WOW|“Mom and Dad, Please Don’t Leave”(II)

APD Columnist|Wang Xia, Beijing Foreign Studies University

Poverty do them apart

Left -behindchildrenaretheconsequenceofpoverty.

Forlackofemploymentopportunitiesinlocalareas,men,thefamilybreadwinner,can’tearnenoughmoneytomaintainthechildren,sotheyhavetomigratetoeasternorsoutheasternpartsofChinawheretheycanfindarelativelywell-paidjobindifferentkindsoffactories.

ThecountrysideofShuangheissmallvillageinthesouthofShanxiProvince,whichisclosed,backwardandpoor,andconnectedtotheoutsideworlduntilthreeyearsagobyhighway.Thepeopleheremakealivingonfarmingformanygenerations.BenefitingfromtheHouseholdContractResponsibilitySystem,villagerscanfeedandclothebythemselves.Buttheydon’thaveadditionalmoneytoaffordahighereducationsothatgraduatesarerarehere.Withthedevelopmentofagriculturaltechnology,theoutputofcropshasincreasedandfarmerscantradetheextraformoney.

Exceptplantingcrops,someofthefarmersmineironoreinthehillsandthentransportthemtotheremoteironandsteelfactoriesforsale,whichisanothersourceofincome.Butduringthepasttwodecades,miningisprohibitedandironoreisinsufficientinreserves,sovillagerscanonlyrelyonthefarmland,theoutcomeofwhichcanbarelyallowafamilytomakeendsmeet.Thus,everyyearafterfinishingtheworksinthefield,peoplehavenothingtodointhewinterandhavenosourceofincomeduringthisperiod.AccordingtoZhaoYoucai,thePartySecretaryofthecountry,thereareaquarterofthevillagerslivingbelowthepovertylinewhichissetat2300yuan,andthepercapitaincomeinthecountrysideisabout3000yuan,farfromlivingadecentlife.Oncemetwithdisasterssuchasdrought,frostanddisease,thenthefamilywillbeimpotentandvulnerabletogetthrough.

Facedwithlivingpressure,youngmenorwomenhavetomigrateoutsidetofindajob,leavingtheirchildrenathomewithgrandparents,whichisaverycommonphenomenoninthistown.Astheydon’tacquireenoughknowledgeandpossessadvancedtechniques,theyusuallyworkinsuchlabor-intensiveindustriesasclothingfactories,electronicsfactories,Foxconn,etc.WangJunsaidthathecanearnabout3800yuanpermonth,workingatleast10hoursaday,andthespaceisverylimited.Suchlongworkinghoursandpoorworkingconditionsarethreattotheirhealth.Itseemsthatmigrantworkerscanearnmorethanwhentheyarefarmers,however,theywillsufferfromitinthelongrun.

Unfortunately,therearen’tanypromisingruralindustriestoabsorbsurpluslabors,contributingtotheoutflowoflocallabors.Thegovernmentatcountylevelhasnotpaidanyattentiontothedevelopmentoflocaleconomiesandtheimprovementofpeople’swell-being,justcountingonseveralout-datedenergyplantstoobtainrevenue.Meanwhile,thepoverty-alleviationcapitalscannotbemadefulluseofandrelevantpoliciesareinefficient.

Poverty-reduction projects ison the way

Nowthingsaredifferentwithafavorableturn.DuetotheCentralGovernment’seffortstotaketargetedmeasurestohelppeopleliftthemselvesoutofpovertyandinvestmorecapitalstotheruralareas,thispoorvillageischangingslowly.

AccordingtoZhangWeize,inchargeofthepoverty-reductionbusinessinthecounty-levelgovernment,thecountrynowattachesgreatimportancetopoverty-reductionbusinessandexploredifferentkindsofmodelstotakeadvantageofpoverty-reductioncapitals.Hesaidparticipatorypoverty-reductionisanefficientway,throughwhichpoverty-strickenfamiliescanhaveabiggersayinhowthemoneyintendedtobenefitthemisused.Currentlyitisbureaucratsatvariouslevelsthatdecidethedistributionoffundswhilethevoicesofthoseneedinghelpareignored.

Participatorypoverty-reductionisacommunity-dominatedmethodwithrelativelydemocratictraits,whichcanhelppreventtheirmisappropriationandembezzlementofpoverty-reductionfunds.ZhangWeizetoldreporterthatpoverty-reductionfundsallocatedtostartuptownshipenterprisesthisyearincreaseby20%,whichmeansthatpoliciesandfundsurgentforenterprisestart-upsareveryfavorable.

AmongthetownshipenterprisesisShanxiShuangfengxiangAgricultureDevelopmentCo.,Ltd.,anenterpriseengagedindevelopingecologicalagricultureandaddingvaluetoagriculturalproducts.Inthenearfutureitplanstoexpandtosuchsectorsaseco-tourism,cultureofanimalsandcleanenergy.Itpaysequalattentiontoeconomicincomeandabsorbingsurplusrurallabors,whichsetsanexampleofmakingfulluseofthecountry’spoverty-reductionfundsandshoulderingsocialresponsibilities.Thoughstartedattheverybeginning,ithasemployedhundredoffarmersintheneighboringvillages.

WangJuntoldmehewillnotmigrateoutsidetoworknextyear,addingthatheislikelytofindajobinShuangfengxiangwhichisnearhishome.“Ihaveheardapersoncanearnalmost3000yuanamonth,andit’sabetterchoiceformethaninJiangsu.NotonlycanImakemoney,butalsogivemytwochildrenparentaleducation,whichisimportantandismypriority.”

Itisjustthebeginning,andwithmorefavorablepoliciesleaningtoruralareas,moreandmoretownshipenterprisesandpoverty-alleviationprojectsbenefitingruralresidentswillemergefromthefinancialsupportoftheCentralGovernment.WangJunsaysthatnowadaysthepoliciesaimedatimprovingpeople’slivingstandardaresoadvantagedthathe’dliketostartupafactoryculturingpigsinthenearfutureafterhavingenoughmoney.Beamingwithdelightandglisteningwithhope,heissurfingtheInternetforrelevantinformationwhilehiswifeishelpingtheirsonWangDawithhishomework.

Wearingawhitecoatneatlyandapairoflovelycotton-paddedshoes,WangDaisdoinghiswinterholidayhomeworkundertheguidanceofhismotheratthetime.Hesmiledandsays“mymomteachesmeverywell,andsheasksmetolearnmathematicsandEnglishinGradeTwoforasecondtime,andI’willbecarefulwiththem.”

HismotherLiulisaidthatWangDaisoptimisticandtalkativenow,andshedidn’tallowhimtoplaycomputergamesbutencouragedhimtoplaysportsoutdoors,sohe’dliketocommunicateandplaywithhispeers.ShealsotoldmeWangDahadhelpedtheirneighbor,anoldman,liftwaterfromthewellandcarryseveralbucketsforhim.

“Iamparticularlyhappythatmyparentswillnotleavemysisterandmealonenextyear,”WangDasaid.Hischangesarewhatparentsmeanforchildren,especiallyleft-behindchildren.