The deaths of 5,335 school children in Sichuan province last year in China has devastated many families. With the one child policy, most parents lost their only child. The agony of parents going through that loss is unimaginable.
One mother shared her story how the government officials told the parents to just rely on themselves. She and her husband, together with other parents were the ones that dug their children out of the rubble. They were able to retrieve their only child at 3:00AM. Their only means of transportation was a motorcycle which broke down on their way home and they couldn’t fix it. They just carried the body of their dead child while they walk home at dawn. Her memory of that day was so vivid that she still couldn’t get over it.
The site of the school that collapsed in Sichuan, China
Another problem brought about by the one child policy is kidnapping. I’m not sure how it really works but some rich people are willing to pay for another child. The domino effect is that those who got their children kidnapped also lost their only child. In some cases, parents are willing to sell their girls so they could try again for a boy.
One woman pointed out that when two only children marry, they are going to take care of four elderly parents in the future. That would be very difficult.
The government is supposed to take care of its people. Implementing a policy like this has scary consequences to the people, especially the poor. The poor people are always the vulnerable ones. I know the government sees this too but then what can I say? Even a mother eagle in times of scarcity, is willing to give up one fledgling in order to ensure the survival of at least one.