Australia: Many Families Come to Know About Falun Gong While Learning to Fold Paper Lotus Flowers (Photos)

(Clearwisdm.net) Sunday, February 24, the Clayton Street Festival, held in a southern suburb of Melbourne, was a vibrant event which showed the ethnic diversity of the people who live in the local area. Each stall which lined the street celebrated a different culture through selling nick knacks, clothing, toys and food from all parts of the world. The Festival also had a stage on which performers from all corners of the globe shared their dances and music with the Australian people. Many families and children ambled along the street looking interestingly at the many sights, sounds and color.

One place that particularly interested the children was the 'Petals of Peace' stall, which invited the children to be interactive and make their own paper lotus flower to take home. The children chose which color paper they liked, and with the help of the volunteers, they each could make a gorgeous lotus flower. While the children were busy folding the flowers, the volunteers explained what the 'Petals of Peace project' was and told them about the situation in which many children in China become orphans as their parents are persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party because they practice Falun Gong.

The 'Petals of Peace' project came about as a means of building awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong to the children of the world while focusing on the orphans who are in need of help. Through folding paper flowers, the children can also learn the story behind the lotus flower, which symbolizes compassion. "Growing out of muddy water, the lotus flower remains clean and pure".

One volunteer talked with a large family from India about the current situation in China due to the persecution, "The Falun Gong orphans wonder around in the streets and fend for themselves as their parents are illegally imprisoned in labor camps, prisons and mental hospitals. Even other family members and friends are too scared to take them in because of the fear of being associated with these children whose parents practice Falun Gong ". The volunteer shared more facts with the family, "The persecution of Falun Gong by the Communist party began in 1999. Since then, thousands of innocent people have been illegally incarcerated and even murdered, leaving thousands of children desolated and homeless."

Many families from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were particularly attracted to the lotus flowers because it is a strong symbol in their culture. Some children from these families came back many times during the day to say hello to the volunteers and to ask if they could make more lotus flowers as gifts for their friends, their mother, grandmother and Aunties.

One volunteer, after explaining to some children about the orphans in China, suggested to them that they make a wish for the orphans so that they could be safe and find someone to care for them. Immediately the children's faces lit up and they smiled and agreed that that was a great idea.

Through the process of folding lotus flowers, many families came to understand the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Many parents had questions about why the communist party persecutes Falun Gong, and what the practice of Falun Gong is. Many were happy to accept more in depth information like the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. Some also wanted to learn the exercises at their local park.