Monday 2 July 2012

Lucy a Mistake?

My thoughts keep returning to the news story of a young Chinese woman in Shaanxi Province who was forcibly taken to hospital to abort her second child. Feng Jianmei was held down by four people as she was given an injection to bring on the abortion of her 7 month unborn baby, the labour  took 36 hours.  Minutes after the abortion, a family member posted on the internet a photograph of  her aborted second daughter, clearly perfectly formed at seven months, lying next to her on a hospital bed. The image went viral.

The images that accompanied this story were poignant and invoked my compassion and respect and admiration for Feng Jianmei's courage in refusing to crawl away out of sight to live with her memories of her lose and her terrible ordeal.  The first picture was heartrending, this was followed by a picture of  her first daughter lying beside her in hospital,  A place her mother must have felt to be very unsafe after the violence done to her and her baby.    A place were anger fear and outrage were ripple throughi its wards and corridors as three officials have been suspended for the illegal act of violence against a mother and her unborn child that China's one child policy engenders. 

My  friend Lucy, whose Chinese name means Mistake, was a second child.  Her family suffered financially and socially because of her birth.  She said that her mother hid her pregnancy until she was past six months after this date in China it is illegal to abort a child.  Her mother was beaten and kicked by a woman from the Family Planning Unit when it was found out that her mother was having a second child.  This attack may have been an attempt to force an abortion.

As a result of Lucy's birth her father lost his job and the family were ostracized and sank into poverty.  Elders of the family kept them from starving but strongly disapproved of her parents. It was these elders who named the baby Mistake.  Once Lucy was old enough she was dispatched to England and told she would not be welcomed back into the family.

The  activist lawyer Chen Guangcheng was sent to prison last year for exposing what he says were over-zealous health workers in Linyi City, Shandong Province.  He says they illegally forced women to have late-term abortions and be sterilised. 

Feng Jianmei's story has reached the world via  the courage of a relation  posting the picture on the Internet.  The family must have realised  they would be in serious trouble with the authorities. Feng Jiammi's sister-in-law  and a lawyer have described how family members  have been followed, harassed and attacked  as traitors for speaking to foreign media. The person who posted the picture Feng Jiammei and her still born child has been severely beaten and is in hiding. Was this act of courage inspired by Chen Guangcheng stand against sanctioned violence against pregnant women who already had one child? 

The Shaanxi Province had failed to achieve its target of enforcing the One Child Policy for two consecutive years and the authorities were acting more strenuously to achieve a 95% one child birth per family..This weekend  outside  the hospital  were Feng is still a patient protesters  against the family shouted and  held a banner reading:

 "Beat the traitors and expel them". 



After his arrival in the United States, Chen Guangcheng  said he hoped,

 "Everybody works with me to promote justice and fairness in China".  "We should link our arms to continue in the fight for the goodness in the world and to fight against injustice,"

China does not intend to change its One Child Policy. 

Reiki’s healing light for “goodness in the world” and gratitude for those who have the courage to fight against  injustice whatever the cost to themselves and those they love.

Reiki healing and love to Feng Jianmei and her beautiful first daughter, her second daughter now in transition, their father and family. And to all women who have been forced to have an abortion.





With Reiki Blessings

Merryb

I have seen the picture of Feng and her dead daughter and it was a terrible heartbreaking sight which made me weep for her and all the women who have been so violently treated so officials can meet the local one child per family target. It was important to me to be a witness to this event. 

Reiki wisdom to the Chinese Government and its officials



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