SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Two Northern California women are continuing their sympathy hunger strike, despite the safe return of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, hoping the two journalists freed from North Korea today will use their experience to shine a spotlight on the conditions of North Korean labor camps.
KCBS’ Holly Quan Reports
On July 17th, the four month anniversary of the journalists' detention, Dawn Capp of Davis and her friend Jacqueline Marshall started a 350 calorie a day diet of rice, beans and corn meal to mimic camp conditions.
"I have lost 15 pounds in about two weeks," said Capp, who adds that she can't imagine eating like this while having to do 10-12 hours of hard labor each day.
"One thing we're not doing is restricting our liquid intake," said Capp. "Which obviously the prisoners in North Korean labor prisons have limited water intake. We're having as much water as we want, which I think has helped."
It's expected that in the coming days we'll find out more about what Laura Ling and Euna Lee were subjected to, but Jae Ku, head of the U.S.-Korea institute at Johns Hopkins University says they were treated much better than your average prisoner.
"You wouldn't get rice," lauged Ku. "You wouldn't even get corn, but instead the stalks of corn. There are stories of people grinding up the corn stalk, mixing it with water and then drinking it."
Starvation and torture is common he says, something to which Dawn Capp refuses to turn a blind eye.
"I think any reasonable person with a decent conscious couldn't ignore this and let it go on," said Capp.
(MGO)
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