(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Dortmund, Germany were invited to demonstrate the Dafa exercises at two community festivals on June 13, 2015.
Munster International Culture Festival
Falun Dafa was the only group representing Chinese culture at the 17th Munster International Culture Festival of Dortmund (17 Münsterstraßenfest des Integrationsrates der Stadt Dortmund). The practitioners demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises on stage during the opening ceremony of the week-long festival.
Falun Dafa demonstration at “Neighbors Festival” in Eving Dortmund Germany
Falun Dafa demonstration at 17th Munster International Culture Festival in Dortmund Germany
Residents sign a petition calling to end the state-sanctioned killing of practitioners for their organs in China.
Dortmund has a diverse culture brought in by residents from many countries. The German, Chinese, Bulgarian and Russian practitioners demonstrating the exercises on stage also have a diverse background and ranged from teens to those in their sixties. Some spectators learned the exercises by following the practitioners' movements on stage.
Festival-goers learned more about Falun Dafa at the information booth. Many signed the petition calling to end the state-sanctioned killing of practitioners in China for their organs.
The Neighbors Festival in Eving Dortmund
The Falun Dafa practitioners also participated in “The Neighbors” event in Eving, which drew about 1,000 visitors.
Refugee Liu Meiling told the audience the torture she suffered at the hands of the Chinese communist regime.
After the demonstration of Falun Dafa, practitioner Liu Meiling, who fled China just four months ago, shared her story with the audience.
In her hands was a picture taken during a parade in Bielefeld City one week ago. She was sitting on a large lotus flower demonstrating the Falun Dafa meditation exercise.
“For three hours along the route, I was moved to tears many times from hearing the cheers and applause from the spectators,” said Liu Meiling. She said the freedom is everywhere like sunshine in Germany. However, most of the spectators cheering for the beautiful Falun Dafa procession didn't know the torture practitioners are subjected to in China.
Held in a labor camp for her belief, Ms. Liu was deprived of sleep and forced to stand for 13 days, during which she was not allowed to use the restroom. The ordeal caused severe swelling in her legs, and she couldn't walk for a long time.
It was just one form of torture she experienced during a 3-year forced labor sentence starting in September 2005.
The audience was deeply moved by her sharing. “Everyone in the world has a right to freedom. You can't live a life without freedom,” commented a Turkish resident.
“Yes, we must do something [to help stop the persecution],” added another resident who lives nearby.
One woman wanted to donate money, but the practitioners told her that Falun Dafa doesn't take donations. They suggested that she mail a postcard to a Chinese prison requesting the release of illegally jailed practitioner Lu Jiaping.
One of the organizers praised the demonstration and sharing of Ms. Liu's personal journey as “very impressive and moving.”
