Lucy, my first interpreter I met
eight years ago, and I have been carrying on an active conversation over the
last several months. She lives in a city north of Wuhan and has a father and
two brothers who live in the country. Lucy was the first born and a girl. In
order to have two more children, Lucy’s father gave
a large sum as a fine to the government. Fortunately, both children were boys.
Lucy decided to take her little girl
and go visit her dad for a while. She just returned and shared with me her time
there. She talked about those children who are left behind for grandparents to
raise when the parents go to the city to find work to make some money. The 2010
census shows some 221 million migrants. This migration has fueled China’s
economic growth, but it has also churned up domestic turmoil and social
disorder. One of these problems is the 58 million children “left behind” to be
raised by grandparents. When the parents come back to visit, the children don’t
know who they are and will have nothing to do with them. They have become
strangers.
I have a DVD titled, “Last Train
Home” which is an extraordinary film of this problem. After seeing this film
you wonder how people can live this way, but they have little choice. A very
good article on this is found at the link below.
I hope my blog entries have given
you some insight on living in China.
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