[Note] According to people on the scene, while departments of Heilongjiang Province celebrated the award to Jiamusi Labor Camp of 20,000 Yuan RMB (unit of Chinese currency; 20,000 Yuan is about $2,400) for the efforts made at the camp to force practitioners (by means of cruelty) to renounce Falun Dafa, more than ten Dafa practitioners simply stepped out of this hellish place.
Dafa practitioner Jia Yongfa had been sentenced to this labor camp for one year for having written an appealing letter. When his term ended, the detention center refused to release him. Jia asked supervisors of the detention center many times why they continued to hold him, and wanted to appeal this extended detention. Supervisors said that they were obeying documents 21 and 42 from the Department of Justice, according to which no Falun Gong practitioners should be released from labor camp until they have renounced Falun Dafa. After Jia's futile appeal, he was able to leave the labor camp with some other practitioners.
Practitioners' hellish experiences in Jiamusi Labor Camp
Jiamusi Labor Camp is a black den of evil and a hell on earth.
During our detention, some practitioners slept on the crowded concrete floor. We did not have many of the rights that even the criminals are given. There were only two meals a day, and these were 12 hours apart. The side dish was soup with sand and soil in the bottom. The steamed bread was dark yellow and smelled stale. One day, officers sent hundreds of practitioners to the yard and had them sit on the frozen concrete floor with their legs stretched sideways. Practitioners squeezed onto the frozen slab one after another. The temperature at that time was around freezing.
Once when it was 20oC, two practitioners were sent outdoors with their upper bodies naked for more than 20 minutes and had cold water poured over them. Since we had reported some cases of being tortured, prosecutors came to check out the camp. But in fact, they had conspired with the officers in the labor camp. After they left, officers in the camp brutally beat everyone who had told the truth. Some practitioners were kicked into the air and thrown against the walls. Some got cut lips, some were beaten down to the floor.
There was much more of this kind of abuse (and much worse), which we will omit for decency's sake.
We also had to do heavy-duty labor almost everyday. Sometimes, we had to work without a meal at noon. After work, we were not allowed to go to bed and were only allowed to sit on the floor. Criminals monitored us. Daily necessities were not provided and practitioners had to pay for those of the criminals. Practitioners became the means for them to make a profit. Being cursed was routine. Practitioners who continued to practice were not allowed to see their families. Practitioners who refused to renounce Dafa could not go outdoors even when eating or using the toilet. Some practitioners have being treated like this for more than 7 months.
Recently, some practitioners from different subgroups were put together for more severe treatment and forced transformation. But once we were together, we cared about each other and measured ourselves with Truth, Compassion and Forbearance. Officers then tried to separate us. Whenever a practitioner reached the end of his term, officers used all kinds of excuses not to release him and said, "No release! Go on hunger strike, commit suicide or escape, I do not care!"
I endured all of the unfair treatment passively and took it as tests for my determination. Master Li recently said, "You should also be clear that 'natural' does not exist, and there is a reason for 'inevitability.' In fact, 'natural' is irresponsibly used by everyday people for self-justification when they are unable to explain the phenomena of the universe, life, and matter. They cannot imagine what 'nature' itself is. Under the influence of such a notion you think that all these tribulations are inevitable and this is just the way it is, thereby developing a passive and pessimistic attitude." (Expounding on the Fa, in ESSENTIALS FOR FURTHER ADVANCEMENT ). Now I understand that all celestial bodies are rectifying the Fa, and we practitioners are all particles of Dafa. When we encounter anything not righteous, we need to rectify the Fa and not allow this evil to exist. Therefore, I requested three meals a day and refused to squeeze onto the frozen concrete slab. When our Fa study and practice was disrupted, we went on strike. When others were left outside to freeze, we went on a hunger strike -- we remembered Master Li's teaching: "all means have to be compassionate."
On Nov. 3, 2000, practitioners were not released upon completing their sentences. This inspired our thinking. We are good people who were fraudulently labeled as criminals. Why should we stay here? Master Li's article "Rationality" showed us the way. We enlightened to the fact that since we shouldn't even be in this evil place, we should step out of it and validate Dafa. So we stepped out of the labor camp under the eyes of four officers and joined other practitioners to assist the Teacher to accomplish his work in the human world.
A record of how Dafa practitioners rushed out of this demonic place
On the evening of Nov. 13, 2000, one day after Jia Yongfa's term ended, we decided to leave such a demonic place. At 10 p.m that night, the labor camp suddenly had a power outage. Officers on duty had the practitioners start to make dinner. Then everybody went to the restroom. It was dark everywhere. Several practitioners ran toward the exit . The door was open and nobody was there. Officers following them were astonished. They shouted: "What are you doing? Come back immediately!"
But the shouting was farther and farther away from us and we soon disappeared. When we escaped, we took no aggressive acts against the officers, nor did we fight with them in any way. We simply left in front of their eyes. The speed with which we disappeared was inconceivable to ordinary people. Others said: "This is supernatural."
It was a cloudy night and dark everywhere. One could not see anything more than a few meters away. Two officers did run after us, but after making an empty show of strength, they went back.
Dafa Practitioners
Nov. 6, 2000