Relocated villagers face harsh times
By Dong Zhen |
October 20, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TO most people, 176.6 meters is a meaningless figure. But to the 160,000 villagers living around the Danjiangkou Reservoir on the upper Yangtze River, it has been a cold and harsh symbol, reminding them of the approaching deadline to wave goodbye to their homeland so it can be submerged for China's south-north water diversion project.
The latest batch of people inhabiting Xichuan County, located at the confluence of Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi provinces, relocated in recent months to make room for a project to raise the reservoir from 162 to 176.6 meters. The additional water is a crucial step on the middle route of the project.
Residents from northern cities, including Beijing, will gain much-needed water from the project, thanks to the villagers' sacrifice.
To those being relocated, the emigration cuts off ties with their ancestors and the past. As a famous Chinese saying goes, "Falling leaves settle on their roots." Homesickness is a deep-rooted sentiment shared by many Chinese people, especially the aged. Rural villagers from the county "want their old bones to be buried in their hometown" and beside those of their ancestors, but that will remain an unfulfilled dream.
"Some senior villagers even carried coffins as they set off to leave homes," said Zhao Chuan, a local journalist who has reported and observed the relocation proceedings in the county since 2009. Dreading the uncertainty of the future, these traditional farmer villagers prepared coffins to make sure they would have a final place to rest.
Zhao said that among the villagers she saw leaving their homes during the past two years, the oldest was 102 while the youngest was born only 24 hours earlier.
During her interviews when she asked villagers if they understood the purpose of their relocation, she most frequently heard answers such as "I know: because Beijing is thirsty!" or "It's a big project, it's for the country."
But saying goodbye is difficult. And witnessing the deadlines drawing closer is no less sorrowful.
"Even the first-graders from schools along the banks of the Danjiang River told me they knew sooner or later the day would come for them to move out," Zhao said.
Most villagers have seen their houses and villages torn down before leaving, with some describing the experience as a feeling of having their hearts ripped apart.
"After packing up, many villagers snapped a twig from the grape trees or oleanders surrounding their houses to keep as remembrances.
Zhao recalled that she once followed some villagers to the end of their emigration journey and saw neighbors sneering at the newcomers. They taunted them for being "too poor" because they saw primitive farming tools inside their packages.
Not surprisingly, some villagers were stubborn about leaving. Wu Jiabao, a local official in charge of promoting the relocation, said that in 2005 they discovered a family had moved to live inside a mountain for years.
"They barely wore any decent clothes and knew nothing of the outside world," Wu said.
Wu also said that because of conflicts with their new neighbors and other problems, some early emigrants had returned in groups to start new lives, fishing along stretches of the river near their old homes.
The latest batch of people inhabiting Xichuan County, located at the confluence of Henan, Hubei and Shaanxi provinces, relocated in recent months to make room for a project to raise the reservoir from 162 to 176.6 meters. The additional water is a crucial step on the middle route of the project.
Residents from northern cities, including Beijing, will gain much-needed water from the project, thanks to the villagers' sacrifice.
To those being relocated, the emigration cuts off ties with their ancestors and the past. As a famous Chinese saying goes, "Falling leaves settle on their roots." Homesickness is a deep-rooted sentiment shared by many Chinese people, especially the aged. Rural villagers from the county "want their old bones to be buried in their hometown" and beside those of their ancestors, but that will remain an unfulfilled dream.
"Some senior villagers even carried coffins as they set off to leave homes," said Zhao Chuan, a local journalist who has reported and observed the relocation proceedings in the county since 2009. Dreading the uncertainty of the future, these traditional farmer villagers prepared coffins to make sure they would have a final place to rest.
Zhao said that among the villagers she saw leaving their homes during the past two years, the oldest was 102 while the youngest was born only 24 hours earlier.
During her interviews when she asked villagers if they understood the purpose of their relocation, she most frequently heard answers such as "I know: because Beijing is thirsty!" or "It's a big project, it's for the country."
But saying goodbye is difficult. And witnessing the deadlines drawing closer is no less sorrowful.
"Even the first-graders from schools along the banks of the Danjiang River told me they knew sooner or later the day would come for them to move out," Zhao said.
Most villagers have seen their houses and villages torn down before leaving, with some describing the experience as a feeling of having their hearts ripped apart.
"After packing up, many villagers snapped a twig from the grape trees or oleanders surrounding their houses to keep as remembrances.
Zhao recalled that she once followed some villagers to the end of their emigration journey and saw neighbors sneering at the newcomers. They taunted them for being "too poor" because they saw primitive farming tools inside their packages.
Not surprisingly, some villagers were stubborn about leaving. Wu Jiabao, a local official in charge of promoting the relocation, said that in 2005 they discovered a family had moved to live inside a mountain for years.
"They barely wore any decent clothes and knew nothing of the outside world," Wu said.
Wu also said that because of conflicts with their new neighbors and other problems, some early emigrants had returned in groups to start new lives, fishing along stretches of the river near their old homes.
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