http://www.persecutionblog.com/2013/06/ny-times-exposes-chinese-labor-camp.html
VOM_MediaDev
June 14, 2013
One of the frustrations of my work at VOM is the seeming indifference
of the secular media to the suffering of our Christian brothers and
sisters around the world. Yes, there are times when a story of
persecution breaks through into our national conversation—Youcef
Nadarkhani in Iran, or the attack on Dogo Nahawa in Nigeria—but for
the most part Christian persecution is not a story we see on the
evening news or read even in the fine-print sections of the newspaper.
Partly because of this frustration, I read with great interest the
story in the New York Times this week about a letter smuggled out of
the Masanjia labor camp in China that revealed the terrible conditions
of the prisoners. The story of the letter is fascinating in itself—it
was smuggled out of the country tucked inside a package of mock
tombstones that were sold by a K-Mart in Oregon as Halloween
decorations.
But the words that caught my eye weren't about the letter; they were
about the camp the letter was written from: "According to former
inmates, roughly half of Masanjia's population is made up of Falun
Gong practitioners or members of underground churches …"
The story then details some of the things prisoners endure, besides
long days of labor creating goods for export to the West. One woman
talked about being dragged around by her hair, or being shocked with
electric batons until her nostrils filled with the odor of burning
flesh. Others spoke of having their four limbs tied to four beds,
which were then kicked farther and farther apart by the guards. "That
place is a living hell," said Liu Hua, a 51-year-old former prisoner
at the camp.
China's people can be sent into that living hell for up to four years
without even having a trial. The article suggests that when more
"workers" are needed, local police will find reasons to arrest people
because the labor camp will pay them for prisoners.
Some of my brothers and sisters are in that living hell. Perhaps even
now one of them is being shocked, or lying in misery tied to the beds.
Perhaps some are whispering words of encouragement to each other
during an endless day of heavy labor. Or maybe they are quoting
Scripture in their minds while their lips mouth the communist slogans
that are a part of their "re-education" sessions.
Todd with Pastor Li De-Xian in 1999.
I'm reminded of Pastor Li De-Xian, whom I met in China in 1999. He was
arrested many times for leading his unregistered church. In September
1998, VOM made public a secret Chinese government document outlining
Public Security Bureau (PSB) efforts to control Pastor Li. I've always
remembered a part of it:
"He has been arrested and educated many times, and yet his heart has
not died and his nature has not changed."
I pray for my brothers and sisters who are being "educated" in the
Masanjia labor camp today, as well as those in other labor camps
across China. I pray that their hearts will not die and that their
suffering will only conform them more closely to the unchangeable
nature of Christ.
Pray with me.
Todd Nettleton has served the persecuted church and VOM 15 years. He
has been interviewed more than 1900 times by various media outlets.
He's the author of Restricted Nations: North Korea, and served on the
writing team for FOXE, Extreme Devotion, Hearts of Fire and other VOM
books. Todd is scheduled to speak at upcoming VOM Regional Conferences
in Tulsa and Wichita.
GOD JESUS SAVIOR