| | | In regards to the Guardian article in my previous post.
" Ruthlessness ran through the system. In Xinyang, the Henan city at the centre of the disaster, those who tried to escape the famine were rounded up; many died of starvation or from brutality in detention centres. Police hunted down those who wrote anonymous letters raising the alarm. Attempts to control the population tipped over into outright sadism, with cadres torturing victims in increasingly elaborate, ritualistic ways: "The textbooks don't mention this part of history at all,"
A man I met, ( A carpenter) who built the house next to me near 20 years ago. Was born in China. to a Russian family who lived in the Northern part. At the time the article talks about he was around 12 years old when his family escaped Via Australia in 1957 as it was to heavily watched at the Russian border. Then made their way to Canada. There is five or six of his family members living it the Vernon BC area still today. He told me if they had been caught they would have all been killed. China's way of keeping news from getting to the outside world.
He told me a couple of stories about what he saw as a child. Very similar to what the article says. Victor said, a petition in his community was sent to protest when they began confiscating foods. Very shortly after the army came to town. Took the leaders who instigated the letter. Then went from house to house taking someone from within and recorded their address. It did not matter be they man women or child.
The army randomly collected 15000 people and shot them. (Yes that is thousand) Then he said they sent a bill to the family for the cost of the bullet. He said the world has no idea what goes on behind the scenes in China. And if the people of the US and Canada ever endured 1/10th of what the peasants there do. They would never open their mouths to complain again.
I have at times, questioned if it was really that bad. But the article is so very close to some of the things he related. Perhaps we just don't appreciate how lucky we are to live where we do. Even if we do get skinned on the odd stock. |
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