From Shanghai to Shenzhen

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17 Hour Train Ride from Shanghai to Shenzhen

We are currently en route to Shenzhen from Shanghai by train. At first, the 17 hour plight seemed a little much, but there are no regrets. Extreme poverty exists in China, it just takes some time to see it. Sure, we have come across the beggar in the streets while in Beijing, and watched as the elderly pick through the refuse, but nothing compares to what is being seen today.


All in passing, so the views have been quick, but very effective. From my first class train seat window, I can see clearly.


Just beyond the tracks are where the rice fields start. Throughout I can see the occasional person tending to them dressed in Old China attire. Behind these fields lay the homes. The majority are made from brick, and most are lacking windows. Some houses have no walls at all, but simply four support beams and a roof. The houses are all dilapidated - fallen. More brick is actually seen on the ground than the actual structures. Along with the piles of brick that lay everywhere, an array of garbage is also mixed through. We are sure that the people here do not have the necessary means to dispose of this waste, and simply do not care. Why would they. Behind the string of homes lies the rollings mountains with the odd factory every once in a while.


These communities appear and disappear every few minutes. Each one resembles the last. A six year old boy has a large piece of wood strapped over his shoulder. Attached are two buckets containing water on either side. I see an old man repairing his home, although I am unsure as to why. Maybe to keep busy. Out here in the backwoods of mainland China the people aren't living, they're surviving.


You don't worry about happiness and fulfillment when you're starving. It is good to remember that. You live among this ridiculous wealth in the Western World, and you get lost. You worry about nonsense like inner health and satisfaction and relationships. You have no idea how lucky you are. You have no idea what it is like to starve, to watch yourself turn to bones, to sit by hopelessly while someone you love, someone otherwise young and healthy, slowly dies, and some part of you, is almost happy because now you will get a bit and a half size of bread today instead of just a bite size.


You do horrible things to survive. Anyone who believes they are above that is delusional.


My mother used to say - "eat all of your dinner, there are starving children who would love to have it..."

I would say "give me an envelope and they can have it!"


Smart ass. Little do words hit home. It is very easy to be back in Canada and ignore words like these, or change the channel and dismiss the commercial to 'save a child for a $1/day'. But seeing and imagining the lifestyle and everlong battle for survival certainly speaks loud.


Traveling through these parts has been advantageous. Sure, we still have 11 hours before we arrive at our next destination, but the appreciation for the opportunity we have been given is invaluable. Being born in a free nation is a gift, and we have reason to be thankful.

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Comments

[Mary Ellen Gallery]

Waiting
I agree with Fr. Paul that you should be a writer. You could sell these stories as they are so interesting and so well written. I cannot wait to hear all your stories when you get home.