The Beginning of Becoming a Subhuman
After being tried for cross bordering, the convicted are striped away from all of their properties and are confiscated by the guards. In order to prevent the prisoners from hiding any valuable in their privates, the prisoners undergoes a humiliating body search. One former prisoner recounted, "The first thing they did was check our bodies for money. A female guard searched all the female prisoners. She wore rubber gloves and checked our vagina for any hidden money. After each prisoner, she put her gloved hand in a bucket of disinfectant and searched the next prisoner."
Forced Labor
Inside the camps, the prisoners are forced to work on State-Run projects, such as farming, road works, mountain logging, stone quarrying, brick making, coal mining and construction for 10-12 hours a day without resting. Most of the times, the work time depends on what the guards see fit, in that case, the work length could extend all the way from sunrise to nightfall. Causing many of the prisoners to have respiratory disease, hunched backs, and/or frostbites.
Punishments
Beatings are common. Prisoners are punished for lying, any disobedience toward the guards, or displaying acts of mockery toward the country. Common punishments include, sitting or standing for long periods of time without moving, starvation, whipping, and forbidding prisoners from going to the bathroom. Medical help are not available to prisoners. As one former prisoner recalled, "I was hit once because I asked one of the guards if I could go to the toilet. He wouldn't let me, but I was so desperate that I went anyway. I got caught and was hit in the head with a gun cleaning rod. I was bleeding, but received no medical attention. They just put cigarette ashes on my wound to stop the bleeding." Prisoners are sometimes randomly executed or tortured for the amusement of the guards. One extreme example are instances when young girls are eaten by guard dogs and the dogs are praised by the guards for being vicious.
After being tried for cross bordering, the convicted are striped away from all of their properties and are confiscated by the guards. In order to prevent the prisoners from hiding any valuable in their privates, the prisoners undergoes a humiliating body search. One former prisoner recounted, "The first thing they did was check our bodies for money. A female guard searched all the female prisoners. She wore rubber gloves and checked our vagina for any hidden money. After each prisoner, she put her gloved hand in a bucket of disinfectant and searched the next prisoner."
Forced Labor
Inside the camps, the prisoners are forced to work on State-Run projects, such as farming, road works, mountain logging, stone quarrying, brick making, coal mining and construction for 10-12 hours a day without resting. Most of the times, the work time depends on what the guards see fit, in that case, the work length could extend all the way from sunrise to nightfall. Causing many of the prisoners to have respiratory disease, hunched backs, and/or frostbites.
Punishments
Beatings are common. Prisoners are punished for lying, any disobedience toward the guards, or displaying acts of mockery toward the country. Common punishments include, sitting or standing for long periods of time without moving, starvation, whipping, and forbidding prisoners from going to the bathroom. Medical help are not available to prisoners. As one former prisoner recalled, "I was hit once because I asked one of the guards if I could go to the toilet. He wouldn't let me, but I was so desperate that I went anyway. I got caught and was hit in the head with a gun cleaning rod. I was bleeding, but received no medical attention. They just put cigarette ashes on my wound to stop the bleeding." Prisoners are sometimes randomly executed or tortured for the amusement of the guards. One extreme example are instances when young girls are eaten by guard dogs and the dogs are praised by the guards for being vicious.