Advertisement
Published: October 30th 2008
One of the teachers in the English department told me this story today - it's about her family. Please, don't read this if you don't want to cry, it's very sad!!!
She just got a call this evening saying that her uncle (her mom's brother) had passed away. He was only 40, but this teacher thinks it was a blessing, and here is why.
When her uncle was young (maybe 2 or 3 years old) he got a very bad fever which damaged his health. He was always sickly, always getting severe migraines that would begin in an instant. When he finished high school, he got a job working at a factory, but one day he got a terrible migraine at work while using machinery, and cut off three or four fingers on his right hand. He got fired, and could not find work.
His wife left him because he could not provide for them - leaving him alone with his son. His son is an only child, of course - and he has a very bad heart. Because of this, he has never finished school, and cannot work. This son is about 18 years old right now.
This teacher told us that she would give her uncle peanuts at Chinese New Year, and he wouldn't eat them - he never got peanuts, and he wanted to save them for the whole year. That's how hungry he was. The government welfare money that he received each month was only 251Y (about $45 CAD) - and he only received that if he wasn't found begging on the streets. He would find food that was thrown away, just so he and his son could survive. The uncle's family (our teacher friend included) would try to help as much as they could, but could not spare much.
Now that he has passed away, that leaves his son by himself. No one can find the mother - she is with another man, and they don't know how to contact her. They don't blame her, as the family situation was so bad. The uncle's parents are no longer alive, so it falls to the oldest son to decide what to do at the funeral. However, this oldest son (the uncle's brother) is in Guangzhou - his daughter has just had a baby, and he cannot travel here to Wuhan. The next sibling in line lives in Beijing and cannot make the funeral. The third sibling in line is not in the country. And next comes our teacher friend's mom - who has a broken leg and cannot walk. However, because she lives here in Wuhan, the duty falls to her.
The situation is so sad, we couldn't believe it all. Jean had to leave the room, he was having a hard time. And I just sat there dumb founded, not knowing what to say.
Sometimes it's difficult for a foreigner to understand just how poor some people are here in China - and because of the population, the government can't do much about it. Today we came face to face with reality, and man - did it ever put our money troubles in perspective.
Please keep this family - in particular this 18-year old boy - in your prayers. And pray for the millions more here in China that are just as poor.
***I'm writing this on Oct. 31, the day after the first part. Just talked to our teacher friend, they have found the wife. Apparently, this whole time, she has been living with our friends uncle and their son - but she has another man and his baby daughter living there as well - her boyfriend. She made her husband and son sleep outside, no matter how cold, would only cook them a little food. And if one of them got sick, she didn't care, she never took them to the hospital. If any of the family gave the uncle and son money, she would take it, and spend it on her new boyfriend and his baby. Isn't that horrible??? Such a sad story...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.09s; Tpl: 0.02s; cc: 5; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0446s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Heidi
non-member comment
Aww so sad!
It's amazing how cold some people can be. I can't believe that mother would subject anyone to such cruelty! I pray for them and hope all works out!