brands of alcohol and tobacco. In fact, when Winston contemplates leaving the cafeteria before lunch, he decides against it because he only has a dry loaf of bread in his pantry, which is to be saved until the next morning. When Winston drinks the Victory Gin, he is forced to close his eyes and squeeze his nose due to the extremely disgusting taste of the low-quality alcohol. The only salvation from the terrible food is when Julia obtains real chocolate and coffee (There is no coffee; tea is made with dry, tasteless tree leaves) from the Black Market. So the next time you complain about your food during school lunches, think again!

Outer Party members are also deprived of comfortable clothing; for example, only 3000 clothing coupons are given to each member annually, and according to Winston, a set of pajamas are 600 coupons each. As a result, most Outer Party members, trying to save their coupons, wear nothing to bed. Although in the Party's broadcasts where they declare that boots have been over produced, Winston realizes that over half of the population in Oceania walk barefoot. Also, the Party rations some goods and materials every so often for no reason at all- in the beginning of the novel, there is a scarcity of razor blades and Winston is asked by a co-worker for one, which he denies (Because he is saving razor blades himself).

Meanwhile, the neighbourhoods of the Inner Party members (It is forbidden for others to enter such neighbourhoods, because the Party fears they might realize the inequality of the situation) are comfortable and large. When Winston arrives in O'Brien's house, it is revealed that each Inner Party family lives in a large house (Comparable to a mansion), with servants and foodstuffs (Real chocolate, Wine, good-quality tobacco, etc.) which are pleasant compared to the drudge the Outer Party members and Proles are forced to eat. In fact, some of the delicious, tasty food that Julia smuggles through the Black Market is originally from the Inner Party neighbourhoods.

While the peasants/commoners starve, the elite minority of the society always seem to be prospering. The Inner Party, composing less than 2% of the population, live rich, comfortable lives while most Outer Party and Proles live poor, uncomfortable miseries for lives.

Newspaper Article: Human Rights?

Here is a brief but very important newspaper article from the Guardian, by journalist Yun Kim:

sssssssszzzzzzzzzzzzwwzz theGuardian      October 7, 2006        

Russia: A Very Dangerous Place for a 

Human Rights Investigator

Citizens walk to Anna Politkovskaya's memorial
after her murder to pay their respects.

By Yun Kim

Human Rights Journalist

________________________________________

Today at 4:30 P.M. local time, in central Moscow, on the birthday of Russian President Vladimir Putin, human rights investigator Anna Politkovskaya was found murdered in the elevator of her apartment flat. Four bullets were found on her body (3 on the torso and 1 in the head), as well as a markarov pistol, which is leading experts to believe that this murder was a contract killing, a murderer hired by another party to assassinate the investigator. 

Politkovskaya had previously received many death threats- more than once she had to flee the country, fearing for her life- as well as murder attempts, such as being served poisoned tea during a school hostage crisis negotiation. 

The reason for so many dangers and threats to Ms Politkovskaya was because she constantly criticized and exposed the government's flaws and corruption. However, Politkovskaya strongly opposed the Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing Putin of bringing Russia back to a "Soviet-style Dictatorship" and abusing his powers as president, and using ruthless methods silence political enemies and protesters. For example, during the second Chechen war, there were many cases of human rights violations and violent atrocities committed during the conflict. Ms Politkovskaya severely criticized Putin and his administration during this conflict, even writing several non-fiction books on the corruption and misery in Putin's Russia.

It is a sad day for Russia when a journalist that loves her country has been murdered. Especially because the murder occurred on Vladimir Putin's birthday, the man she criticized, there is a large suspicion that he had something related with this murder, or possibly a contract killing. However, if Putin admits anything, it won't be anytime soon, as he hotly denied having anything to do with this murder after being accused of being "a murderer". 

If you are further interested, there is more information on these websites:

"Chechen War Reporter Found Dead." BBC News. BBC, 10 July 2006. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. "http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5416218.stm" 

"A Suspicious Death in Russia." The Economist. N.p., n.d. Web.

