Kailey Kou

My aunt was a fine arts student in her last year of university. She was just twenty-two years old when the police took her from her home to the local police station for questioning. She was locked in a basement for three days, then transferred to the Beijing Haidian prison. Her “crime” was maintaining a belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. 

At first, they tried to brainwash her into giving up her belief. When that failed, they used all kinds of methods to break her spirit. Torture methods such as forced standing and squatting in different positions were used. She wasn't allowed to sleep for weeks. Five or six people surrounded each prisoner at a time, forcing their eyes open each time they got drowsy. All sorts of methods were used to force Falun Gong practitioners like her to give up their faith. She remembers in the cell next to her was another student around her age; the girl's parents were brought into the prison cell, and were on their knees, begging their daughter to give up her belief. 

When my aunt was finally let out on the pretext of bail, the police constantly came to the house to question and harass her. Not wanting to worry her father, who wasn't in the best health condition, she left home in hopes that they would stop coming back. They didn't. Not being able to get any answers from grandfather, they took him away instead. He wasn't a Falun Gong practitioner; he was just an ordinary Chinese citizen who had spent his or her life working for the country and growing a loving family, like so many others. He was locked in a hotel room as they tried to brainwash him, forcing him to watch propaganda which was played on a screen. He had to write "reflections" on what he had learned, and he wasn't allowed to leave until they were satisfied with his answers. 

Eventually the police finally stopped coming to their home, and by the time my aunt was able to go home again, three years had passed. She was now married to her Chinese-Canadian fiancé, and was applying for a visa in Canada. The moment her visa was granted, she quickly packed her belongings and left as soon as possible, with no choice but to leave her father behind, knowing that it may be the last time she would ever see him. Grandfather wasn't able to leave, as the Communist Party refused to give him a passport. Already detained once on bad health conditions, his health only deteriorated more after pressure from local police and longing for his family overseas, and eventually he passed away. Before his death, he wasn't able to see any of his family members, including his two very young granddaughters. Our family wasn't even able to attend his funeral. 

As someone who just turned twenty-three, and was born and raised in a democratic society, it's hard for me to imagine that having a belief would bring you on a trip to prison—a trip that may just end there. Though my aunt's story is painful, it's not even as heart-wrenching as what many other Falun Gong practitioners or family members have faced. Millions have faced severe tortures such as beating, electrocution, forced organ harvesting, and death. 

It's hard to believe that this is currently happening in the twenty-first century—people are raving about minority and racial issues like these are the biggest problems, when innocent people who are just trying to be better human beings are killed like animals in a slaughterhouse. The cold hard fact is that this is still happening, and it’s been 26 years. If those of us who are so closely related to the ones who have been unjustly wronged don't speak up and raise awareness, who else will?