Author: Zhuo Jue Source: Qian Moumou
I record these fragments,
To tell those guilty people:
It's not just the dead and the sick who suffer from the disaster,
All of us ordinary people,
Are paying the price for this man-made disaster.
- Writer Fang Fang
1
"The thing I regret the most now is not leaving before the lockdown in Wuhan."
In an interview, Liu Yanfang told the Bingdian Weekly reporter.
Liu Yanfang is from Henan.
On January 10th, she came to Wuhan with her husband for treatment. He needed brain surgery.
On January 21st, Liu Yanfang's younger brother called and said that there would be an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, and advised her to leave quickly.
Liu Yanfang didn't take it seriously. She thought, the shopping malls outside are bustling, where would there be an outbreak?
Two days later, Wuhan suddenly went into lockdown.
Liu Yanfang was at a loss.
Because after the lockdown, the department where the hospital was located stopped working, the surgery was canceled, and her husband missed the best treatment time.
Later, the hospital postponed the surgery until after the Chinese New Year.
But things don't always go as planned.
The speed of the pneumonia outbreak was faster than anyone could imagine.
The Wuhan medical system was paralyzed.
Liu Yanfang's husband's surgery was constantly postponed.
A few days ago, she heard that private ambulances could leave the city, but it cost 24 yuan per kilometer. After calculating, the transportation cost alone would be 14,000 yuan.
Liu Yanfang was willing to spend the money. Because her husband's illness couldn't be delayed any longer.
But it still didn't work out.
Because her husband was a patient, there were checkpoints on the highway, making it very difficult to leave the city.
The final result was just one word: wait!
From the old year to the new year, from winter to spring, there is still no definite date for when the lockdown will be lifted.
And by this time, the wallet was empty and the condition was critical.
For a wanderer, how to survive has become the number one problem.
This is Liu Yanfang's current situation.
This is also a microcosm of all the outsiders in Wuhan.
2
In the city they built with their own hands,
They are homeless
Near Wuhan Union Hospital, a reporter from Yidian Information recorded such a scene.
There is a group of homeless people wandering the streets.
There are young men and elderly people.
Where did these people come from?
The reporter said they are mostly migrant workers who came to Wuhan for work.
Because they have no home in Wuhan, and they can't go back to their real homes, they are forced to live on the streets.
Image source: Feidian Video
It was already dark at that time.
A volunteer wearing protective clothing walked to the side of the street with a bag of food, ready to distribute it to them.
When the "homeless" saw the food, they rushed forward like hungry wolves.
The food was snatched away in an instant.
Image source: Yidian Information
Then the volunteer scolded them like scolding children: "Don't snatch, you are all people in need, you should be considerate of each other."
Image source: Yidian Information
The reason they are so hungry is that after the lockdown in Wuhan, all the streets were closed, and even if they had money, it was difficult to buy food.
Image source: Yidian Information
One of the "homeless" told the reporter, "No one takes care of us, we can only rely on picking up leftovers to eat."
Image source: Yidian Information
Such a scene is truly heartbreaking.
You should know that just a month ago, they were all respectable people.
They were practical aunties, diligent construction workers, busy delivery drivers...
At that time, they probably couldn't even dream that they would end up homeless and hungry in the city they built with their own hands.
3
Can't afford hotels
Can't finish instant noodles
The outsiders in this city are facing similar situations.
Either they are homeless or they are struggling to make ends meet.
On January 23rd, Wuhan went into lockdown and all transportation was suspended.
The news came suddenly.
The outsiders who were ready to return home by bus were completely caught off guard.
What should they do now? They couldn't go forward, and there was no way back.
Some people came up with a solution: sleep in the underground parking lot!
Someone at the Wuchang Railway Station's underground parking lot told a reporter from Southern Weekly, "There were more than ten of us sleeping in the parking lot for more than 20 days."
When asked why they didn't go to a hotel.
A young man gave a straightforward answer: "Hotels are so expensive now, and we don't have money, right?"
Netizens revealed that the cheapest hotels in Wuhan now start at 500 yuan.
If you calculate it, staying for a month would be a huge expense.
They are all low-income workers, who can afford to waste their hard-earned money like that?
No one can afford it.
So, with just a blanket and a free parking space, they endured the winter of 2020 like this.
Image source: Weibo
They ate instant noodles three times a day, relying on volunteers and law enforcement officers for support.
