Canisius College

Helen Keller - Anne Sullivan may have worked miracles for the young Hellen, but Helen the adult went on to move mountains as a political activist and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Considered a radical in the 20th century, she was a confirmed Socialist who worked towards reform for the blind and wrote in support of controversial mystics and spirituality.

Mary Church Terrell - Elected class poet at Oberlin College in the 1880's amidst a primarily white male population, "Mollie" was the first African-American woman to earn a college degree. She later became the first black woman to be appointed to the Board of Education, and due to her activism with the likes of Frederick Douglass, was the president of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs.

Sarah Winnemucca - Sarah was inducted to the Nevada Writers’ Hall of Fame in 1993, but while living in the mid 1800’s, faced criticism from both the Euro-American and Native American worlds. Belonging to the Paiute tribe in western Nevada, Sarah was educated in Carson City, became a school teacher and eventually a translator for the US Army: a position that meant she was not required to live on a reservation. Her observations inspired her to become a public speaker on the plight of her people, delivering nearly three hundred lectures on the east coast.

History of the Crisis

In 1945, Korea was liberated after Japan was defeated in World War II and later divided at the 38th parallel in accordance with a United Nations arrangement The Soviet Union was set to administer the north and the United States the south. Both, however, were unable to agree on the implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea, which led to the establishment of separate governments, each claiming to be the legitimate government of Korea. The Soviets installed former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist Kim Il Sung as leader of the Korean Workers’ Party in the north, and the US installed exiled political leader Rhee Syngman as president of the south. In 1948, the Soviets and Americans withdrew and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea were established.

In 1950, the north invaded the south, and two million died after three years of fighting. The Korean War never ended, with only an armistice signed. In 1972, the north and south began to talk about unification, and in 1991, both joined the UN.

In 1994, Kim Il Sung died and his son, Kim Jong Il, took over as leader. Two years later, over 1 million died from severe famine and floods. The government announced it would no longer abide by the armistice and sent troops into the demilitarized zone separating the north and south, now the most heavily fortified border in the world.

Current Crisis

In 2001, North Korea experienced its worst drought in history, and 6.5 million people again starved. Around the same time, North Korean defectors began testifying of torture, public executions, forced abortions and other human rights violations in government-run prison camps.

In 2003, the north withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the six party-talks to end North Korea’s weapons program began. Negotiations shuttled back and forth for six years, with weapons test-fired and launched, and an underground nuclear test carried out. Meanwhile, North Korea experienced devastating floods again in 2007, causing the government to request aid from the international community. In 2009, North Korea withdrew from the six-party talks.

While the world focuses on North Korea’s security issue, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans continue to be enslaved in prison camps today. Up to 300,000 have also escaped to China – seeking food, medicine, work, or freedom from political and religious oppression. Among the 300,000, 70 to 90 percent of North Korean women are trafficked and sold into the sex trade, and more and more refugees are fleeing to Southeast Asia to escape imprisonment upon repatriation from the Chinese government.

Recent news has revealed that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Il, has named his son, Kim Jong Un, as his successor. The world is speculating how North Koreans will respond to a leadership change, and whether the government will continue to neglect its people. Though LiNK is also waiting on edge to see the future of North Korea unfold, how much longer will North Koreans have to wait to be free? It is with this belief in the urgency of the need to address the North Korea crisis that we continue to work to affect the lives of those we are able to reach.

LiNK, or Liberty in North Korea, is the only full-time grassroots organization in North America devoted to the North Korean humanitarian and refugee crisis. LiNK provides protection and aid to North Korean refugees hiding in China and, utilizing a modern-day underground railroad through Southeast Asia, rescues refugees and helps them to reach freedom. LiNK’s global grassroots movement seeks to raise awareness of this crisis and provides a way for the international community to take part in bringing about effective change. To this end, we document the stories of North Koreans to tell the world about the North Korea crisis through our Movement program, which consists of high school and college Chapters that serve as LiNK’s arms in building awareness across the nation.

