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Recurring Nightmares: Shadow of Persecution Follows Family Member

November 02, 2015 |   By a daughter of a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Minghui.org) The nightmare came back again last night. In the dream, I went home during my summer vacation, and was told by a neighbor that my father was murdered by local authorities who serve the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). My years of worry had come true. I woke up in tears.

This nightmare has troubled me for more than 10 years. For me, this has been a repetitious torture. However, I still feel fortunate because it was just a dream.

Detained and Tortured

My father has practiced Falun Dafa for more than 10 years. When the persecution started, he was arrested and taken to a detention center without a warrant or an indictment.

He was beaten and tortured close to death. The detention center released him on medical parole to avoid responsibility for his possible death.

I was in a college in another city. My mother and brother told me that father's situation scared them. His entire body, including his feet, were swollen; he could not wear shoes.

My mother and brother grew a lot of white hair in a short time. Fortunately, my father did not give up Falun Dafa and continued to do the exercises diligently. He regained his health and was able to work on our farm. Given his hard work, our family prospered again.

However, the persecution continued in China, and my nightmare returned again and again.

Questioning My Values

I phoned home to check my family's safety one year later. No one picked up. I was afraid that my father had been arrested again. So I called at different times.

Finally, my parents picked up the phone and told me that they were busy with farm work and thus were not near the phone.

The shadow of the persecution followed me through my graduation, job, and many important stages of my life. My father was not harassed by the local authorities, but the nightmare did not spare me. Every time I had a nightmare, I called home to make sure they were safe.

The detention and torture of my father frightened me. Yet, the impact was more so on the direction of my life. Seeing my father, a kind and caring person, imprisoned, I became unsure of what kind of person I wanted to be.

At first, I decided to be selfish and indifferent. But it was not my true nature. I felt unsure of which direction I should take.

Heart Healed by Dafa

Many years later, I had an opportunity to read Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa. The teachings healed my heart and awakened my deeply buried kind nature. I regret to have learned Dafa so late.

However, my mother is too afraid to practice Falun Dafa. She benefited from Dafa as a family member and knew Falun Dafa is good. But she is simply too fearful of being persecuted.

We understand why she is scared. The persecution in China is still going on. Falun Dafa practitioners are still being arrested, tortured, and even have their vital organs harvested because they hold the same beliefs as my father.

The nightmare came back again last night.

I hope my father and millions of other Falun Dafa practitioners can stay safe. I sincerely hope the persecution against the Dafa principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance ends in the near future. Only then will I no longer be threatened by my nightmare and no longer feel intense distress.