Post by: Nigelle Laine Ferrer
It’s hard to believe that I’m already halfway done with my internship with Handong International Law School (HILS). For the first three weeks, I worked on a number of research projects and bonded with the faculty and students from HILS. The time I have spent here has been nothing short of valuable and busy. One of my favorite projects that has taken up a lot of time is my research on disabled women’s rights in North Korea. It’s taken a lot of time and work to get familiarized with culture, political and legal system, and even with the topic as it pertains to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
With the workload, it can be easy to use it as an excuse to not leave the office or stay at home to catch up on sleep but for me, sometimes the all-nighters are worth freeing up the weekend to go out and see the local community. I had the fortunate opportunity to go with one of the Professor’s families to a village up in the mountains and play with the kids. One Sunday, we drove nearly two hours out to this village, and we all played kickball together and had a cheese fondue dinner together. The kids were teaching each other English and Korean and having a fun time simply being kids. The sight was bright, fun, and full of life and a great escape from the office.
We are called to become like children and sometimes to remember that we need to see innocence that kids hold. It is also a blessing if we, now grown-up, can look back on our own childhood and remember what that once was like. The value of children’s lives is one that I hold dear and strive to fight for because now, kids are having to grow up too quickly and being stripped away from what it means to be a child. There are children trained to become soldiers, fighting a battle that men should protect them from. Children that are sold into labor for financial means that the parents unfortunately do not have. Children that have become sexualized and are forgetting that value comes from being created in the imago dei. There are children that feel abandoned because their parents have different priorities.
The sight of seeing kids running, laughing, questioning, listening, and learning is that breath of fresh air and bit of color in a world that can often times be colored in grey. I am looking forward to the rest of my time here at HILS as my next project involves researching children’s rights in North Korea and connecting with professors that can further help me pursue a career in child advocacy.
“At that hour the disciples came to Yeshua, saying, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself, set him in the midst of them and said, “Amen, I tell you, unless you turn and become like children, you shall never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then shall humble himself like this child, this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-4 (TLV)
This post was written by a Center for Global Justice Intern. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.