"http://www.economist.com/node/8018567?story_id=8018567"

________________________________________________________________________________

This is why there are few human rights journalists in Russia nowadays; most are silenced with brutal force, or in the case of Ms Politkovskaya, assassinated. Someone who reports about the flaws and problems in their country should be given the freedom of speech and movement, as Ms Politkovskaya was not. However, she was determined to find information that the government did not allow her, when she made several trips alone into the extremely dangerous Chechen territory, for days at a time. In fact, she was caught several times during her trips, was threatened with death and given a mock execution by Russian soldiers. She was even forced to flee to Austria when she received an e-mail with a death threat.

This resembles the censored, controlled world of 1984. Citizens of Oceania are prohibited from travelling outside Oceania or communicating with any foreigners. If anyone is caught doing so, they are given the death sentence (For example, three Inner Party members were caught travelling from Canada to meet with Eurasians in Siberia, and were promptly executed). The Party operates on the same manner as whoever ordered the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya; refusing to allow the journalist to share the government's corruption, flaws and injustice, they promptly silenced her. The Party did the same; not allowing the party members to return and spread tales about life outside Oceania, the Party executed them. 

Why? If people know about the government's problems and injustice and corruption, they no longer support the government. Furthermore, if the information-deprived citizens gain knowledge about other people from other countries and realize that other countries have just as bad qualities of life or perhaps live better lives than what they live in, they no longer support the Party. With the use of censorship and limited freedom of the Press, these two governments seem to be aiming to silence protesters and political enemies.

World of 1984

http://www.zeemaps.com/pub?group=532485&x=35.115064&y=37.151222&z=16

Map Legend: Light Purple= Oceania
                      Light Green= Eurasia
                      Yellow with Black outline= Eastasia
                      Dark rhombus= Disputed Territory 

"Eurasia comprises the whole of the European part of the European and Asiatic landmass, from Portugal to the Bering Strait. Oceania comprises the Americas, the Atlantic islands including the British Isles, Australasia and the Southern portion of Africa. Eastasia, smaller than the others and with a less definite western frontier, comprises China and the countries to the south of it, the Japanese islands and a large but fluctuating portion of Manchuria, Mongolia and Tibet." Pg. 109

This is a map of the world of 1984, although the entire story takes place in London, Airstrip One, and never leaves the city. If the Party can be believed, Oceania comprises of both Americas, Australia (and New Zealand), and Southern Africa. Apparently, after the Second World War, the United States annexed the United Kingdom and Australia, and established a English socialist state (INGSOC). The official language became Newspeak, while the de facto language remained English.

Meanwhile, during 1950-60, the Soviet Union attacked the rest of continental Europe, eventually conquering all of Europe, from the tip of Portugal to the Bering Strait. This newly-created state was called Eurasia, and had a socialist ideology called "Neo-Bolshevism". Although the major country in Eurasia would be Russia, most of the Eurasian war criminals shown in public executions seen by Winston appear to have Mongolian faces.

Thirdly, during the 1960's, the Asian nations of China, Korea, and Japan united into a single superstate after "...years of confused fighting". These nations conquered the rest of East Asia, Manchuria and Mongolia, and has been constantly fighting an indefinite war with Eurasia along their unclear borders. Eastasia is the most mysterious superstate, as we know practically nothing about it other than its unclear borders. However, the ruling ideology is believed to be something along the lines of "Obliteration of the Self" or "Death Worship", as the official ideology is not  directly translatable into English. Although Eastasia is the smallest superstate in territorial size, this disadvantage is replaced by Eastasia's industriousness and large population. 

Lastly, "Between the frontiers of the superstates", is "a rough quadrilateral with the corners at Tangier, Brazzaville, Darwin, and Hong Kong" which are not part of the Superstates. This area is occasionally conquered by one superstate to be eventually conquered by another. An example of this is when in the beginning of the novel, Oceania concurrently controls the majority of Africa. However, near the end of the story, Oceania has lost control of the territory to Eurasia and desperately clings on to South Africa. Also, the majority of the workers and servants in Oceania are captured inhabitants from the Disputed Area.

These three superstates are in "perpetual war" with one another- war without end. Every few months, one superstate creates an alliance with another superstate, but each superstate is so powerful that it cannot be defeated by the other two superstates combined. However, alliances are created and broken carelessly as one superstate betrays its ally and allies with its former enemy, in the case of Oceania betraying Eurasia and allying with Eastasia during the Hate Week. The moment this occurred, the citizens (In an act of doublethink) immediately tore down the "Death to Eastasia" posters and cheered for Eastasia. Also, the Ministry of Truth destroys documents and forges new ones to prove that Oceania has "always been at war with Eurasia" and "always allied with Eastasia".

