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In Reply to: Re: 'Stepping in tomorrow to fill Peters' shoes' posted by CB on May 16, 2006 at 08:05:21:
You make very reasoned points & an accurate analysis of Peters' motives & I agree with much of what you say. Unfortunately, I am suspicious of the Family's claims & much of the following 'information' so-called is based upon none other than Tim Peter's self-glorifying claims. As you say,
Peters talks about the fact that S. Koreans are primarily interested in helping their relatives in North Korea--not in helping North Koreans per se or North Korean Christians. I got the feeling he recognized an unmet need to help North Koreans who don't have family members in South Korea who can help them. Maybe I'm wrong, but that is the rationale that Peters gives for donating to him, a westerner, rather than to a S. Korean NGO.
South Korea is a nation of 48,422,644 extremely industrial, strongly-opiniated, motivated, zealous people, 28.7% of which are Christian, or roughly 15,000,000 Korean Christians. (When I say 'strongly opinionated' I mean that in a good sense, as in someone who holds strong beliefs & acts on them.) Korea right now sends missionaries to many other countries in SE Asia & elsewhere. They have entire mountains dedicated to prayer & are really into 'works' including good works & giving.
Am I then to believe that these 15,000,000 fully indigenous, highly motivated, sincere Christians are doing practically nothing to help non-relative N. Koreans as Tim Peters claims, & that this one Big, Brave White Man must come in to do what these 15 million indigenous Korean Christians are too selfish & unwilling to do? It flies in the face of everything I know about South Koreans, bless their souls! I know S. Koreans well & this literally defies reason.
Maybe I'm just too suspicious but I think Big White Man Peters is dissing S. Korean Christians to aggrandize himself.
And get this! The head of a secret smuggling ring allows himself to appear on the front cover of TIME magazine! Huh? What happened to working secretly & quietly to smuggle the needy out of N. Korea? It reminds me of Family members going into communist China years ago & doing stunts like passing out lit, taking photos & filming all for their own glory. Ah, to live life as one big photo op! It smells of shameless promotion & self-aggrandizement & dissing others who are working quietly & intelligently behind the scenes.