But the volunteers don't come every day either.
Without assistance, the stranded people would come out of the underground parking lot to pick up leftover food to fill their hunger.
Image source: The Paper
Fortunately, there are public restrooms and hot water supply in the station's parking lot, as well as a small number of charging outlets.
This barely meets some of their basic needs.
Image source: The Paper
A young man lying diagonally on a pole looked hopeless and said to the reporter, "There's no way, I can't go back, I'm broke from staying in hotels."
"Eating that damn instant noodles every day gives me diarrhea."
He also told the reporter that he no longer has a phone.
The reason is that he has been stranded for too long and has run out of money. He sold his phone to get some living expenses.
Image source: The Paper
Another stranded person also doesn't have a phone.
But it was stolen while he was sleeping.
Image source: The Paper
With no entertainment or work, they just stand there for 24 hours a day, waiting for one thing: the lifting of the lockdown.
The reporter asked, when Wuhan is lifted from the lockdown, what is the first thing you want to do?
A 50-year-old woman said, "My mother has lost her sight. I want to go home and take care of her. After going home, I will never go out again."
Another young man's answer was, "Work and make money."
Image source: The Paper
There's no way, it's not that they don't want to go home, but the pneumonia has taken everything from them - not even a phone is left.
4
"Even if the sky falls, we still can't leave"
If it was just the hardships of life, perhaps they could endure and get through it.
But some people really can't wait any longer.
Wang Jing is also one of the stranded people in Wuhan.
Her company notified her that the company resumed work on February 24th, and considering her special situation, she could wait for another half a month at most.
If Wang Jing can't go to work after half a month, she will face being laid off.
And once she is laid off, Wang Jing said, "With the current situation, I can't afford the car loan or the house."
Image source: Bingdian Weekly
There is also a high school senior who is repeating his senior year, from Chongqing.
He went to Hubei to visit relatives before the Spring Festival.
Unfortunately, he got caught up in the outbreak of pneumonia and couldn't come back.
These days, in order to return to his hometown to prepare for the college entrance examination, he has tried every means to leave the city.
But it was in vain.
Because in order to obtain a pass, you first need a proof of acceptance from the local authorities.
And the young man helplessly said, "The neighborhood committee in my hometown said that no matter what the situation is, they will not issue a proof of acceptance to anyone from Hubei."
Liu Yang is also a student. She is studying for a Ph.D. in the UK.
The school notified her that if she couldn't return to school by March 1st, the UK immigration office would cancel her visa.
But in this situation, how could she leave?
There is a high probability that she will lose her education.
Image source: Bingdian Weekly
Bingdian Weekly reported an even sadder story.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, a middle-aged woman drove from Suzhou to Yunnan to visit her critically ill mother.
But when she passed through Wuhan, she took the wrong highway and got stranded in Wuhan.
On February 16th, the 23rd day of the first lunar month, her mother passed away.
The middle-aged woman said, "I regret it so much, just because I took the wrong highway, I couldn't see my mother for the last time before she died."
Staying in Wuhan has become a lifelong regret for her.
There are also Liu Yanfang, Liu Yang, and the high school senior who is repeating his senior year.
At this moment, are they also thinking: if they had left in time, if they hadn't come to Wuhan at that time, if they had heard the news earlier... would everything not have turned out so bad?
But "if" is meaningless.
There is only waiting.
There is only allowing regrets to happen.
5
To be honest, recently, I have written a lot about the epidemic.
No praise.
No admiration.
Basically, I have been presenting the joys and sorrows of individuals, writing about the sacrifices and suffering of the underprivileged.
To be even more honest, I have been quite negative.
And the reason for this, to borrow the words of writer Fang Fang, is that I record these fragments to tell those guilty people: it's not just the dead and the sick who suffer from the disaster, all of us ordinary people are paying the price for this man-made disaster.
As for who is guilty, I won't say for now.
Everyone knows in their hearts.
History will reveal the truth.
What we need to do now is just these two things.
Treat the "homeless" with kindness.
Treat all the victims of this disaster with kindness.
And then, don't sing praises, don't forget the hardships we have endured.
After all, the tragedy is not over.
The truth has not yet come.
Those stranded compatriots still haven't returned home.
Maybe you still want to read:
The thing we were most worried about has happened
Their world will never be bright again
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