Reporting live from just this side of the Berlin wall.....
"Folks, we have with us Ivan Grenski, not his real name and his face is blurred out, to shed some light on what life is like behind the iron curtain."
Reporter: First an update on the captured American citizens. They have been held captive now 15 months with no trial or charges. They have went on a hunger strike for Christmas but are being force fed nightly. Rumor has it that some of them have been interrogated using unconventional means. Ivan, you told us earlier you had been in jail before, what was it like?
IG: It is horrible! Our government uses people for labor. They pay a small pittance that they get back by overcharging us on items we need or taking it to pay fines. They create new laws to punish the things people do and use that as excuse to put you in jail. But it is nothing compared to what political prisoners go through. The government calls them terrorists and tortures them, so have not seen their family in many years.
Reporter: You mentioned earlier about the police, what is it like living there?
IG: We are watched always. They read our letters, listen to our calls, they track all of our movements. Drones fill the skies and cameras are everywhere to keep us in line. You cannot go to public gatherings without being accosted. Peaceful protests end in mace and beatings. The police can do as they wish. Me? If I have a yard sale I must get a permit - we used to be able to have such sales and no one noticed, now the drones match up things from high above to keep us in line. They see everything, who drives to your house, when, and so on - they say it helps to crack down on drug dealers.
We have more crime now than ever before because nearly everything we do is a crime.
Reporter: We have had reports that many can buy their way out of prison. Is this true as far as you know?
IG: Yes, oh my yes. The wealthy do not often go to prison. They pay fines. The banks here control the money and our politicians love money more than the people. Our coal plants? They are built in the poorest of areas because of the health problems - yet we are told they are safe. The wealthy buy up large sections of land as buffer zones and force all manner of places to be built far from them. Nuclear plants, slaughter houses, prisons, etc.
Many poor have been executed for crimes. Few have the money to fight charges against them.
Reporter: One last question as I know you need to go. What is your medical care like there?
IG: We have good people, they work hard. But many cannot afford the care. Our kids, our littlest ones even, you will often find raising funds to help a classmate who cannot afford care to save their life. Our emergency rooms are overflowing because that is the only place that will see you without money up front. During our cold winters people must often choose between heat and the medicine they need. Pills that cost very little elsewhere, and that are made here, sell for hundreds of your dollars here. The extra money made goes back to the politicians who keep the laws coming in favor of the pill makers.
They keep us safe they say, from each other, but they don't keep us safe from the government and the corporations here.
Reporter: Thank you Ivan. And there you have it folks, life behind the iron curtain. Count your blessings that you and I do not live there.
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