You Two Are Our Heroes

When it comes to press freedom and the abuses journalists suffer around the world, Hollywood finishes are very hard to come by.

But, boy, this one is one for the ages and a script that writes by itself for a future blockbuster movie.

Lee (l) and Ling embrace their families as they
arrive in US soil after their North Korea ordeal (EPA photo)

American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling finally arrived safely to the US this morning after they landed in Burbank, California, following their release yesterday from a North Korean prison where they were serving a 12-year hard labor sentence.

Their arrival was broadcast live by most US TV networks, including their emotional reunion with their families and friends, which preceded a press conference.

There Ling, in a very emotional speech, thanked former US President Bill Clinton, the one who headed the US delegation that finally gained their release; former Vice-President Al Gore, the owner of the Internet TV network Ling and Lee work for; US President Barak Obama, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

We have been critical of both Ling and Lee because of their apparent poor judgment to enter North Korea without the proper visa documentation, thus putting their lives and those of their crew in danger.

But we are are elated to see them back home and reunited with their families. Free press and cool heads prevailed in a crisis that benefited no one except for North Korea, a regime starving hungry for world attention for all the wrong reasons.