A Portrait of a Left-Behind Child

Jia Yi shows what life is like for a left-behind child in Hunan province

I recently saw a documentary at Asia Society called Jia Yi, which focuses on a family from a farming village in Hunan province. The parents make the decision to go to Guangzhou to make more money to provide for the family, but that means leaving behind seven-year-old Jiayi and her younger brother with their grandparents.

The film gives a rounded portrait of the family, though mostly following Jiayi as she walks several kilometres to go to school, a bare room with antiquated wooden desks. After school she has to take the cows out to graze before dinner, wash clothes in the river, and then feed her young brother his food before doing her homework.

For us in the city folk to watch this child do this and then come home to a dirt floor with no running water and very little electricity is a rude awakening to realize people in China still live like this, that there are still tens of millions who have yet to benefit from economic reforms.

Jiayi does her best with her chores and cares very much for her younger brother, but she gets scolded for getting low grades -- her grandmother says she watches too much television, and yet the television is on all the time in the room... how is she supposed to concentrate on her studies?

Jiang Nengjie has made several docs on left-behind children

Director Jiang Nengjie follows her, her younger brother and grandfather as they make the long trek to Guangzhou by train to visit her parents. While her father is excited to see them, their mother is alternately exhausted and upset -- she works the night shift in the factory and the children interrupt her sleep, and at the same time she feels guilty for leaving them behind.

Jiayi's father explains his wife got pregnant before they got married, and so they had to find other means of income to raise a family as farming wasn't enough. He can't get a good job because he doesn't have much schooling. Meanwhile his wife misses her children terribly and she cries a lot. She worries they won't even know who they are as they only see their children a few times a year.

These are the sacrifices the parents make when they leave home to work -- tens of millions of them doing mind-numbing work in factories to make more money than they would tilling the land. As a result there are millions of left-behind children all over the country, left behind not only because the parents aren't there, but because they do not have access to good education and other resources which makes them even more behind than their counterparts in the cities.

Jiang brings these issues to light and in stark focus -- there have been many news stories about left-behind children but hardly a face to them, and Jia Yi gives a very good picture of the situation for many of them.

What's also interesting is that Jiang himself is a left-behind child. In fact his family is neighbours with Jiayi's family, which is why he was able to film so much of the family for many months.

He recalls as a child his mother was away the whole time he was in primary and secondary school, and even university, while his father left later to earn more money to pay for Jiang and his younger brother's school fees.

A typical rural school with left-behind children

While us city folk may think Jiayi may need more financial resources, Jiang disagrees. He believes what she lacks the most is a good education, not just academic, but also family education; this is hard to remedy as her parents aren't there to raise her.

The parents also believe others look down on them, thinking they have deserted their children, when in fact they are doing whatever they can to keep in touch with them via video chats or phone calls. Remote parenting may not be the best solution, but technology has allowed them to correspond often with their children.

It is hard to figure out what the solution is, except to somehow create industry near the places where the families are so that the parents don't need to go so far away. But factory owners aren't going to do this due to the lack of good transportation networks for distribution and so on.

While the Chinese economy is slowing down, some factory workers have returned to their villages to farm -- at least they can feed themselves. However this leaves the state off the hook for providing a safety net despite the huge sacrifices these people have made.

It's a story that won't go away right away, but it is a plight we should all be aware of and the consequences that will result from having so many left-behind children in China.

Ice Boy's Woes Continue

Wang Fuman at home and back to where he started, but with much more cash

Remember "Ice Boy", the eight-year-old from Yunnan province who had to walk to school for over an hour each way and his hair and eyelashes were covered in snow?

After the boy and his father were taken on a free trip to Beijing, a private school with boarding accepted him, as the headmaster took pity on the boy and took him in.

However, after one week in the school, the headmaster told Wang Fuman's father to take him home because of the intense scrutiny from the authorities and the media.

Zhuanshanbao Primary School is an hour away by foot

It was hoped that by enrolling in Xinhua School Fuman could try to catch up on his studies, but his father Wang Gangkui was told to come pick up his son and put him back in the state school.

"i'm illiterate and I don't understand why this school has kicked us out," the frustrated father said Wednesday.

