CHINA, NATIONAL, SOCIETY, NEWS FEATURE: When Going to School Is a Matter of Life and Death
By Liu Liting
Late last August, a country girl in Xiejiaying village, Gansu Province, jumped off a cliff because she was too poor to continue her education. Her father, using a trick of "drawing lots," made the decision that she give up her chance to study so that her younger brother could have his.
Yang Yingfang was 18 years old and attended the same senior school as her brother. Yang's father, the 53 year-old Yang Yuxiang, spent most of the year working in the field; the rest in big cities doing labor work to support the family.
The family worked 27 acres of farmland, 3 acres of which was turned into forests, following the policy of the government. So most of the family's income was from the other 24 acres. Last year, they sold all the paddy and wheat they got from the fields--some of which had been saved for 3 years--for 1700 Yuan. Yang Yuxiang did urban labor work for two months and brought home a little more than 1000 Yuan.
The money wasn't enough for tuition and living fees at school for two children. Yang Yuxiang said he needed at least 7000 Yuan per year to continue both his children's education. And that was only 90 Yuan per month for Yang's and her brother's living expenses: enough to sustain their lives but not enough for their stomach's to ever feel full. The father felt he had no choice but to stop Yang Yingfang's study,
At noon on August 24, Yang's family returned from the field after half a day's hard work. Yang and her brother were gulping their lunch when their farther came up to them with two paper clumps in his hands. With no expression on his face, their father said: "We don’t have enough money for both of you to go to school now. One of you must quit. We will decide who will quit by drawing lots. Here are two paper clumps. Whoever gets the one with no words on it will leave school."
Yang's brother, Yang Dong, said he wouldn't draw lots over such a thing. He added that if his sister quit school, he would quit, too. Yang also didn’t want to 'lot.' Instead she told her father to pay for her brother's tuition fee first and keep her fees in arrears. She did not realize it was her father's trick to make her stop her study.
Yang Yuxiang put on a smile and said: "Just try one. Try one and let's see." Saying this, he deliberately stretched his hands out to his daughter. Seeing her father was determined, Yang took a clump. She opened it. There were no words on the paper. Yang lost all feeling and strength. At the same time, the father, Yang Yuxiang, with another empty paper clump in his hand, remembers feeling remorse and pain for cheating his daughter.
When Yang Yingfang woke up the next day, her parents had already gone to the field. Feeling so sorry and guilty towards their daughter, they did not return home at noon. Yang prepared lunch and then sat on her bed, thinking for a while. In the afternoon, her brother went out and herded cattle. She took out her math book to read but could not keep anything in her mind.
"I busied myself by doing some farm work but it didn't help. I still felt so desperate and annoyed. Then I decided to go out for a walk," Yang later told a journalist. "When I arrived at a cliff, I sat down on a big rock and began thinking. It was already dark at that time. I felt a little bit afraid. I was thinking of what I could do if I did not go to school. I did not want to go home. But, I had no money with me and couldn't go anywhere. Suddenly I lost all hope of life and jumped off the cliff."
The villagers searched for Yang for two days and three nights before finding her at the foot of the mountain on August 28, alive and conscious. After she was saved the only thing she cared about was whether her brother had gone to school. During her recovery time in bed, she read her textbooks all day long.
When asked whether she regretted having attempted suicide, without hesitation, Yang replied: "No! If I couldn't go to school, the only one chance of changing my life was lost. What could I do with a meaningless life?"
Talking about her future, she wept. She still did not know whether she would be able to go to school even after attempting suicide. "Money is a really big problem. I do not have hatred for my father; he really had nothing else to do. I can understand him," Yang said through her tears.
Late last August, a country girl in Xiejiaying village, Gansu Province, jumped off a cliff because she was too poor to continue her education. Her father, using a trick of "drawing lots," made the decision that she give up her chance to study so that her younger brother could have his.
Yang Yingfang was 18 years old and attended the same senior school as her brother. Yang's father, the 53 year-old Yang Yuxiang, spent most of the year working in the field; the rest in big cities doing labor work to support the family.
The family worked 27 acres of farmland, 3 acres of which was turned into forests, following the policy of the government. So most of the family's income was from the other 24 acres. Last year, they sold all the paddy and wheat they got from the fields--some of which had been saved for 3 years--for 1700 Yuan. Yang Yuxiang did urban labor work for two months and brought home a little more than 1000 Yuan.
The money wasn't enough for tuition and living fees at school for two children. Yang Yuxiang said he needed at least 7000 Yuan per year to continue both his children's education. And that was only 90 Yuan per month for Yang's and her brother's living expenses: enough to sustain their lives but not enough for their stomach's to ever feel full. The father felt he had no choice but to stop Yang Yingfang's study,
At noon on August 24, Yang's family returned from the field after half a day's hard work. Yang and her brother were gulping their lunch when their farther came up to them with two paper clumps in his hands. With no expression on his face, their father said: "We don’t have enough money for both of you to go to school now. One of you must quit. We will decide who will quit by drawing lots. Here are two paper clumps. Whoever gets the one with no words on it will leave school."
Yang's brother, Yang Dong, said he wouldn't draw lots over such a thing. He added that if his sister quit school, he would quit, too. Yang also didn’t want to 'lot.' Instead she told her father to pay for her brother's tuition fee first and keep her fees in arrears. She did not realize it was her father's trick to make her stop her study.
Yang Yuxiang put on a smile and said: "Just try one. Try one and let's see." Saying this, he deliberately stretched his hands out to his daughter. Seeing her father was determined, Yang took a clump. She opened it. There were no words on the paper. Yang lost all feeling and strength. At the same time, the father, Yang Yuxiang, with another empty paper clump in his hand, remembers feeling remorse and pain for cheating his daughter.
When Yang Yingfang woke up the next day, her parents had already gone to the field. Feeling so sorry and guilty towards their daughter, they did not return home at noon. Yang prepared lunch and then sat on her bed, thinking for a while. In the afternoon, her brother went out and herded cattle. She took out her math book to read but could not keep anything in her mind.
"I busied myself by doing some farm work but it didn't help. I still felt so desperate and annoyed. Then I decided to go out for a walk," Yang later told a journalist. "When I arrived at a cliff, I sat down on a big rock and began thinking. It was already dark at that time. I felt a little bit afraid. I was thinking of what I could do if I did not go to school. I did not want to go home. But, I had no money with me and couldn't go anywhere. Suddenly I lost all hope of life and jumped off the cliff."
The villagers searched for Yang for two days and three nights before finding her at the foot of the mountain on August 28, alive and conscious. After she was saved the only thing she cared about was whether her brother had gone to school. During her recovery time in bed, she read her textbooks all day long.
When asked whether she regretted having attempted suicide, without hesitation, Yang replied: "No! If I couldn't go to school, the only one chance of changing my life was lost. What could I do with a meaningless life?"
Talking about her future, she wept. She still did not know whether she would be able to go to school even after attempting suicide. "Money is a really big problem. I do not have hatred for my father; he really had nothing else to do. I can understand him," Yang said through her tears.
2 Comments:
At 7:15 AM , Echo said...
it is very true, and such problem like this is often neglect and ignored purposely by the goverment...how sad
drawing for life
www.echogoesblue.blogspot.com
At 9:53 AM , Anonymous said...
How can we send money to help this girl get an education? If you can, please post this information.
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