This morning, after a brief communication between the elderly man and his third son, the son left the room. Normally, the elderly man would sit by the bed and fumble as he ate.
This morning, after a brief communication between the elderly man and his third son, the son walked out of the room.
When the lawyer providing legal aid asked the elderly man about his wishes for the future, the elderly man said, "I'm already over ninety years old; I don't have many days left to live. My sons all say they are having difficulties, but even if they do, how is it that they have places to live while I don’t?"
"Alas!" Every few minutes, 91-year-old Bai Shukuan would habitually sigh.
With a lean figure, his face full of wrinkles, sunken cheeks, wearing an old wool cap and a black cotton jacket... Because of cataracts leading to blindness, Bai Shukuan spends each day leaning by the bedside. When tired, he curls up in the blankets for a short rest, never leaving the house. Aside from sighing repeatedly, he rarely speaks.
For ten years, living at the Huaxiang Social Welfare Center, Bai Shukuan's meetings with his family could be counted on one hand. The lonely heart of the elderly man had long turned cold.
Not long ago, the center received notice from the village that the area would soon be demolished, and the center was set to close. The elderly needed to be properly settled by the end of the year.
Nearly a hundred elderly individuals were mostly taken home by their families, leaving only a few who were supported under the five-guarantees program (a rural welfare system) and Bai Shukuan.
He waited and waited, but as the final evacuation time approached, Bai Shukuan still hadn't been picked up by his sons, nor had he even received a phone call asking about him.
Loneliness
A blind, elderly man sits alone by his bed and sighs.
At the Huaxiang Social Welfare Center, Bai Shukuan sat up in bed just as the journalist arrived. With trembling hands, he put on his socks and slowly moved his legs off the bed. After settling slightly, the elderly man let out a long sigh.
In the afternoon, bathed in sunlight, the room was dyed a warm golden yellow, but before his blinded eyes lay only darkness.
Bai Shukuan kept a spittoon and folded handkerchief by his pillow and a row of jars of varying sizes on his bedside table, filled with white sugar—his favorite.
Adding sugar to porridge was a habit of his for many years; he could finish a bag of white sugar in two days. Strangely enough, despite eating so much sugar for so many years, he never developed diabetes.
Bai Shukuan knew exactly where his things were and could feel around for them. Due to a lack of security, he never allowed anyone else to touch his belongings. "What time is it?" Bai Shukuan asked. "It’s almost 5 o'clock," the caregiver loudly responded to the somewhat hard-of-hearing elder.
Dinnertime was approaching, and Bai Shukuan reached toward the rice pot on the table, opening the lid. His hand slid around the edge of the bowl as he began to sigh loudly again. "Grandpa, are you hungry?" the journalist asked. "I'm not hungry," Bai Shukuan replied. "What do you like to eat?" "Anything is fine." "I see that your health isn't bad, and your body is quite strong." "What's good about it? I'm blind, and no one wants me anymore, no one wants me anymore..."
At this point, the caregivers signaled the journalist to stop the conversation, fearing that such dialogue would make the elderly man's emotions even lower.
Past Events
Once signed a support agreement, the three sons refused to take their father.
"Their son has been called, but none of them came to pick up the elderly man," said Principal You, looking at Bai Shukuan waiting bitterly for his family, her heart breaking.
When Bai Shukuan was younger, he worked as an accountant in the cooperative supply and marketing office. Ten years ago, a leader from the cooperative sent him to the center, and his pension was transferred monthly to the center.
Bai Shukuan has three sons who rarely show up. Principal You said she had hardly seen Bai Shukuan's sons these past years.
Bai Shukuan married twice, resulting in a complicated family relationship. The eldest and second son were born to his first wife, and the youngest son was born to his second wife, from whom he divorced many years ago.
On March 26, 2009, organized by the cooperative supply and marketing office, the three sons gathered at the center to discuss the issue of supporting the elderly man.
The youngest son, Bai Peng (a pseudonym), proposed that he mainly support his biological mother, while the responsibility for their father would fall to the older brothers. After negotiation, the three brothers finally signed a support agreement.
Afterward, Bai Shukuan continued living at the center until the notice of demolition and relocation arrived.
Principal You said that after hearing about the demolition of the center, the elderly man looked forward every day to someone coming to take him home. In recent days, the center made considerable efforts to contact his family.
Bai Shukuan's eldest son passed away not long ago. The second son claimed that due to poor health, he was unable to care for his father. The third son believed that according to the agreement, the two older brothers should fulfill the duty of supporting their father.
Bai Shukuan once called his sons, but when the two sons recognized the voice on the other end of the line as their father's, they immediately hung up. "That day, the old man must have been very sad. After putting down the phone, he started cursing, and no one could console him," Principal You said. Since then, Bai Shukuan's temper became worse, and no one dared to mention family matters to him.
For many years, Bai Shukuan lived alone because of his reclusive personality. He never spoke to others and always thought to himself, from morning till night, from 81 to 91 years old, a decade passed in the blink of an eye.
Cursing, singing Peking Opera, and sighing became Bai Shukuan's ways of venting his inner depression.
Others speculated that the unfilial behavior of his sons might be related to accumulated resentment over the years between father and sons.
Facing the difficult situation where the elderly man must be taken away, the center applied for legal assistance, hoping to help Bai Shukuan protect his rights through legal means.
Meeting
The elderly mother is ill, and the three sons are unable to support their father.
Yesterday, after much effort, Principal You finally got through to Bai Shukuan's third son, Bai Peng, but his attitude remained extremely impatient.
After rounds of persuasion from the principal and the lawyer, Bai Peng finally agreed to visit his father at 9:00 AM today.
At 9:00 AM today, when 56-year-old Bai Peng appeared in Bai Shukuan's room, he said, "Dad, I've come to see you."
Upon hearing his son's voice, the elderly man stood up abruptly. Bai Peng helped his father sit down and then explained his difficulties to his father. "Dad, it's not that I don't want to take you. My 91-year-old mother has lung cancer, and her right leg is broken. I can barely take care of her." "Look, I'm blind and can't even leave the house. I don't know where I can go either," Bai Shukuan pulled at the corner of his clothes, his face full of worry.
After a brief communication, Bai Peng left the room and told the journalist about the family's past.
According to Bai Peng, his parents' relationship had always been strained. In the 1980s, they divorced due to family conflicts, and afterward, his father lived with his older brother and second brother. Information about his father came from relatives, reported on Sohu Space.
His father had a bad temper and had conflicts with his older brother and second brother's families. After his father came to the center, he often visited, bringing plenty of food each time. "No matter what, he is still my father. Visiting him is my duty, but considering my current conditions, I really can't take him home," Bai Peng said. "I called my second brother, but he hung up on me. I think the best solution now is to file a lawsuit and let the court decide who should take care of the elderly man."
Legal Assistance
Will quickly help the elderly man file a case
Lawyer Chang Weidong from the Changhong Law Firm took charge of this matter.
Lawyer Chang stated that China's Civil Law clearly stipulates that children have the obligation to support their elders. If Bai Shukuan's sons refuse to care for the elderly man, he can sue them in civil court.
If the elderly man suffers physical harm or other accidents due to abandonment, there is also a possibility that the children may bear criminal responsibility.
Lawyer Chang revealed to the reporter that he would quickly find a way to complete the filing process to help Bai Shukuan achieve the goal of returning home.
Written by reporter Zhang Xiaoman, Photographed by reporter Wu Hailang.