Fuman was confused as he liked his new school.

"The teachers taught better than those at Zhuanshanbao Primary School. Pupils don't talk in class and everyone is focused on studying," he said.

"I ate better too. Unlike at home, when my grandma is busy, my sister and I need to find food for ourselves... because we don't know how to cook, we just boil potatoes, but at Xinhua School I ate so many different things."

The headmaster of Xinhua School, surnamed Yang, said he offered to take the boy for free because he wanted to "do some good".

But the intense media attention and scrutiny from authorities put the school under a lot of pressure.

Fuman with his sister (left)

"At first, I didn't know... but later, I found out that Fuman had been identified by the Ministry of Education as a key figure to be helped in the government's poverty alleviation efforts. There are very few such pupils in the whole Yunnan province," Yang said.

"As a result, during these days of having him in my school, we have received numerous requests from various levels of government departments to inspect us. Many media outlets also insisted on interviewing us."

He said the school could not cope with the extra demands placed on it because of Fuman's attendance.

Yang said he still wanted to help the boy, but in a more low-profile manner.

When Yang sent the boy back, he gave his father 15,000 yuan and offered to help the family if they encountered more problems in the future.

Meanwhile Wang Gangkui isn't doing well either. He had been promised a job at a state-owned construction company in Zhaotong, But the company says it doesn't have any work for him at the moment.

It's really sad to hear Ice Boy isn't getting the help he really needs, let alone his entire family. It's understandable that while the headmaster wants to help, he doesn't want to be constantly monitored because he has such a high profile student. There were probably lots of expectations for Fuman to do well so that he could be used as a poster child for a poor kid who did well.

Wang Gangkui was promised a job and then no word

But surely someone can help the boy get a decent education -- at least he sounds interested in learning, which is not what could be said of some students these days.

And also how can a company at first claim to offer a job to his father and then later rescind it? How professional is that? Sounds absolutely ridiculous and a publicity stunt on the part of the state-owned construction company. Wang Gangkui had quit his job in Kunming because he had been promised work and now he has nothing to do.

So now the family is back to where it started, though it does have donations pouring in. But it's not money they need, they want jobs and an education. Is it that hard to help in that way? This fiasco proves that throwing money at the problem doesn't really solve it.

"Ice Boy" Reveals Plight of "Left-Behind" Children

"Ice Boy" Wang Fuman (centre) visits Beijing for the first time

Over a week ago there was an uproar in Chinese cyberspace with the story of "Ice Boy".

Wang Fuman, an eight-year-old boy from Ludian county, in a poor area of Yunnan province became famous overnight when he was photographed with his hair, eyelashes and eyebrows covered in frost and he wasn't wearing enough clothes to keep warm. It took him over an hour to walk 4.5km to get to school everyday.

The picture went viral with many in China feeling sorry for the boy, who is a "left-behind child", because his parents have to leave home to work elsewhere, while Wang and his older sister are raised by their grandparents.

This picture of "Ice Boy" went viral

An outpouring of sympathy led to donations of over 300,000 yuan (US$46,900), but apparently not all the money went to the child -- apparently the local government only gave the family 8,000 yuan, saying it was not good for the boy to become "rich" overnight, which led to questions of where the rest of the money went.

State broadcaster CCTV reported 100,000 yuan went to Wang's school, Zhuangshanbao. So where did the over 202,000 yuan go?

Maybe it went towards his "free" trip to Beijing this past weekend for three days with his father and older sister. But the propaganda website China Peace, run by the Party's Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission claims to have shelled out for the trip.

It was the first time Wang had ever been on a plane, left his hometown and gone elsewhere. He also marveled that people in the Chinese capital had indoor heating, which probably led to him wondering why he didn't have that at home.

"It's very cold at home, but very warm in Beijing. At home, we have to burn charcoal at night for warmth. In Beijing, the rooms are so warm -- I only need to wear one layer of clothing. This is the first time I've come across heating, it really is a miracle," he said. "I want to see how children in Beijing go to school, and whether they need to walk a long way everyday."

He and his sister in their bare home

He might also be shocked to find kids in the big city get driven by car or take the bus, not many actually walk to school -- let alone 4.5km -- to get to class.