With this map, readers (Including I) are able to understand the political situation in the world of 1984. Also, because the information in this map is supplied by the Party in Oceania, readers may also realize the potential unreliability of this map. Citizens of Oceania are not allowed to communicate with foreigners, so there is no way of knowing whether the Party's teachings are true. The "Eurasian" prisoners shown during the executions have "Mongolian faces", so it may be possible that the prisoners are actually Eastasian captives, due to the frequent creating and breaking of alliances in international politics that the citizens are not aware of.

Perhaps, "Oceania" can be limited to just Airstrip One, or even London itself. Or, "Oceania" could just be a totalitarian, dictatorship country among many other modern nations that does not allow its citizens to know about the outside world, using hatred and fanatical support to keep control of its citizens. If the Ministry of Truth constantly changes facts and rewrites history, why not deceive the population about the outside world? This map has helped me to understand my story further and deepen my interest in the message George Orwell has sent about the dangers of totalitarianism and disinformation.

Julia

Winston works in the Ministry of Truth with two notable individuals- an Inner Party member known as O'Brien and a mysterious girl with dark hair, who later is known as Julia. Julia is a mechanic that fixes the Ministry's printing presses, and because especially women around her age are fanatical supporters of the Party, Winston at first despises Julia, only to be proven wrong...

However, when the two coincidentally bump into one another during work, Julia confidentially puts a note in Winston's pocket, saying "I love you." Julia then meets Winston secretly in outdoor places to avoid the Party's telescreens and begins a secret, sexual love affair for several months. However, when Julia and Winston rent a bedroom above a proletarian store, they are caught by the Thought Police.

Julia is a very carefree person that loves to be free and hates the Party almost as much as Winston, but remains careful to avoid getting caught by the Party. For example, she joins the Junior Anti-Sex League and participates in Community Centre activities to eliminate any suspicion that she is a Thought criminal. However, it turns out that Julia, rather than the social issues Winston worries about, is more concerned with sexual relationships (Which are utterly forbidden between Party Members), had her first relationship with an old Party Member who hung himself later in guilt, and had already done this "Hundreds of times" according to herself. Other than Winston, Julia is the only thought criminal that we know about.

The Message of 1984

What is George Orwell's message in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four? Well, I think that he's trying to tell readers that governments that are too powerful will abuse and misuse their power. When individuals get power, "...They have no intention to relinquish power". As soon as the Party rose to power of Oceania, the Party took control of all aspects of Oceanian life and society. Absolute power for the Party meant no power for the people. Totalitarian governments, as you could see in 1984, would go to absolute extreme lengths to sustain and increase their power, and would go as far as constantly monitoring individuals for any signs of disobedience and torture the ones who rebelled.

What is astonishing is that 1984- a novel with machines similar to computers, with futuristic dreadnought battleships and missiles- was written in 1949, a time when computers didn't exist and technology such as missiles were barely begun to be researched. Orwell clearly pictured in his mind the extreme dangers of totalitarianism and wrote to tell the dangers to his readers. What is also remarkable, is that the date 1984 is only 35 years ahead from 1949 (when it was written), which suggests that the dystopian and ruined world of 1984 could possibly become a reality in such a short time in the near future.

George Orwell clearly described the social injustice and acts of tyranny in his novel. Many of them were also heavily exaggerated to the point where having a thought of disobedience could be punished by death. Although many points were exaggerated in his novel, I believe that these exaggerations were very effective in delivering the message Orwell intended. I can safely admit, that after reading this novel, it made me think a lot. I easily understood the meaning of Orwell's message, and finally wondered about having a dystopian world in reality.

George Orwell was very effective in delivering the message.

Similarities of Injustices: Our World and 1984

Surprisingly, 1984 shares many social injustices with our world today. Simply because our world is modernized and has incredible technology doesn't mean that it is an utopia. Actually, far from it, our world has a very uneven wealth distribution and quality of life differs significantly from each group of people.

