Suggestions on Documenting Appeal Activities - A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth Brooks, a member of the Advisory Board of Friends of Falun Gong USA, asked that the following suggestion about demonstrations be passed on to a Falun Gong website so as to "help insure the practitioners' safety and furnish more factual representations of harassment when needed." --Friends of Falun Gong USA

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

The recent photo of a man storming across the street in Chicago was a winner. The text stated he further punched a peaceful practitioner and the police were called. It had a lot of impact and created interest. We Americans love pictures. A video of such an attack would have a good chance of making the news.

There is, however, another reason for video documentation of your protests or demonstration. Not only will it prove illegal acts by others, it will also prove the peacefulness of the demonstrators.

To create this suggests there be at least one separate person whose only job is to pictorially record the event. We could call them our "Observer." (This is a way that a Friend of Falun Gong can help.) Generally speaking, they should not take an active part in the demonstration. This allows them to have an over-all view of danger approaching from any angle or area. Any camera should have date and time stamped on the recording media. Good batteries are a must. There should be several shots every hour, establishing the peacefulness of the event. Other shots could show where on the street or walk the practitioners are. How far away from the buildings are they? Is their location legal? Are the banners obstructing any area? All these questions can be answered by the pictures taken by our "Observer."

Written and spoken documentation can specify license numbers, doorways and kinds of vehicles. (Talk into the video camera, even if you can't get a good video picture.) Know distances from one side of the street to another. (A long measuring tape would make this more accurate.) Large pieces of chalk could "X" mark where something was thrown or where the person came from. The names of witnesses and their phone numbers/addresses can be written down as well as pictured and sound recorded.

If something negative happens, not only will you have proof of innocence, you will also have legal, newsworthy video and pictures documenting the persecution. By having the distances, you can geometrically analyze the film for further proof of innocence if necessary. These steps will give those who support you legally more ammunition to use on your behalf. Additionally, the very visible presence of a camera person may keep you safer. Those who would beat you will have to think twice about having their bad face shown to the world.

Yours truly,

Rev. Dr. Ken Brooks

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Friends of Falun Gong USA is a non-profit organization that consists of nearly 1,000 Americans who support Falun Gong practitioners' freedom of belief, but who are not practitioners themselves.