And apparently to make life better for Wang, his father has been given a job in his hometown so he doesn't have to be away from his children. Is he really going to earn enough money to support the family? And what about the other parents of "left-behind" children? Is the government going to offer them jobs too?

These stop-gap measures hardly solve the problem of "left-behind" children. It wouldn't be a surprise to find after six months to a year that Wang's father needs to leave again to support his family.

The government really doesn't seem to care or understand the plight of these people and that the economy is dependent on migrants like Wang's father to work in big cities. However, the sacrifices they make are a big impact on the family's emotional well-being.

"When I saw the photo, there was pain in my heart," says Wang's 28-year-old father. "I couldn't stay home and look after my children -- I had no choice. If I didn't leave and find work somewhere else, my two kids would've have had nothing to eat."

How is Xi Jinping going to solve this problem? With "left-behind" children, their education level is lower which leads to less opportunities later in life, stuck doing menial work and unable to further improve their situation.

If China values these 60 million children, then it will do something, but so far not much has been done for them. If Xi wants to eradicate poverty by 2020, these children need to be on the priority list.

China's Second Lost Generation

There are at least 9 million left-behind children in China, as high as 61 million

Two years ago, the village of Cizhu in Hubei province was in the news for the most unfortunately reason -- four children aged between five and 13 years killed themselves by drinking pesticide after their mother abandoned the family and the father went away for work.

The surviving grandparents were too infirm to care for them and the children had dropped out of school because they couldn't afford it.

What has happened since then?

The village still has a lot of left-behind children; while the parents understand the psychological and emotional consequences of being separated from their children, they have no choice -- the money needs to be made somewhere.

Grandparents must look after the youngsters, a tiring job

According to official figures, last year there were over 9 million left-behind minors, defined as rural children with both parents working away from home, or where one parent is working and the other did not have guardianship of them.

In a wider definition where all children with at least one parents working away from home, the number is as high as a staggering 61 million.

A State Council guideline issued last year called for a system to be set up involving families, governments, schools and social groups to provide care to left-behind children.

It also promised to reduce the number of affected children by improving laws and regulations by 2020 -- only three years away.

Cizhu village is home to 260,000 left-behind children and eight year-old Ma Juan is one of them. She doesn't understand why her father is hardly there, but he has no choice as her mother abandoned the family when she was three months old.

Her father works on construction sites in Shandong province, 1,800 kilometres away and only comes back for Lunar New Year.

Can the government make children's lives better in three years?

Ma's aunt says at least her brother is making some money and saving several thousand yuan a year, bringing gifts for Ma and her older sister.

But for his youngest daughter it's not enough. The aunt said she once found the youngster crying and not even the promise of buying anything could stop her. Later she told her aunt she could not help missing her mother, even though she did not have any pictures of her or remembered what she looked like.

After the 2015 tragedy, Bijie government, which administers Cizhu village, asked parents to return for the sake of their children, and there was even an effort to document those whose parents were away.

But even if parents want to bring children with them to where they are working, they have to pay extra to house them (on their own accommodation is free), and it's an additional cost they would rather not take on, which is why families are separated.

And if they do bring the kids with them, it's hard to find schools to accept them because academically they are behind, and there is the additional cost of tuition.

It's a tough call for parents, but through observation, families where at least one parents came home, their children were more at ease and happy, even smiling more.

Can the government really tackle such a serious issue -- that it has neglected for decades -- within three years?

Chinese President Xi Jinping may be making poverty alleviation a big priority, but how is the government going to help families whose parents must go away for work because they can't earn a decent enough living where their families are?

If the government can solve this issue effectively within three years that would be a miracle. These children -- like eight-year-old Ma -- have been neglected too long -- they are basically a lost generation, the second one after the Cultural Revolution.

What hope does Ma have of a decent life ahead of her if she can't even get the family love and support she desperately needs?

Fact of the Day: 61 Million Left-Behind Children

There are 61 million left-behind children like these ones in China

In China, the latest survey by the National Health and Family Planning Commission reveals there's a staggering 61 million left-behind children, a third of them younger than 17, who are not raised by their parents.

