[imText1]Chinese citizens were moved by photos that were uploaded on the internet of China’s Premier of State Council, Wen Jiabao at flood damaged sites in support for the people after rain had caused disaster in Anhui and Fuyang last July.
The photos showed Premier Wen walking around and observing the damaged locations in gumboots. While carrying his own umbrella, Premier Wen went around shaking the hands of the people, showing genuine humanitarian sentiments.
In the summer of `98 and `99, Premier Wen went armed with gumboots and visited the Yangtze River that was hit by torrential rain, moving the hearts of the Chinese people with his efforts to encourage the flooded areas. Hence, the saying “Wen is where disaster strikes” became widely known.
When a country is hit with natural disasters, it is not a simple political show that aid assistance is made by the government or for national leaders to directly meet with the people to give personal encouragement. It takes strong leadership for a leader to go to disaster stricken areas and give hope to the people.
North Korea faced 10 days of heavy rain from August 7th which ended in hundreds of people dying, 88,400 homes flooded with water and 300,000 or so people out of homes.
As for areas around the Daedong River and Botong River in Pyongyang, 6,400 public buildings and 300 others in Sunkyo-district were damaged. Further, 30 units of underground and around 8,130 hectare farmland destroyed. In addition to Pyongyang, other regions were severely hit by the rain such as Kangwon, South Pyonyan, North Hwanghae and South Hamkyung province.
With the flood disaster quite severe, North Korean authorities have been publicly updating reports on the current situation through the state-controlled media. In particular, one elite official even asked for assistance in an interview with the Chosun (North Korea) Central TV, “I hope the international community supports us generously as the whole nation has been inflicted with damages.”
Even though the situation is extremely severe, there has been no news of Kim Jong Il visiting flood disaster sites to give restorative hope for the people.
In the 1967 Pyongyang mass flooding, Kim Il Sung personally visited flood stricken locations giving encouragement to the people and even ordered for flood control measures to begin along the Daedong and Botong rivers. However, Kim Jong Il has not made a single appearance despite the calamity that has fallen upon the nation.
He did not make any visits even at the last massive flood in `95, nor did he make any appearances at the Yongcheon train explosion in 2004 and the flood disaster last year where 150 lives were lost. This kind of behavior would not be acceptable for a leader of any normal country.
Despite the hundreds of people dying of malnutrition, Kim Jong Il only made a visit to military grounds and factories in South and North Hamkyung even though there were no damages made there reported the Chosun Central News Agency.
Regarding this, defectors say “Even if the people are suffering from natural disasters, Kim Jong Il is completely uninterested and does not make any personal visits to the sites” and unanimously agreed, “He does not make any appearances at disaster places where there is no security.”
Even in the “march of suffering” in the mid-90s where 3 million people died of starvation, Kim Jong Il evaded responsibility rather than trying to understand and solve the real situation at hand.
In a way it may simply be too much to expect Kim Jong Il to visit flood disaster locations and places where hundreds of people are dying. Some criticize that he doesn’t visit or investigate these sites in order to protect his image as a great leader. Further, some argue that he fears that he should take the responsibility upon himself for that disaster if he visits these disaster stricken locations.
A leader who does not meet the people cannot understand the pains of the people nor can he make the right decisions and resolution measures. Kim Jong Il has always connected his local visits to his exemplified political measures. However, whenever the people have been stricken with hardship, even his shadow cannot be found which only neutralizes his slogan of “Great General.”
