Romania: Stories from Five Years on Republic Street

(Minghui.org) Nestled in the mountains of Transylvania is the city of Brasov, the sixth-largest city in Romania and a popular destination for people traveling through the region. In the heart of Brasov lies Republic Street, one of the main arteries of the city that has been home to countless fairs and bazaars throughout its history. Today, it is a bustling pedestrian district that draws numerous locals and tourists to its many boutiques, restaurants, and cafes.

For Falun Dafa practitioners in Romania, Republic Street is also the site of their weekly information booth. Since 2019, practitioners have hosted informational events—or “info days”—on the street every Saturday to tell people about their spiritual practice as well as the persecution it faces at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Romanian practitioners do the Falun Dafa exercises and collect signatures on petitions on their info days.

Countless passersby have stopped at the table over the years to pick up information and sign petitions supporting the practitioners’ efforts to expose the persecution.

The Birth of an Idea

In the summer of 2019, Romanian Falun Dafa practitioners met to talk about their experiences while cultivating themselves and informing the public about their practice and how it’s persecuted by the CCP. This discussion inspired Radu, a practitioner who lives in Brasov, to start a “long-term” project that would give people a permanent place to find out about Falun Dafa.

Radu has practiced Falun Dafa for 12 years and says he benefited greatly. Like millions of other practitioners around the world, he also wanted to share the positivity of living according to Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and to dispel the CCP’s defamatory propaganda about the practice.

“I’m a former athlete and put a lot of emphasis on my physique. I was attached to sports and did not care about what was going on around me. I was also very competitive,” he said. “Then developed serious health problems and had to give up sports for a while.”

Although he later recovered, he realized that his life wasn’t going in the right direction, and he looked into qigong. Although he worked at it, he still felt like he wasn’t able to find inner peace and he felt something was missing. It wasn’t until some friends suggested he talk to Falun Dafa practitioners at their exercise site in Bucharest that he found what he was looking for. “The following weekend, I went to King Michael I Park to practice the Falun Dafa exercises, and I realized I’d found my path in life!” he said.

After Radu told other practitioners about his idea, some of them went to City Hall to get approval to use the space on Republic Street. Although the city was initially reluctant to allow an event on the busy street, by September 2019 the practitioners were able to secure permission for their activities.

Challenges in the Early Days

In the beginning, the Brasov practitioners were a humble presence—just a few people standing on the street. Materials-wise, they had a few roll-up displays and did not have enough flyers. Gradually, help began to flow in from the rest of the country: banners, flyers, and volunteers. “I recall the first large banner that a practitioner in Bucharest provided—it seemed to unite us, and I carried it with me to the activities,” said Radu.

The info day setup was simple at first, but it drew many people.

Another challenge that the practitioners had to overcome was the fact that many Romanians still didn’t know what Falun Dafa was. Cristina, another Brasov practitioner, recalled that interactions with passersby were few when they first got started. But by being compassionate and inspiring people’s empathy, the practitioners were able to make a breakthrough.

“For us as practitioners, it was the perfect opportunity to clarify the truth, to reach people’s hearts, which we did,” she said. “We were able, by talking frankly with people, to touch their hearts and get them to take a stand against the persecution in China.”

A few months after practitioners were given permission to operate their info day on Republic Street, Romania began its COVID-19 lockdowns. Even though some regions, like Bucharest, had strict lockdowns, practitioners were allowed to continue their outdoor event in Brasov. In addition to handing out flyers and collecting signatures from passersby, some practitioners also informed Romanians about the true picture of COVID-19’s spread and its origin in China so that people understood the truth the CCP was trying to hide.

Practitioners continued their outdoor activity in accordance with regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consistency Over the Years

Over the course of five years, practitioners haven’t missed a single Saturday info day since they started in 2019. Their information booth, banners, and roll-up displays are a weekly fixture on Republic Street.

The practitioners’ booth in 2022.

Maintaining this steadfast presence has not been easy. Staffing the booth is a team effort that includes practitioners from nearby cities. “When one can’t come, another one does, because there aren’t many practitioners in Brasov. When practitioners from Brasov couldn’t be here, practitioners from Bucharest or Sibiu or Târgu Mureș came,” said Cristina.

Sometimes practitioners staffed the booth alone, which Radu said he’s done. But the teamwork among practitioners has been seamless—if there were last-minute changes, someone else would immediately step in—everyone was considerate and understanding of each other.

