The coronavirus has changed everything in China for North Korean refugees in hiding, affecting the vulnerable population of approximately 200,000 people in hiding. All of the North Koreans in Crossing Borders’ vast network in China are women, almost all of them having been trafficked and sold to Chinese husbands. Many of them have young or adolescent children whose academic and social schedules have been drastically interrupted in this unexpected season of quarantine.

The refugees have sent us images of the insides of their small, city apartments converted into makeshift classrooms. Pictures of boys and girls reciting national pledges as they salute the Chinese national flag in school uniforms. The North Korean children in the outskirts of rural regions in China, however, have no choice but to sit quietly at home, waiting for schools to reopen. They do not have computers available in their humble country houses. For them, attending school was a privilege and powerful avenue for finding future opportunities. Every day missed leaves them further behind.

But the daily lives of half-North Korean children have not been the only ones forcibly placed on pause. Many of the North Korean women in China work day-to-day jobs in the service industry near cities or farming on small plots in the countryside. The strict precautions imposed by law in China have pushed both North Koreans and their husbands into their homes, unable to cultivate their farms or find work. A number of the North Korean women in Crossing Borders’ communities have expressed their worry about making ends meet through the spring and summer. The impact on the women’s families have been compounded by the fact that many of their husbands are disabled or also unable to hold their own jobs through this season. Men who could only find manual labor like making deliveries, construction or painting cannot find opportunities for work anymore.

“Amelia,” a North Korean refugee in Crossing Borders’ network, lost her job in a restaurant kitchen in the last month. She says that all the restaurants near her have now closed and is at home with her three children. Amelia is a single mother and is unable to find new work. For the past several weeks, Amelia has only had plain white rice in her home. Her rations grow smaller each day and her children have been asking for anything else to eat. When Crossing Borders’ field pastor visited their family, Amelia burst into tears out of worry. This month, Crossing Borders is exploring options to help financially sustain Amelia’s household in a time of extreme hardship. Crossing Borders has been careful not to extend direct financial support to the refugees in our network but these are not normal times.

Other women in Crossing Borders’ network have already begun responding to the coronavirus with incredible grace. “Lois,” a North Korean refugee who lives on the outskirts of a small city in China, began making face masks in her home and distributing them to her village neighbors. Those who received the masks responded in surprise. They were aware of how difficult the situation was for Lois and her family already, and that she was a North Korean refugee. In a situation where most were suffering with ends barely met, Lois and many women like her were thriving in faith and generosity.

But Lois’ response to the difficulties posed by the coronavirus is not entirely shocking. It is perhaps the North Korean refugee population that was, in some ways, the most prepared for the proliferation of the virus forcing individuals to go into hiding. Despite the extraordinary circumstances and stresses of the North Korean refugee crisis, the situation for North Korean women has not changed much.

North Koreans in China are accustomed to being forced to stay indoors, unable to travel long distances safely or interact with others. North Koreans, who have no legal refugee status or safety from the authorities in China, cannot take advantage of many forms of public transportation without risk of arrest and deportation. The lack of immediate access to healthcare or medicine has always been prevalent in the North Korean population, as refugees are deprived of many resources that ordinary individuals and their families may take for granted. Poverty, anxiety, fear for daily life are not new to North Koreans who have survived and fled from one of the most devastating famines in modern history.

In these trying times, Crossing Borders remembers that in suffering and difficulty, faithfulness and perseverance endures. As we serve the North Korean refugees and their children, we strive to share a hope that does not fail in the gospel. Simultaneously, missionaries and caretakers in China continue to hope that the compassion and grace shared by Crossing Borders, our donors and prayerful supporters will be multiplied.