DAFOH co-sponsored screenings of film Human Harvest in Canada
The Peabody Award winning documentary Human Harvest was shown on April 28th at the University of Alberta and again on April 30th at the Metro Cinema in Edmonton Canada, followed by a Q&A session. An interview in Global TV’s Global News program with DAFOH advisor Dr. Charl Els preceded the screenings.
In his TV interview, “Shocking look at organ harvesting trade in China,” Dr. Els informed the audience that kidneys are available in only a few days in China as opposed to a wait of three to five years in Canada. He said, “The evidence, at this point, points towards China being the only country on the planet who has actually co-opted their hospital system, their legal system, their prison system to be able to harvest organs from involuntary, non-consenting adults in order to fuel a very, very lucrative organ transplantation tourism system.”
Dr. Els reported that China’s totalitarian regime has found that the most suitable targets to fuel their transplant tourist trade are Falun Gong practitioners, as they do not smoke or drink alcohol and are physically healthy due to their practice. After incarceration, these prisoners of conscience are executed using a specially developed method that keeps their bodies alive, allowing surgeons and medically trained individuals to harvest fresh, living organs. This well-executed, well-planned for-profit system demonstrates a total lack of human rights.
Films such as Human Harvest are helping to galvanize global action by raising the level of international awareness and encouraging more government involvement. The audience at the University of Alberta’s showing of Human Harvest was very much engaged and clearly appreciated guest speaker David Matas’ avid commentary. Dr. Els said, “We had a great attendance and it was an evening that was emotionally moving.” Despite Chinese government’s semantics, organ harvesting for profit is an ongoing, unresolved issue.
