(Minghui.org) I’d like to share some incidents that occurred in the Qiqihar Forced Labor Camp around the year 2000 and how we countered the persecution, validated the Fa, and saved sentient beings.
About 1000 Falun Dafa practitioners were detained in this forced labor camp during late 1999 and the year 2001. Most of us were incarcerated for one year and were put into two different brigades. I was detained in the second brigade. The environment was harsh, as the forced labor camp was expanding rapidly. The practitioners who had not been transformed were detained in small cells, which used to be chicken coops. If we practiced the Falun Gong exercises, we would be handcuffed to the ground. We were fed moldy steamed buns with a watery vegetable leaf soup.
It was very cold in October in Heilongjiang Province. Most practitioners had to have cold showers outside. Our hair was frozen after washing it. We were not required to do any labor as we were held in the small cells. We used our time to recite the Fa. The forced labor camp brutally persecuted practitioners. When we recited the Fa a lot every day, our righteous thoughts were reinforced. The labor camp couldn’t do anything to us.
One day all the practitioners from the small cells (more than 20 of us) were called into a more spacious dining room. Hong, the deputy director in charge of transforming practitioners, led a group of guards to surround us manacingly. They read articles slandering Falun Dafa. We talked to them and asked them to stop. They wouldn’t listen. To prevent them from slandering Dafa, practitioner Chen (alias) said loudly, “Recite ‘On Dafa.’” More than 20 practitioners recited On Dafa loudly in unison, which shocked the whole forced labor camp.
The guards couldn’t bear it. They shocked the practitioners who were in the front row on their mouths with electric batons. We continued reciting and didn’t move though the electric batons crackled and sparked. The guards tried to drag Chen and several other practitioners out. The practitioners guarded them and wouldn’t let them leave. The situation became messy. We wouldn’t give in. Finally, Hong said, “Let them recite.” We continued reciting On Dafa loudly. Our voices resonated above the forced labor camp. The guards had to listen to us. They failed in their efforts to stop us thanks to Falun Dafa’s power.
A new building was completed in November 2000. We moved in. Aihua (alias) was a criminal inmate. Her bed was next to a practitioner named Ling (alias). Ling recited the Fa every night. Aihua listened and gradually came to admire Dafa. She treated practitioners kindly. Some inmates could recite poems from Hong Yin. They admired Dafa. When the forced labor camp required inmates to persecute practitioners and search for Master’s articles, these inmates wouldn’t participate.
One day Wang, the brigade leader, called practitioners out one by one to be searched to see if we had Master’s articles on us. We refused to cooperate. Tensions were high. Nobody gave in. All of a sudden Aihua stopped in front of Wang, opened up her shirt, smiled, and said, “Please search me! Please search me.” Wang saw that no one would cooperate with her, so she pushed Aihua out of the way and left.
Aihua was later transferred to another cell. On the day she was released from the camp, she brought family members over outside of our window. She called for Ling loudly. We said goodbye to her through the window. She shouted, “Please take care of yourselves!” She cried and told her family members that we were good people. She stood outside our window reluctant to leave. Her family members had to lead her away.
By the new year in 2001, some practitioners who were supposed to have been released were detained beyond their terms. Twenty of them were detained in the second brigade. We were told that we couldn’t be released if we were not transformed. We wrote letters or went directly to the forced labor camp director to demand our immediate release. Bai, the director, talked to us many times. He said that it was orders from above and he didn’t have the final say. He said that he would convey our demands to his superiors. He expressed sympathy for us. We told him not to participate in the persecution and told him how wonderful Falun Dafa is. We tried to persuade him to not search for Master’s articles or destroy Master’s articles.
Director Bai had his knowing side. One day he announced in front of all the guards that he would not search for Master’s articles anymore. We applauded him. The guards were surprised. Bai had chosen righteousness and conscience and had chosen a good future for himself. Over the following months, we could study the Fa, hand copy the Fa, and memorize the Fa openly.
A practitioner named Wei was a professional soprano. Before the Chinese New Year in 2001, Wang, the brigade leader asked Wei to sing a song and asked other practitioners to perform as a choir in the New Year performances. We discussed it and wanted to use this opportunity to validate the Fa. We agreed that we would shout “Falun Dafa is good” before we sang. At that time, we didn’t have any songs created by practitioners.
On the day of the performance, the hall was full. The male inmates came as well. Wang’s song was scheduled to perform among the first, while our choir was scheduled much later.
Wang went onto the stage, picked up the microphone, and said, “I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. Falun Dafa teaches people to be good. We are persecuted. Please remember ‘Falun Dafa is good.’” The hall became so quiet as if the air and everyone’s breath had frozen.
Hong, the director, and a group of guards ran toward the stage. More than 20 practitioners stood up. At that time someone stopped Hong and said something to him. The guards stopped rushing. Several guards came over to the practitioners and asked them to sit down. When we were all seated, the music came on. Wei sang a song entitled “Mount Everest.” Her voice was powerful and far-reaching. Everyone applauded, and the male inmates applauded particularly enthusiastically. Our eyes were filled with tears. We were thankful to Master for His compassion and protection. We were so fortunate to be alive during the time that Falun Dafa was spreading in the world.
We were told that our choir was canceled because they didn’t have enough time for us to perform. We knew that they were afraid.
During the darkest time of the persecution, Master and Falun Dafa protected us and helped us walk steadily on our path of validating the Fa. Master and Dafa helped us break through the darkness and walk into a bright future.