Happy Chinese New Year and…Final Thoughts
New Year Painting in the Refugee Camp
It’s Chinese New Year, and I’ve returned to Cambridge. Quite the downer to have a sudden decline in festive spirit after three weeks of building up to the biggest holiday of the year for 1.4 billion people. I felt like I had to do something, so I had a small celebration of my own. I made three dishes: spring rolls, soy sauce pork, and bok choy, turned on the Christmas lights still hanging outside my apartment window, and celebrated with a close friend.
For me, this trip was also an opportunity to learn about my culture; to learn about the social systems, attitudes, and activities that keep Chinese society functioning on a daily basis. My first observation, and one that continues to amaze me every single time I go to China, is the incredibly resiliency of its people. Living with the pollution, noise, crowded spaces, lack of privacy, and the fight for limited resources, Chinese people still manage to scratch out a decent living from what they have. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the refugee camps, where, within a small amount of allocated space, families of 3 to 4 live together with the few belongings they’ve recovered, and continue living the best they can. From working at jobs, taking care of household chores, playing mah jong, and going to school, life eventually returns to normal, even though their walls are made of particle board.
Another key feature of the earthquake refugee community is how incredibly humble and grateful to the core they truly are. Immediately following the earthquake, when there were not enough relief supplies to go around, members of the community would rather not take any relief than see the supplies get distributed unevenly amongst the community. Now, they express high amounts of gratitude for any social services provided for them. Many feel they are lucky to have a government that helped in the rescue and recovery effort, supports them with permanent temporary housing, and gives small subsidies to help feed their families. Volunteers working in the camps get a lot of popularity points amongst community members, and are welcomed graciously in almost any household. One my last day in Mianzhu, we stopped at a wonton shop for breakfast, and I was discussing possibly returning in the summer to do a one-week English workshop at the camp. The restaurant owner was so grateful that I even mentioned the idea, even though I didn’t commit, that she refused to accept our payment for the meal.
One worry trend is how dependent most of the refugees are on the government as their savior. Apparently, this isn’t just a post-earthquake problem, it’s been a problem throughout Chinese history. Even in ancient China, the population heavily relied on the emperor and his government to provide direct relief during hard times. Failure to do so often resulted in rebellions that ended dynasties. This problem has manifested itself again, with residents waiting for the government to rebuild housing and re-allocate jobs so that they can move out of temporary housing. The problem is, the government neither has the financial resources, or the capacity, to do this sort of thing under China’s new market economy. When one party controls the country and limits civil society, they cap the potential of individual citizens to solve problems on their own.
But people may indeed need to solve their recovery woes on their own. With the financial crisis firmly gripping China’s economy, there’s a “cold wind blowing in China,” as one of our interviewees said to us. Earlier this month, half of China’s toy factories closed because of a slow Christmas season. Many economists are predicting China’s economy will only grow 5 to 6% in 2009, far short of the 8 to 9% required to create enough jobs for its burgeoning workforce. Many migrant workers are now returning from coastal cities to Sichuan and competing for the same jobs that disaster refugees need in order to support their families.
But there is hope yet. My final thought is something that I did not expect to find, and that most people in the West still do not know. The progressive thinkers within China have an incredibly open mind, and are willing attack, not ignore, their problems. And there are a lot of them, both in the field and within the highest offices of the government. From working closely with our client, to finding NGO leaders, roughing it in Mianzhu with refugee camp social workers, and interviewing government officials, I’ve found that most of the people we’ve met are eager to learn from the international community, to show the nuances of their country to foreign experts and visitors, and to collectively find solutions to make their society better. And when I returned to the U.S., I’ve found completely the opposite. Not only are many Americans not eager to learn from the international community, but are extremely self-confident in their own society, and quick to criticize how totalitarian and uncivilized other countries are, even as the U.S. slips deeper into the global recession it started. Personally, I’m inclined to believe that societies that are more resilient, humble, and gracious will win the day.
Minghua and I are hoping to go to Greensburg, Kansas, in March to write our comparative case about their recovery. But for now, thanks for reading, and Happy New Year.
Written by Lin Yang · Filed Under All Blogs
Lin Yang is currently a second year MPP candidate at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Prior to Harvard, he spent six months at Tsinghua University in Beijing, conducting research on China's shortage of water resources. He also taught high school mathematics for two years in the Mississippi Delta as part of Teach for America.
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5 Responses to “Happy Chinese New Year and…Final Thoughts”
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The Economic Downturn:
My fellow Humanbeings it’s only temporary. Don’t be scared. Scared is what the evil doers want you to be. This severe economic downturn was not unforeseen. Many of us tried to warn everyone that we could years ago. And we did our humble best to head it off, and limit it’s destruction. But their were some very powerful, and Evil forces at play that limited our ability to completely stop this economic downturn before it happened.
Fear not my fellow humanbeings. Your future, and the future of the World is very BRIGHT! now.
The World has continued to be blest with excellent leaders who have brilliantly handled the dangers, and complexity’s of our geopolitical challenges. And with the help of the world, America has now elected a new President (President Barack Obama), and a government who stands ready to lock arms with the rest of the World’s leadership in solidarity towards a better World for all.
President Obama’s choice of Cabinet, and advisers has been nothing short of brilliant. And his performance has been excellent. I believe President Obama stands ready to do whatever he has to do to see the American people, and the World through this crisis.
So spend, but spend wisely. Trade with each other, but trade wisely. Live, work and enjoy the majesty, and miracle of your existence in the community of humankind. This is a great time to be alive.
It is not an accident that humanity exist on a small blue planet tucked in the safest corner of the universe. A planet with a constant source of warmth and energy from the sun. A planet surrounded buy a forcefield we call an atmosphere. And an atmosphere that keeps in the things we need to survive, and keeps out most of the things that could harm us.
It is not an accident that the mass and orbits of the planets, moons, asteroids, and other heavenly body’s are perfectly aligned to harmlessly deflect the larger objects that could hurt us away by gravity. Deflecting danger into outer space. Or into the sun.
The sun still shines on us. And our future is GOOD! This economic downturn is just a little darkness before the dawn.
Things are going to be GREAT! That is what you have chosen. The new Renaissance has begun.
God bless all of us
Jacksmith — Working Class
I totally agree with the author. Although China is not very developed today, the people in China work very hard and really want to make their country prospherous again. They belieive PEACELY RISE, in my opinion, we should face this country with respect and admit.
Hi Lin Yang, Thank you for your Niu Year blog. I share your final thoughts, especially working in the NGO sector here in China. Keep writing!
Sounds like an amazing trip, Lin! I think your final observation is an important one. In our democratic society, we’re being beaten out for thinking through our problems and looking to others for solutions by those living under Communism? Amazing.
Chinese new year is really fun. It’s really different from different countries.