For Cristina, a married mother of two, it was difficult being away from her family on weekends. At first, it was hard for them to understand her dedication. But as she continued to patiently communicate her stance and show kindness to her family as she improved in cultivation, their attitude began to change.

“I’ve become attentive to the needs of others and do not put myself before others,” said Cristina. “With time, my family understood my dedication to the project, which gave me time and space, as well as their understanding that, for me as a practitioner, this project is important.”

Her husband, Ovidiu, says that he supports his wife’s efforts and that practitioners in China need to be helped. “By understanding the situation in China, I am not indifferent to the cause of Falun Dafa practitioners in China. No effort is too great for saving these people,” he said.

Changing Hearts and Minds

Going into its sixth year, the info table in Brasov attracts many people each week. Passersby are more open to taking more information about Falun Dafa, with some even approaching the table because they’ve already heard about the practice. More people are willing to stand with practitioners by signing petitions. Cristina said they are very encouraging.

Two young men get their photo taken next to the display to show their support for Falun Dafa practitioners.

The people who stop by are a variety of ages and backgrounds. A teenager named Ruben signed a petition that calls on the G7+7 nations to take action to stop the persecution of Falun Dafa—and the CCP’s barbaric practice of forced organ harvesting from practitioners. “Persecution is totally wrong. No human should be killed for what they believe,” he said. “The principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are very good.”

He hopes that the practitioners maintain their faith amid these challenges, and he encouraged them to persevere. “Just as the rainbow appears after the storm, faith in God will be able to save people,” he said.

A law student told the practitioners at the booth that he was a human rights activist and already knew about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa in China. He said the persecution and forced organ harvesting should stop immediately. “People have a divine right to life, to death, to their own conscience,” he said. “I’ve known about the persecution and the Falun Dafa community for years but I haven’t had an opportunity to sign any petitions or do anything to help them. Thank you for this opportunity to sign the petitions.”

Other passersby are interested in learning about the spiritual teachings of Falun Dafa. A tourist from Bucharest said the principles of Falun Dafa should be promoted as much as possible. “If Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance were promoted more, we would build a better world,” she said. “These principles really resonate with me.”

She said she admires each practitioner’s individual efforts to continue practicing their values in the face of the CCP’s persecution. “Each one of us can do something to lessen the evil in the world, even if we are but a drop in the ocean,” she said.

Why They Continue

“I began practicing Falun Dafa 11 years ago, in 2013. I was looking for a quiet playground for my child,” said Cristina. That day, her child drew her attention to two Chinese people in the central park in Brasov. They were meditating peacefully and occasionally making slow, gentle movements. This was Cristina’s first encounter with Falun Dafa.

“The music accompanying the exercises was so serene, the movement of their arms through the air so graceful, the energy around them so pure, that I was completely mesmerized,” she said.

Cristina left a previous marriage before meeting her current husband, and healing from the dissolution of that marriage was a stressful, years-long process. She often felt “chaotic” inside and had many strong feelings that almost overwhelmed her. But by studying Falun Dafa’s teachings, she was able to let go of past grudges and now enjoys a simple, tranquil life with her current family. “If I didn’t have Dafa’s principles to believe in and implement, I wouldn’t have succeeded,” she said.

Because she learned about Falun Dafa from a public display, she sees the booth on Republic Street and participating in these events as her way of paying it forward to others who might also be seeking peace—and standing up for Chinese practitioners’ right to follow the belief that’s benefited them so much. “More and more people are encouraging us and telling us that hope in kindness and compassion must not be lost,” said Cristina. “Because they, like us, believe that the abuses and persecution in China must stop, we will continue this peaceful protest.”

For the practitioners of Brasov—and the practitioners of Romania—this is their motive to continue. They hope that people take the time to understand Falun Dafa and stand with practitioners in China against persecution. This is what brings them to Republic Street each Saturday. Through five years of rain and sun, wind and snow, someone has always been at the booth, ready to share information with whoever stops by, because each supportive mind brings the world one step closer to ending the injustice against their fellow practitioners in China.

Ovidiu said that he admires the perseverance of the practitioners and that it will bring positive results for the persecuted practitioners in China. “I believe that helping those in China would not be possible without these actions such as the info day in Brasov,” he said.

As for Radu, seeing the public’s support is motivation to keep going. “I feel truly fulfilled,” he said.