The Reliance Tour is our response to the hundreds of thousands of North Korean refugees that are being exploited and forced into conditions that violate their human rights and fundamental freedoms. We are sending five teams of nomads across the United States and Canada this fall to present the final cut of "Hiding" to as many colleges and high schools across North America as possible. Through this tour we hope to increase awareness about the North Korean refugee crisis and provide practical ways for students to get involved.

While the world focuses on North Korea’s security issue, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans continue to be enslaved in prison camps today. Up to 300,000 have also escaped to China – seeking food, medicine, work, or freedom from political and religious oppression. Among the 300,000, 70 to 90 percent of North Korean women are trafficked and sold into the sex trade, and more and more refugees are fleeing to Southeast Asia to escape imprisonment upon repatriation by China.

Through our networks, these refugees can be protected and rescued."Hiding" is a documentary that follows our staff and five North Korean refugees through a modern-day underground railroad traversing over 3,500 miles to find freedom.

This 40-minute documentary provides well-rounded information about the current human rights crisis unfolding in and around North Korea with interviews from leading experts, including Professor Dr. Kang, Director of the Korean Institute at University of California.

*Note: The Final Cut contains new footage, interviews, and stories that have never been seen before. This NEW documentary follows the same story-line of our rough cut, but provides more information on the North Korea crisis, more context about the refugees filmed in "Hiding," and personal stories from our staff who assisted in the rescue of these refugees. If you have seen the rough cut, you don’t want to miss out on this one!

Tworkowski has been interviewed by the NBC Nightly News, CNN, MTV, Rolling Stone, and SPIN Magazine, and his TWLOHA blog is one of the most-read blogs on MySpace. A film based on the life story of Renee Yohe, the inspiration for TWLOHA, is set for release in 2012. Renee the movie chronicles Yohe’s journey from addiction to redemption and reveals the key role played by Tworkowski and TWLOHA in her quest for recovery. Tworkowski speaks frequently, bringing a message of hope and community to audiences at universities and concerts throughout the US and as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom.

Dave Bauer, M.S., is president of Sustainable Earth Solutions, Inc. Dave retired from teaching Environmental Science after 34 years of wonderful work with the students of Alden High School, New York, USA.  He has been chairperson for the Erie I BOCES project that developed a model for reacting to an environmental crisis; helped to develop the Gifted and Talented program and Team Teaching in the middle school; organized the Education Festival for the district and has served as district Wellness Coordinator.  David specializes in Mastery Learning, Cooperative Learning and Learning Style theory.  He has served as the district Creative Youth Leadership program coordinator.

Awards include:

• Toyota tapestry Environmental Grant Award
• New York State Gas and Electric Energy Grant Award
• Erie County Buffalo River Watershed Award
• Erie County Pollution Prevention Award

Sustainable Earth Solutions, Inc. is a training business through which participants become skillful in the application of creative problem solving in the design of environmental projects.  Dave has discovered that when persons/organizations use creative problem solving as developed at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College, the following are enhanced:

• persons involved in the process feel more empowered as change agents,
• cooperation and communication among parties is greater ,
• the implementation of Action Plans is more effective,
• and solutions are more likely to be sustainable.

A recent article in Green Teacher magazine highlighted Dave’s success in applying creativity to environmental projects. At the summer Creative Youth Leadership camp, Dave serves as a yoga instructor and facilitator for workshops.  In May 2006, a one year contract concluded in which his business assisted the city of Buffalo in increasing the recycling rate. He has designed the Environmental Youth Summits for schools and youth organizations in New York and services youth in poverty areas of the Buffalo area. 

He is currently partnering with Ecology and Environment, Inc. to create an international web site, Project Earth, for schools to address environmental challenges in their schools and communities as well as the Ashford Hollow Foundation in Buffalo, New York for unique environmental challenges addressing sustainability within the Western New York region.  He is also in the planning stages of a two month trip to Cameroon Africa to assist the Himalayan Institute in training youth to address environmental challenges in rural villages near Kumbo Africa.

Memberships Include:

• Union of Concerned Scientists
• Nature of Conservancy
• WNY Environmental Alliance
• Green Hospitality Initiative
• Buffalo/Niagara Chapter of the Upstate Green Business Network