{"id":295,"date":"2009-08-06T12:38:54","date_gmt":"2009-08-06T12:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/intentchopra\/2009\/08\/free-at-last-welcome-home-la.html"},"modified":"2009-08-06T12:38:54","modified_gmt":"2009-08-06T12:38:54","slug":"free-at-last-welcome-home-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/intentchopra\/2009\/08\/free-at-last-welcome-home-la.html","title":{"rendered":"Free At Last – Welcome Home, Laura and Euna! (by Mallika Chopra)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watching Laura Ling and Euna Lee step off the plane this morning seemed like a scene from a movie.  <\/span>It had all the drama – two young girls, after 140 days in captivity in the rogue nation of North Korea, rescued by President Clinton, running into the warm embraces and tears of their families.  <\/span>Two women looking at their husbands with soulful gratitude and endearing love, holding their tearful parents, a little girl hugging her mom to welcome her home.<\/p>\n

In mid March, when my brother called me to say that it seemed that Laura, one of his dearest friends, had been captured in N. Korea while shooting a documentary, he sounded despondent.  <\/span>There were very few details, but Lisa Ling, Laura’s sister and also a close friend of Gotham’s, had a dreaded sense of panic.  <\/span>Days, weeks, then months passed with little news and no contact.  <\/span>Then a meeting with the Swedish Ambassador, a letter, a phone call – an agonizing and painful process that tortured the girl’s families.<\/p>\n

Despite my blogs about them, I have to admit that I am personally not close to Laura Ling or Euna Lee.  <\/span>However, my brother’s deep-rooted friendship with Laura has seen each other through work, weddings, and life changes.  <\/span>Through the years, whenever I have met either Laura or Lisa, and as I have watched their stories and heard about their passion and compassion from my brother, I have developed a sense of respect for the Ling sisters, two girls who have the heart, the brains and the courage to tell hard stories.<\/p>\n

What jolted me to Laura’s plight in N. Korea though was watching the agony of a family try to survive without any knowledge or contact with their loved ones, and feeling helpless as world politics beyond their control – nuclear testing and a succession plan in N. Koreans – doomed them.  <\/span><\/p>\n

CONTINUE READING ON INTENT.COM<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

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