Tibetan family enjoying benefits of reform
Print Edition
More than 60 years ago, Kunsang Drolma was a tralpa (serf), slaving in a feudal society in what has become China鈥檚 Tibet Autonomous Region.
Fed up with the oppression, she and her son Tashi Dondrup fled.
Kunsang and her son later reached Cigmai in Lhodrak County of Shannan Prefecture. The village is about 3,750 meters above sea level.
In 1959, the democratic reform in Tibet shattered feudal serfdom and gave new life to Tibet and ethnic people such as Kunsang. Locals were given land, domestic animals and houses of their own.
鈥淚 did not feel like a human being during serfdom 鈥 the government liberated us and gave me all these things,鈥 she said.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the campaign of democratic reform in Tibet. Kunsang, 84, lives a prosperous life with her family of five generations.
After receiving land and animals following the reform, the mother and her son were finally able to settle down. As new crop seeds and agricultural tools were later handed out to them, the family began to have extra zanba (roasted barley flour) and buttered tea. Her son Tashi married and had a daughter called Tsezhoen. It was a family of joy, Kunsang said.
And the best was yet to come.
A collective economy was gradually developed in Cigmai.
Tashi managed to invest 50,000 yuan (US$7,448) in a local construction team and another 10,000 yuan in a Tibetan chicken-raising farm. He can receive up to 4,000 yuan in dividends each year.
Housing, education and subsidies
As Tashi and his mother grew old, Tashi鈥檚 daughter Tsezhoen, whose husband died in a car accident, began to take over responsibility for supporting the family.
In the past few years, she has taken care of the 0.27 hectares of farmland, nine cows and 93 hectares of grassland. The properties help produce up to 500kg of crops and lots of butter.
鈥淭he government also gives us subsidies for grassland and for living in border areas, which can reach about 30,000 yuan a year,鈥 Tsezhoen said.
Last year, a housing project was launched in Cigmai, where locals are able to get new houses.
Facilities such as grid wires, tap water and roads have all been completed. The family will later move into their new house.
Tsezhoen鈥檚 two daughters, 27-year-old Ngawang Lhamo and 25-year-old Shilok Tsomo, have both graduated from college.
The elder sister is currently working as an accountant in the local construction team. Last year, she made 70,000 yuan. Her little sister is preparing for the civil service exam.
鈥淟ast year, Ngawang had a baby, and this year we will have a new house,鈥 Tsezhoen said. 鈥淥ur family are truly enjoying great lives.鈥
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