Wit Chitrapongse posted on July 14, 2009 09:31
Chicago has not forgotten Laura Ling and Euna Lee. We will be planting flowers donated by residents local organizations — one flower for each day that the girls have been gone.
On July 19th, the day of Chicago's Third Vigil, it will be 124 days since Laura Ling and Euna Lee were taken into custody by North Korean border guards.
Michael Saldate, the husband of captive producer Euna Lee, will be arriving in Chicago on Saturday to attend the Sunday vigil.
Originally, Oprah correspondent, Lisa Ling, had planned on attending the vigil in support of her captive sister, Laura. But the Ling family has been dealt another blow with Ling's father-in-law recently being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
At Old St. Pat's Church in the West Loop, supporters will plant flowers donated by residents and local organizations -- one flower for each day that the women have been gone. Ling and Lee were taken into custody on St. Patrick's Day -- March 17, 2009, and sentenced last month to 12 years of "reform through labor."
A candlelight prayer ceremony will kick off the journalists' vigil, which will touch on the plight of other missing or detained journalists around the world. Speakers will include leaders of several journalism organizations, the Korean American Bar Association, and a spokesperson for a group working to abolish human trafficking - a story that Ling and Lee were working on at the China/North Korean border before they were detained.
Free parking is available on a first come-first served basis at the church parking lot on the corner of DesPlaines and Adams Streets -- across the corner from the church and garden.
WHAT: Flower Planting/Candlelight Vigil
DATE: Sunday, July 19, 2009
TIME: 6:15-7:00PM (Immediately following 5PM Mass)
WHERE: Old St. Patrick’s Church
Peace Garden
700 West Adams Street, Chicago
Hosts: Rose Tibayan and Linda Yu
If you would like to donate a plant in your name, please contact Rose Tibayan: rose_tibayan@naaapchicago.org
See attached flyer, here.
