North Korea Olympians Tragic Lives On Display In Beijing

I find the situation of Lolo Jones and other folks in the Olympics I am rooting that come so close tragic at times. However at times you get a glimpse that some people truly have truly tragic lives not just tragic moments.

There was a article in The Oregonian that struck me at A lonely Olympics experience

BEIJING T here are 63 athletes from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea staying in a private compound inside the Olympic Village.

Literally.
Staying.
Inside.

The athletes get to go outside when they practice, or when they compete in the 11 sports they've come here to win medals in. But that's about it. And I know this because I went to the Water Cube on Tuesday and talked with North Korea's synchronized swim duet, Kim Yong Mi and Wang Ok Gyong.

Well, I talked with an interpreter who spoke English and Mandarin. And he talked with a second interpreter who spoke Mandarin and Korean. And the five of us huddled at one end of the swim complex, against a steel rail that blocked off the back door, understanding each other, one clumsy sentence at a time.

Kim and Wang finished 15th in the preliminaries and didn't qualify for today's finals, which means they'll probably be back in communist North Korea by the time you read this. There will be no trip to the Great Wall. No shopping excursion to the Silk Market. There will be no tours, or temples, or taking the subway.

The Forbidden City?
Forbidden.
Said Wang: "We're not allowed to see places of interest."

More at the link.

It is amazing thatwhen God dless people with such drive, skill, and talent that there i s one tragic barrier they can not get around.

It is truly amazing that people can be treated this way in 2008