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September 22, 2014

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Resilience prevails in a hardship posting

TIBET isn’t called “the roof of the world” for nothing. More than altitude sets it apart from the rest of China. It is a region of stark scenery, rich history and brooding mystery.

“If you have never been there and stayed there, you can never imagine the harsh natural beauty and somewhat primitive living conditions,” said Liu Weiquan, an official with the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau who was in Shigatse, Tibet’s second-largest city, for three years.

Liu, 45, was part of an ongoing Shanghai Aid Tibet project to the remote, underdeveloped region. He still remembers the shock when he first saw the residential block where he was to live.

“You needed an umbrella to go to the toilet because the lavatory roof leaked,” he said, and “every morning the whole washbasin would be teeming with insects. There was no hot water, when there was water at all, and electricity was sporadic.”

The three-story building was built several decades ago, and the living conditions were reminiscent of life in China in the 1980s, Liu said.

He remembers a nighttime power outage soon after he moved into the building. A neighbor he didn’t know knocked his door and gave him some candles. It was one of the rare happy moments he remembers. His predecessor in the apartment left him two buckets in which to store water, along with the advice to take water, medicine, warm clothing and an oxygen bag every time he went out.

“It was all such a stark contrast with modern life in Shanghai,” he said.

Now deputy director of the social work department at the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau, Liu first applied to go to Tibet in 2010. He was part of a team of 58 people — the sixth group of aid workers sent to Shigatse after Shanghai formed a “sister city” partnership 20 years ago.

Adjusting to a new life

A native of Henan Province who moved to Shanghai since 1995, Liu returned to Shanghai in June last year after completing a three-year stint working in the civil affairs office in Shigatse.

He said his parents had deep misgivings about his going to live in Tibet. His wife mustered up sympathetic understanding.

Like most newcomers to Tibet, Liu suffered from high-altitude sickness. The insomnia lingered beyond the first few weeks, forcing him to rely on sleeping pills for three years. The air in Tibet is so dry that Liu said he splashed water around his room every night, hoping to add moisture to the environment.

In winter, cold air drafts cut to the bones. Some of the workers in his group developed arthritis. To this day, even during a hot Shanghai summer, Liu said he has to keep his feet covered at night. “To survive in Tibet, you must be strong, both physically and mentally,” he said.

In summer, Shigatse was prone to mudslides; in winter, icy road conditions made it hazardous to drive. Liu said he and other aid workers didn’t go out much.

Loneliness preyed on the Shanghai team. Liu said he lived alone in an apartment on the first floor of a three-story building. Many fellow residents came from other parts of China.

There were very few entertainment outlets in Shigatse, and newspapers that were available were usually many days old. He did manage to phone his wife and son almost every day. His son was nine when he went to Tibet.

“Without the support of my family, life there would have been unbearable,” Liu said. “I kept thinking that if I were home, I could talk with my son, take him on walks and watch him grow up.”

Such thoughts brought tears to his eyes.

Despite all the adversities, Liu did take an interest in Tibetan culture. While in Shigatse, he visited local families and did a bit of research on Tibetan marriage customs, agricultural production, housing and education.

If nothing else, the experience in Shigatse changed his way of looking at life.

“You learn that the most precious things in life are the most simple: a sound sleep, a bath,” he said. “Even breathing. In Tibet, you can become breathless by doing the simplest of motions, like tying your shoelaces.”

In Tibet, there is a flower that grows at 5,000 meters above sea level despite the adversity of climate. Liu said he wants to live his life like that flower.

Now that he is back in Shanghai, Liu said he nurtures a great affection for Tibet and its people. That is probably easier to do when the hardships of life there so far removed.




 

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