Timothy A. Peters

The Rev. Timothy A. Peters, an American humanitarian aid worker living in Seoul, South Korea, operates Helping Hands Korea, a part of the Family Care Network, and is widely regarded one of the world's foremost advocates for human rights in North Korea.^{citation needed} Conversely, he was also on open record as an admitted member of Children of God/"The Family International", a controversial group widely known as a sex cult with a history of human rights violations, and the Family Care Foundation to which he is linked is an organization with inextricable ties to the same cult.

Peters originally came to Korea in 1975 and soon became an opponent of South Korea's military dictatorship. The military regime of President Chun Doo-hwan later expelled him from South Korea for handing out anti-government leaflets. He returned to South Korea in the late 1980s. Later, when North Korea's disfavored classes were struck by a famine that ultimately killed an estimated 2.5 million people,. Peters established the Ton a Month Club to help feed the North Korean people. He founded Helping Hands Korea in 1996, and later became an activist in the "underground railroad", helping North Korean refugees to escape to South Korea or other countries via China. Sometimes, Peters personally participated in these clandestine missions inside China. As it was the policy of the Chinese government that the North Koreans were in fact economic migrants, the refugees and those assisting them were subject to arrest and lengthy detentions in Chinese jails. The refugees themselves would be deported back to North Korea, which considers defection to be a capital offense. China's policy was criticized by the U.N. Special Rapporteur in a 2005 report that described the North Korean escapees as "refugees sur place,", putting the Chinese position in violation of its obligations under the 1951 Convention on Refugees, which China signed.

Rev. Peters was featured in the CNN documentary "Undercover in the Secret State" in 2005. He testified about human rights conditions facing North Korean refugees before the U.S. Congress in 2005, and was recently featured in a lengthy article in Time Asia. His work has also been featured in numerous newspaper articles. By early 2006, Rev. Peters had become an outspoken critic of the UNHCR, and of the U.S. State Department, which human rights activists accused of foot-dragging and reluctance to assist North Korean refugees hiding in Asia, despite the statutory requirements of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004. Peters's public activism played a key role in the U.S. decision to admit the first six North Korean refugees into the United States in May 2006.

Statements

"Who We're Not" by Helping Hands Korea

Helping Hands Korea (HHK) is a non-denominational Christian NGO based in East Asia that is not affiliated with any religious, charitable or political organization that includes the name 'Family.' That is, HHK is NOT affiliated with The Family International, Focus on the Family, Family Care Foundation, The Family (political network) etc. Posting this fact has become necessary in light of the unfortunate presence of highly defamatory, slanderous and misleading information posted on the Internet about HHK and its founder.

"Unveiling Tim Peters" by North Korean Christians

Dear Mr. Tim Peters:

Greetings in Christ.

While the majority of content in the public domain about you and Helping Hands Korea is understandably favorable, some concerns have been raised about the Family Care Foundation (a.k.a. Family Missionary Fellowship, The Children of God, The Family International, The Family, etc.) through which your website asks Americans to donate (http://www.helpinghandskorea.org/howtohelp.htm), and whose website features you prominently

(http://www.familycare.org/network/p01.htm ).

In addition, the following source - http://www.exfamily.org/hist/pseudonyms_footnotes.shtml - quotes you as follows:

"Yes, I do have FM status in the Family Missionary Fellowship... As another matter of record, mention of the Family Missionary Fellowship as an integral part of my missionary training has been stated by me in several prominent interviews, including NEWSWEEK, Feb. 7th, 2001 (regional East Asian edition). I also mentioned it in a long interview that was published with one of the primary English dailies here several years ago... OK, to sum up, I'm FM and proud to be so..."

"I am a tentmaker lay missionary who has supported his family with a modest day job for years and moonlights as an NGO volunteer that works to feed the hungry and attempts to rescue the persecuted and downtrodden in very dangerous circumstances. After considerable research into other foundations, I have found that the 10% that the Family Care Foundation uses for its administrative expenses is considered frugal by any measure.”

Those considering contributing to the Lord’s work in North Korea through Helping Hands Korea would be grateful for your responses to a few questions intended put to rest the concerns raised:

What is your history and relationship, both past and present, with Family Care Foundation / Family Missionary Fellowship / The Children of God / The Family International any other name by which this group may be known?

What is your opinion on this (these) group(s)’ condoning or even promoting sex between minors or between minors and adults among its members?

Do the two quotes above accurately reflect your statements? If not, could you please provide the correct versions?

Does Family Care Foundation still take 10% of the amounts donated to Helping Hands Korea through Family Care Foundation? If a cheaper option could be found for Helping Hands Korea, would you switch away from Family Care Foundation?

The other organizations like Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors disclose their financial statements. Are Helping Hands Korea’s financial statements available online as well? If not, could you please provide one?

Thank you.

External links

• Helping Hands Korea