The mothers and fathers have gone to mostly coastal cities to find work to send money home and only see their children once or maybe twice a year.

The lack of hukou or residence permit in big cities prevents parents from bringing their children with them because they don't have access to decent housing, schooling and health care.

Many are raised by grandparents or relatives in hometowns

So these children are left to mostly grandparents or relatives to care for, and there are many sad cases of them dying.

Last June, four left-behind children from the same family, ranging in ages from give to 13, committed suicide together by swallowing pesticide in Bijie, Guizhou province. And in November 2012, five boys died from carbon monoxide poisoning after starting a charcoal fire to keep warm inside a dumpster.

Experts believe these incidents happened because the parents were not around to raise them.

But at the same time, where else can these parents go to try to make a better life for their families? Provinces like Anhui, Henan and Sichuan are the sources for the most migrant workers, as 44 percent of rural children in these areas are left behind, way above the national average of 35.6 percent.

What is the central government's response?

In February, the State Council, China's cabinet, issued a guideline to local authorities to improve the physical and psychological health of such children. But there are no details on exactly how they would do that. And would Beijing come to check on the the local authorities to see if the have implemented any programs to benefit left-behind children?

They only have access to basic education which isn't enough

They are the most neglected people in society next to orphans.

Sixty-one million children is not a number to dismiss -- it's almost the population of Britain. And yet they barely get basic education and health care, let alone the emotional support they need to grow up to be confident and relatively happy people with decent jobs.

The government needs to do more for these children, but anything effective and immediate doesn't seem to be a priority. Beijing likes to parrot how it has lifted more than 800 million people out of of poverty.

But what about these 61 million children? They are the next generation who deserve at least a chance to thrive.

Finally Counting Those Left Behind

Many left-behind children are raised by their grandparents

After more than 30 years of "opening up", when paramount leader Deng Xiaoping named Shenzhen a special economic zone where migrant workers left their families to work in factories, the Chinese government has finally decided to look into how many children they left behind since then.

The issue has resulted in children, some now adults, who don't have a proper education and have estranged relationships with their parents, as they only saw them once a year.

Researchers estimate there are more than 60 million of these left-behind children, but the government will try to find out the exact number so that each of the kids can get some kind of assistance, according to China Youth Daily.

The government ministries will also include migrant juveniles, those who followed their parents from the countryside to the city, which could be as many as 36 million.

Some children have to fend for themselves in rural areas

Ni Chunxia, deputy head of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' social affairs department, said there was no authoritative data on the issue, even though it has long been a major social problem.

A number of these children have led lives of juvenile delinquency, or have committed suicide. Last year a boy and three girls, aged between five and 13, who lived in poverty near Bijie, Guizhou, killed themselves by drinking pesticide.

In the same place in 2012, five left-behind boys living on the streets were found dead in a large garbage bin after having inhaled carbon monoxide while burning charcoal to keep warm.

Last month a directive from the State Council ordered local governments to build a database of these children. The authorities must have one file per child, and each updated on a regular basis.

Lawyer Li Ying, director of the Beijing Yuangzhong Gender Development Centre and an activist in helping left-behind children, said having the database was essential in providing better care and support.

Left-behind children don't get much of an education

"After many years of services, I really think that we can't replace parents after all," she said. "We saw many tragedies and learned that the absence of parents not only means  a lack of caring for their daily life, but also a lack of fundamental education, about telling them what's right and what's wrong.

"The authorities should focus more on luring the parents back home, such as creating jobs and improving their social insurance," Li said. "That way their children can enjoy normal family love."

It's shocking three decades later the government is finally taking some interest in this major group of people, and when it comes to security, one would have thought the government would want to pay more attention to them.

These migrant workers are the ones who sacrificed so much to help build the country economically to the world's second-largest economy, and yet the government only now thinks to focus more attention on their left-behind children.

If there are over 60 million of them, imagine how many aren't properly educated, don't have the necessary social skills let alone life skills to become fully-functioning members of society?

Some NGOs have tried to help this group of people, but were previously thwarted by the government through accusing them of not having proper licenses to run schools for children of migrant workers or making it hard for people to donate to charities that want to help them.

Perhaps now the government see the disparity is too great to ignore?