On the back of North Korea’s mandate to mobilize workers as part of a “40-day
farming battle,” many residents are also being rallied to pitch in on
large-scale construction measures to combat the threat of drought.
“As the peak of farming season is
approaching, there are efforts all over the nation to preclude the damages
wrought by drought,” a source from South Pyongan Province told Daily NK through
a phone call on May 24th. “State-run enterprises, housewives, young students–basically everyone is being sent to the construction site to ‘fight’
against the drought.”
Aimed at leading the “rice-planting battle
to victory” and staving off the ravaging effects inflicted by drought,
residents are being mobilized each and every day for these construction projects, according to the source. “Let everyone in the Party and the nation
mobilize and prevent drought damages!” state propaganda has been repeating on
loop, attempting to boost morale and speed up efforts, which carried out from
early morning to late at night primarily involve hastily constructing wells and
reservoirs around farms.
North Korea has long suffered the
debilitating effects of almost annual droughts, typically falling in May and June.
This year, the North Korean authorities estimate a 50-75% decrease in precipitation
over last year–thus the mad scramble to do everything possible to stave off, at the very least, the severe losses seen in prior years.
“There are no machines that we can use in
this [drought-related] construction, so we have to use only shovels and
pickaxes to dig out hundreds of cubic meters of soil. It’s a massive construction undertaking…and ineffective,” he explained. The process involves adults digging up the earth and
young students following close behind, carting loads of dirt to pile up to form
dykes.
Supplies are so short, in fact, most resort
to using wash basins typically used in homes for bathing purposes, as an
alternative to buckets. Moreover, an overt lack of safety regulations means
such efforts are not without a number of construction accidents; cave-ins and
injuries from young children forced to wield and harness potentially dangerous tools
are among the most pronounced issues.
The other main provision the work requires, plastic sheeting to line the bottom of the reservoirs in
areas devoid of mud, falls on residents, who are being forced to offer up
thousands of KPW for the cost of the material at the markets.
Naturally, this has made for further disgruntled residents, who point out among themselves that all their toiling to
save the rice harvest ends up shoveled into the mouths of those in power,
murmuring among themselves, “What, are we all farmers
now?”
Meanwhile, the North’s Party-run daily, Rodong Sinmun, released a piece on May 18th
lauding the state’s feat of creating 700 wells, 100
irrigation reservoirs, and 20 underground water reserves spanning 1,000
hectares of farm land.