For example, in America, the minority upper class, contributing less than 2% of the population, holds immense amounts of money and enjoy lives of prosperity and luxury. These people are the ones that have large influence on the government, and therefore  direct government policies. Meanwhile, the rest of the population perform the manual labour in the industry and perform most of the bureaucrat work in the government. The rest of the population have significantly lower wealth, live lives of economic hardship (Especially during recessions and depressions) and do not enjoy luxurious qualities of life. They also do not have as much influence in government decisions as the upper class. Does this remind you of the Inner Party, the Outer Party, and the Proles in 1984?

Secondly, there are many countries in our world with totalitarian, oppressive governments. One such country is North Korea- the government controls all aspects of the country, including the freedoms of its people. In fact, similarly to Oceania in 1984, no citizen of North Korea is allowed to leave the country without official permission. Most of the citizens live lives of hardship, and it is not uncommon for famines to occur. The government oppresses its citizens and sends rebellious individuals to political prison camps. This is just one example of oppressive governments and the injustices they commit.

Lastly, the idea of freedom being taken away from you is a major point of George Orwell's novel, as well as a major issue in today's world. In many countries and societies, people are denied the freedom to have their own political/religious beliefs, or the freedom to say what they want. In 1984, any sign of disobedience  no matter how insignificant, could result in arrest and torture by the Thought Police. In many countries in the world, having different political/religious beliefs or sexual orientation results in your privileges taken away, and etc. The freedom to write and say what you want, the freedom to believe whatever you want, is nonexistent in many societies today.

By using different elements of the story, George Orwell used his society of Oceania in 1984 to raise awareness to readers of the social injustices in our world today.

Social Injustices in 1984

This is a Telescreen. Placed in every home of Party members and the public, it is similar to a television, where the Party can broadcast their propaganda to the Oceanian citizens. However, it has another role besides broadcasting propaganda- it is a monitoring surveillance instrument. The Party can see and hear anything on the other end of the telescreen, to search for any rebellious activity. Furthermore, no telescreens can be turned off (Except for Inner Party telescreens), which means that everyone is under strict, constant surveillance by the Thought Police.

The elimination of privacy and constant monitoring is just one example of the social injustices that George Orwell creates in his dystopian world of 1984. If I could sum what social injustices Orwell was trying to describe, in one word, totalitarianism. Totalitarianism- the political system of the government holding control over everything in the state- is not an injustice by itself, but many other injustices sprout from totalitarian governments. Although there are too many injustices in the novel to include all, the most notable examples are the Constant Monitoring, Fear, and Disinformation.

For example, dictators and dictatorships fear rebellion. As a solution, many tyrannical governments in history have used monitoring and surveillance to keep their subjects in check, to ensure that there are no hidden plots to overthrow their rule. Although George Orwell used telescreens and microphones and exaggerated the injustice of privacy and surveillance to extreme measures, he gets the message across.

Also, George Orwell portrays the idea of dictators using fear to obtain their needs. In 1984, the Thought Police are a feared secret police organization, monitoring and later arresting any individuals suspected of thinking crime (Called Thoughtcrime, therefore Thought police). These individuals are sent to the ministry of Love, interrogated and then tortured until they confess. If they continue to resist, the individuals are sent to Room 101, where they face the worst nightmare of their lives. These rumors (Later proven to be true) are spread among the society, and people become so frightened of the Party that they fear thinking crime itself.

Lastly, Disinformation is a frequently-used tactic applied by the Party to manipulate the population. Many times during the story, Winston (While working at the Ministry of Truth) changes production records to fit the Party's agenda. For example, he comes across a report regarding the production of boots, and while it says that the production of boots has over fulfilled the estimate by about 62 million pairs, Winston changes the status to 57 million pairs, while knowing that very likely no boots had been produced at all, "as about half the population of Oceania went barefoot." By giving citizens false information about different statistics, the Party satisfies the citizens, although nothing much has actually improved.

Also, no ordinary citizen is allowed to interact with anyone from the other superstates, so that citizens do not realize that their lives are no better than their enemies, or maybe even worse. No citizen actually knows first-hand about the course of the war between the superstates- for all they know, Oceania could actually be losing the war. By not allowing any ordinary citizen to obtain the truth, the Party successfully uses disinformation to manipulate the population.