Pulse Publications #23 - January 2024

THE LAND OF THE FREE

By John Wease

LAST YEAR, AFTER DRIVING PAST MANY

TIMES, I visited the Liberty Sculpture Park in Yermo. I wrote an article about it that appeared in the May 2023 edition. The sculptures are very large and incredibly detailed. The common theme is the struggle for freedom against communism, especially the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Artist, Weiming Chen, a native of China, immigrated to New Zealand before the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Since the massacre, he has dedicated his life, and his art to the struggle for freedom.

The sculptures are easily seen from the Interstate 15, and the park was located there for the very reason that the massive art would be visible to the millions that pass by. To fully appreciate the details, one must visit the Liberty Sculpture Park and see it up close. The giant 64 represents the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. The iconic photo of the man with a briefcase defiantly standing before a line of Chinese tanks is represented life-sized. The Umbrella Brigade of Hong Kong protesters is very moving, as well as the Swimming for Freedom sculpture. Swimming for Freedom represents the many Chinese mainlanders that attempted to swim to Hong Kong to avoid the Mau Zedong Great Purge. Many drowned or died due to the cold water.

In June, I was invited to the unveiling and dedication of Weiming Chen’s latest sculpture. I managed, as well, to get myself invited to watch them move the massive sculpture from the studio in Newberry Springs to the Liberty Sculpture Park. The concrete base, shaped like Mainland China, was constructed at the park. The sculpture is in two parts. The background structure is a massive steel structure that must weigh many tons. In front of this steel structure, representative of a jail or prison, stands a woman with a chain around her neck. She is the “Woman in Chains.”

In this age of content warnings for movies, and trigger warnings for books, I probably should include a warning here. If you are one of the rainbows and unicorns and flowers everywhere people, you may want to skip the rest of this article. Perhaps because it represents the real-life plight of one individual, That makes it even more disturbing. I found it disturbing enough that I needed a few months before I could write the article. So, since you are still reading this, here is the story.

In the 1970s the CCP was concerned about population

growth in China. A one child policy was put in place in the late 1970s. As with many cultures, the families there wanted a boy child to carry on the family name. This led to gender specific abortions, infanticide, and abandoned girls ending up in orphanages. Many girl babies ended up adopted in the United States and other countries. It is estimated from hundreds of thousands to possibly several millions of these girls were hidden by their families. These undocumented girls were uneducated and largely unemployable. Parents caught with more children than allowed were subject to fines and even imprisonment.

The one child policy was later relaxed in rural areas. Two children would be allowed if the first was a girl or handicapped. This was especially true if the parents were both only children. The skewed population control led to a shortage of women available as wives, especially in poorer, rural areas. This led to an increase in human trafficking of women from poorer areas sold as “wives.” One of these “wives” was purchased by Dong Zhimin around 1998 in Xuzhou, China.

The one child policy ended in 2016 but many couples were accustomed to smaller families by then. With an aging population, and a declining number of births there was concern about a future workforce. Mr. Dong proudly posted a video in January 2022 of how he was doing his part. The video showed Dong and his eight children eating their dinner inside his house. Reporters went to his house for more information and found his “wife” outside of a dilapidated shed, barefoot, dirty, and chained by the neck. Her food was in a dish on the ground.

The video went viral. The CCP said at first that she was legitimately married but mentally ill and was chained to prevent her injuring others. Some who tried to investigate further were jailed as trouble makers during the politically sensitive period of the Winter Olympics held in China. Eventually, the truth came out about the “Xuzhou Chained Woman.” The couple that initially sold her and Dong were arrested. Dong was charged with unlawful imprisonment, sexual assault, and severe mistreatment. The woman, Yang, had been imprisoned for over twenty years. She had been beaten, teeth knocked out, raped, and gang raped by others. Seventeen county officials were punished for dereliction of duty.

Yang was just one victim. How many more girls or women were trafficked, bought as wives, or shipped and trafficked in other countries is unknown. Before you think that could never happen here in the land of the free, well here is another warning. You won’t like this next part very much either. We hear of the dangerous narcotics flooding into the United States almost daily. The drugs flow in because there is a ready market here. The same is true, apparently, with human trafficking, especially in the sex worker trade.

In May, I met local Newberry Springs resident, Natalie Mar. Natalie worked twenty years in law enforcement. Now retired, she is assisting with a Christian based program to rescue young women from the sex trade. Called Rescue America, some three hundred volunteers contact young women at massage parlors and other locations to find sex workers held against their will or otherwise wanting to leave that life. An exit strategist places them in a safe house until they can be placed in a home. Omega Kingdom Ministries provides counseling, education, and legal aid.

The young women are then placed in a Christian home in another part of the country for their safety. An airline transports them without identification. Doctors provide medical care, again

in secrecy. After a Zoom meeting between the young ladies and the home owner, they are moved in. Natalie explains on her part, it is not a program. It is more of a Big Sister relationship. Her task is to help acclimate the young women back into a normal life.

All of the women have to want out. Many were kidnapped and forced into drug addiction. Some were sold by their families so going home is not an option. The first young woman Natalie was to have, was a Chinese girl, sold by her parents at age six. She was kept chained in a basement until she was rescued at age twenty-four. She was sexually abused and carried six pregnancies to full term. The babies were removed at birth but where they ended up is unknown. Natalie had a problem with a home repair and this poor girl was placed in another home. Natalie was trained in drug addiction treatment while in law enforcement and suffered abuse as a young child herself so is very motivated to help these young “sisters” rejoin a normal, happy life. Her organization is called:

DELIVERANCE WARRIORS 4 CHRIST –Home for Girls Rescued From Sex Trafficking

DW4C

PO BOX 353

Newberry Springs CA 92365

DeliveranceWarriors4Christ@gmail.com

She is paying all expenses with her retirement income so donations are very much appreciated. She accepts cash, checks, money orders, or Zelle. Gift cards for clothing stores or markets, or hygiene items are welcome. I have seen Natalie and a nice young “sister” at the Route 66 Swap Meet selling craft items she made as well as at our July 3rd Festival selling donated items to raise funds. So, if you are struggling with a New Year’s resolution, forget the exercise equipment and send a donation to DW4C. I think you will be glad you did.