(Minghui.org) The persecution of Falun Gong in China has inflicted severe physical and mental suffering to tens of millions of Falun Gong practitioners, and caused pain and sorrow to their family and friends.
Here is the story of a 26-year-old woman who is yet another victim of the persecution.
A Prodigy
People used to call me a prodigy. It was because I could talk at four months old, read when I was one, and write short paragraphs at the age of three.
I was five when my mother started to practice Falun Gong in 1994. The rapid improvement in her physical and mental health impressed my family, relatives and my parents friends. Many people, including my father, started practicing.
Our family was happier than ever, and my school grades were excellent.
What I didn't know was that this happiness would abruptly end one day, only to be replaced by an everlasting nightmare.
Unable to Recognize My Mother
When the persecution started in 1999, I was only ten. Nonetheless I went to Beijing with my mother to appeal for Falun Gong. After all, it was this meditation practice that made my entire family healthy and happy—why would anyone want to stop us from practicing it?
I returned home by myself seven days later. My mother had been arrested and detained.
Life without her was difficult. My father didn't know what to do and I had no one to share my feelings with. One day, my teacher gave me an assignment where I had to write on the topic, “My Mother.” My mind was blank as I looked at the paper.
My mother was brought home six months later. It was difficult to recognize her. She was emaciated and unable to walk because of the torture she was subject to whilst in detention. The contours of her skull were visible under her scalp and sunken inside where two hazy eyes. If it weren't for the sound of her breathing, nobody would think she was alive.
At Home Alone
Through practicing the Falun Gong exercises, my mother's health gradually recovered. She was pregnant again and I was hoping life would return to normal. But I was wrong.
Both my parents are school teachers, but their employment was terminated because they practice Falun Gong. First my mother, then my father. Because of their good reputations at work, my father received a small amount of severance pay. It was not enough to cover our family of four, so I had to live with my aunt.
I returned home one day when I was in the fourth grade, only to find the house empty. I had a feeling something bad had happened. There was a note on the table, saying that my parents had to stay away from home to avoid being arrested again. What they left me was the note and 10 yuan ($1.57 US).
I thought I had learned to be strong from my previous experience, but once again I burst into tears. Holding a stuffed animal that my mother gave me when I was a little girl, I sat in the dark, cold apartment crying and crying.
That was my turning point. I reminded myself that I was on my own now, and had to learn everything about living, whether it was doing the laundry or dealing with a spider when cleaning the house—something that scared me a lot in the past.
I learned how to prepare my own food and clothing, to lead my own life, even if it meant living in loneliness.
My school grades dropped. My thoughts were often different from other teenagers. Once in language class, my teacher asked us a question about the purpose of life. While other students talked about future jobs, wealth or happiness, my answer was simple, “I live because death has yet to come.”
With no financial support, I could not afford the tuition needed to attend most schools. So I chose a vocational school after graduating from middle school. Luckily, the tuition was waved because of my good grades. I was glad because I now had a purpose in life.
My Parents Arrested Again
I managed to get in touch with my parents and my younger sister later on. I still lived on my own, but was able to visit them once a week.
However, the police arrested them again. Officers ransacked their residence and left my five-year-old sister unattended. The two of us now lived together and I tried hard not to cry, but I always kept thinking of one question: Why on earth did Jiang Zemin decide to mistreat innocent Falun Gong practitioners like this?
My father was later released, but my mother was still detained. She was then sentenced to five years in prison.
Beginning My Adult Life
I met a young man. I didn't plan to get into a relationship, but I couldn't resist his care and affection.
After both of us graduated from school, we talked about marriage knowing we were a good match. But upon hearing that my family all practiced Falun Gong, and that our financial status was in total ruin, his family members were strongly against our relationship.
I didn't eat or drink over the next six days. I couldn't understand what went wrong with this society: my parents were wronged although they were innocent; and now I could not marry the person I love. On that night, I attempted suicide.
I was rescued and survived, but life was still painful.
Four years later, my mother was released. Later, my boyfriend's family gradually accepted me and my family practicing Falun Gong. Now we have become husband and wife.
My lost childhood is forever gone, and so are the childhoods of too many other children whose parents were detained for their belief in Falun Gong.
To whom can we seek the remedy for our broken lives?
