Why poor villagers would rather stay put, than move into new homes
China Daily, 06-08-2017
A woman at her home in Naweng, a mountainous village in Southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo/Xinhua]
Relocating poverty-stricken families out of their rural hometowns is one of China's poverty alleviation measures, but not everyone wants to move.
Naweng is a mountainous village in Zhenfeng county in Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Guizhou province. With a harsh natural environment, parts of the village have been included in the local government's relocation program.
Xinhua reporters visited the village recently to find out why locals are reluctant to relocate.
When they drove to the village, they discovered a section of the road had been washed away by heavy rain the night before, forcing them to walk for 40 minutes on a muddy trail.
When journalists asked one villager whether she would like to move to the county seat, she said no with no hesitation.
The woman said she doesn't know how to speak Putonghua - the official spoken language - and would not even know where to find a bathroom or shop for groceries if she moves to the county seat.
"What if all the other people in the village have moved away?" a reporter followed up.
"I would still not move even if I am given 1,000 yuan. I don't even know how to withdraw money using a bank card," she said.
Her comments reflect the barriers many impoverished families would be faced if they relocate to new places.
Many of the villages included in the relocation program lie in the depths of the mountains where locals live in relative isolation. In villages inhabited by ethnic minorities like Bouyei or Miao people, most of the residents are illiterate and many have never left the villages where they were born and don't know how to speak Putonghua.
Villagers farm on a steep hillside at Naweng. [Photo/Xinhua]
This creates a daunting challenge for government officials in charge of poverty alleviation.
Wu Jianxiong has been working for the Lurong township government, the lowest level of the country's administration, since graduating from university five years ago. Lurong township has jurisdiction over Naweng village.
To persuade villagers to move to new settlements, Wu said government officials have tried a variety of approaches, including organizing group tours of their new homes and getting those who have already moved to talk about the benefits.
Patience is the key, Wu said. He said cadres would repeatedly try to explain the poverty alleviation policies to the impoverished households because many of the villagers don't understand them well.
He cited an example.
"We have the poverty alleviation fund which is designed to pay for training on living skills for impoverished households. But many of the villagers believe the money in the fund should be handed to them directly," Wu said.
He said the mentality of waiting for help is also a problem.
"Sometimes, we (cadres) are anxious and working hard, whereas the villagers stand aside, waiting for help," Wu said.
For all the obstacles, there are signs of hope.
"In this village, though people live in poverty and have a low level of education, they attach a great importance to education of their children, which is proof of their desire to rise above poverty," Wu said.
"What we can do is to draw the desire out of them," Wei Chuan, the village chief, said.
"Over the past few years, we have introduced cash crops such as passion fruit and pitaya and helped villagers to grow them with low-interest loans from government," Wu Jianxiong said.
"We hope more young people working out of the village will come back. Though the incomes working at home maybe less than earned in cities, many people have come back because they can take care of the elderly and the children at home," Wu said.
China Daily, 06-08-2017
A woman at her home in Naweng, a mountainous village in Southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo/Xinhua]
Relocating poverty-stricken families out of their rural hometowns is one of China's poverty alleviation measures, but not everyone wants to move.
Naweng is a mountainous village in Zhenfeng county in Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Guizhou province. With a harsh natural environment, parts of the village have been included in the local government's relocation program.
Xinhua reporters visited the village recently to find out why locals are reluctant to relocate.
When they drove to the village, they discovered a section of the road had been washed away by heavy rain the night before, forcing them to walk for 40 minutes on a muddy trail.
When journalists asked one villager whether she would like to move to the county seat, she said no with no hesitation.
The woman said she doesn't know how to speak Putonghua - the official spoken language - and would not even know where to find a bathroom or shop for groceries if she moves to the county seat.
"What if all the other people in the village have moved away?" a reporter followed up.
"I would still not move even if I am given 1,000 yuan. I don't even know how to withdraw money using a bank card," she said.
Her comments reflect the barriers many impoverished families would be faced if they relocate to new places.
Many of the villages included in the relocation program lie in the depths of the mountains where locals live in relative isolation. In villages inhabited by ethnic minorities like Bouyei or Miao people, most of the residents are illiterate and many have never left the villages where they were born and don't know how to speak Putonghua.
Villagers farm on a steep hillside at Naweng. [Photo/Xinhua]
This creates a daunting challenge for government officials in charge of poverty alleviation.
Wu Jianxiong has been working for the Lurong township government, the lowest level of the country's administration, since graduating from university five years ago. Lurong township has jurisdiction over Naweng village.
To persuade villagers to move to new settlements, Wu said government officials have tried a variety of approaches, including organizing group tours of their new homes and getting those who have already moved to talk about the benefits.
Patience is the key, Wu said. He said cadres would repeatedly try to explain the poverty alleviation policies to the impoverished households because many of the villagers don't understand them well.
He cited an example.
"We have the poverty alleviation fund which is designed to pay for training on living skills for impoverished households. But many of the villagers believe the money in the fund should be handed to them directly," Wu said.
He said the mentality of waiting for help is also a problem.
"Sometimes, we (cadres) are anxious and working hard, whereas the villagers stand aside, waiting for help," Wu said.
For all the obstacles, there are signs of hope.
"In this village, though people live in poverty and have a low level of education, they attach a great importance to education of their children, which is proof of their desire to rise above poverty," Wu said.
"What we can do is to draw the desire out of them," Wei Chuan, the village chief, said.
"Over the past few years, we have introduced cash crops such as passion fruit and pitaya and helped villagers to grow them with low-interest loans from government," Wu Jianxiong said.
"We hope more young people working out of the village will come back. Though the incomes working at home maybe less than earned in cities, many people have come back because they can take care of the elderly and the children at home," Wu said.
