LatinosUSA

First, the tourists disappear from the shopping areas, their nasal-sounding language no longer heard.

Second, the travelers are missing from the Airbnbs that once accommodated them, their cheerful laughter no longer lingering at night.

Third, the soap operas that allowed us to cry with our beloved actors are no longer available on TV.

Fourth, books by their authors vanish from bookstores and libraries. Even the novels of their Nobel Laureate are banned by their government.

Furthermore, the archives we had conducted research previously are shut down.

At last, we begin to hear again about the difficult rescues of political dissidents, signing futile petitions for the release of pro-democracy activists or truth-revealing journalists, and desperately writing letters to the United Nations for sanctions against the unjust regime.

When Martial Law is implemented in the neighboring country, history bends like light in a cracked mirror—spilling backward, folding into the tunnel of a dark age we once clawed our way out of. And yet, the shadow it casts still stains the breath we thought was ours.

Note:

On December 3, 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, accusing the opposition parties of sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government. This story envisions the future in the case that the martial law wasn’t overturned. South Korea shares a very similar path of democratization with Taiwan.