(Clearwisdom.net) I was taken to the Jiamusi City Xigemu Forced Labor Camp in July 2000. By August, over 200 Falun Dafa practitioners were imprisoned there. The labor camp built a new building specifically for the persecution of Dafa practitioners with funding provided by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In October 2000, about 40 or more male practitioners were put together in an old building at the south side of the prison. The guards could not have anticipated that Dafa practitioners would be even more solid and unbreakable when gathered together. Dafa practitioners always think of others, and their compassion and serenity can harmonize everything. Due to the practitioners' powerful energy, the guard in the building was unable to stay among them and usually stayed in the hallway.

At the beginning, prison guards wanted to separate us. They did not allow us to eat together, but we did not cooperate. They would not let us do the Falun Gong exercises. They also put a block between the two cells and replaced the walls with glass in order to monitor us. However, we got up together in the middle of the night to do the Falun Gong exercises. When prison guards saw this, they could not stop us. Eventually, they just closed their office blinds and ignored us.

Dafa practitioner Mr. Jia Yongfa (who is now passed away) would have fulfilled his prison term in November 2000, but the labor camp wanted to extend his term. At the same time, we heard that there would be new strategies used against Dafa practitioners at the forced labor camp, including physical torture, brainwashing and organized physical exercises. Facing the persecution, some practitioners understood that we should not comply with the CCP's plan. I was focused on cultivating myself at the time and knew that prison was not the right place for cultivation. Deep in my heart, I also had a faint thought that I should go out and help Master to rectify the Fa. A few other fellow practitioners and I agreed to escape from the labor camp the night before Mr. Jia's term ended.

The plan was not known by everybody. Some practitioners agreed with the plan and some did not. On the date of the escape, the room was unusually quiet after dinner. The moon was completely blocked by clouds, and one could not be seen from just a few meters away. Suddenly, the entire forced labor camp lost power. It was the first time the prison had a power outage since I arrived there. After a while, the prison guards called everybody to come out of the building to use the bathroom. Before I went downstairs, I used this opportunity to see an elderly fellow practitioner who used to be in the same group as me. He was excited when he saw me, and he had just learned about our escape plan. He put his hands in a heshi sign and with tears in his eyes said, “Take care.” I smiled, made the heshi gesture back and left.

That night, the prison guards looked very nervous and kept telling us to hurry. Facing the prison guards' imposing manner, my righteous thoughts became weak. I could not take the first step. At this time, two practitioners called my name and asked: “Are you ready?” My courage returned and I said: “I am right behind you.” We started running toward the gate as fast as we could.

The main gate was behind the building where the female Dafa practitioners were kept, and we could not see the gate from where we were. I just knew that there was a small side door next to the main gate that the prison guards usually used. We thought that would be the best way out. The prison guards were stunned upon seeing us. They were speechless and just pointed at us. I followed closely behind my fellow practitioners. When we got to the main gate, it was wide open – as if somebody had just opened it for us.

After we went through the gate, we ran different ways. I climbed up a hill, but as I got close to the hill top, I felt so tired that I could not take another step. I turned and saw flashlights pointing to where I was. I had the thought of giving up, but corrected myself immediately. I thought: “Master, please give me strength, is there nothing I can do for Dafa outside the prison?” A moment later, I had strength and did not feel tired anymore.

I walked for a long time, and I did not know where I was. I passed farms and some streams. Then I came to a major road that was over 10 meters wide. It had a toll station where cars stopped to pay fees. I thought: “Could there be policemen there? How would I cross it?” I looked to the side and saw a cement-covered drain that went to the other side of the road. It was the perfect size for one person to fit through. I made it across and kept on walking for a long time. I was not afraid at all. I eventually came to a resting place, calmed down and washed up. I then suddenly realized that this place looked very familiar and remembered that I used to come there a lot when I was in college. I knew that Master took me there. This is how I got out from the forced labor camp.

There were 11 of us who escaped; those who decided to escape all succeeded, except for Mr. Jia Yongfa. One of the practitioners was Zhang Changming from Qitaihe (he has since passed away). He said he did not know that fellow practitioners were intending to escape. He noticed a bright circle on top of his head right after the power went out and then saw people, one by one, running toward the gate. When he saw that, he joined them and escaped. Another practitioner had many sores on his body; his lower body was covered with pus and open flesh, and he usually just lay down with no clothes on. He said: “I decided to escape. I felt I could do it, and I did not feel any restraint when I ran. I could not run fast with shoes on, so I took my shoes off and ran in my bare feet. I could hear my feet making noise as I was running in the wheat field, but my feet were not hurt and I did not feel any pain.”

After our escape, the brainwashing center at the forced labor camp dissolved. Looking back, we had many human attachments at the time, and I especially did not have enough righteous thoughts. I did not think to ask for any divine power. Afterward, I wondered how we had succeeded. I think it was because we did not cooperate with the evil and thereby denied the old forces' plans; as a result, Master was able to plan many miracles to help us.

My personal understanding is limited, please point anything improper. I just wanted to describe the miraculous experience from my past in order to validate the greatness of Master and Dafa.

Selected from “Call for Articles about Divine Occurrences in the Human World”