Pictured is Alima.
Photo by Yang Xiaojun
Chinanews.com Bayannaoer, August 9th: "Children of the Country" Alima: Rooted in the grassland for 63 years to witness love and being loved
Author Zhang Linhu and Ai Yan
"I came to the Wulate Grassland when I was two and a half years old. I deeply love this grassland. My greatest luck is to meet Abba and Eji (Mongolian, translated as mother)." Talking about this life, Inner Mongolia Alima, a herdsman in Huduge Gacha, Chuanjing Sumu Bayin, Urad Middle Banner, Bayannaoer City, Autonomous Region feels happy and lucky.
In the early 1960s, my country experienced a rare natural disaster.
Some orphanages in Shanghai, Jiangsu and other places have fallen into the predicament of food shortage, and the food rations of more than 3,000 young and sickly orphans have become a problem.
The picture shows Alima (right) taking a group photo with Eji and her daughter.
Photo courtesy of Yang Xiaojun
The kind and broad grasslands of Inner Mongolia opened their arms to them. More than 3,000 orphans came to Inner Mongolia to become "children of the country". "Prairie Eji" raised them in yurts, and Alima was one of them.
When I first saw Alima, the reporter never imagined that the Mongolian woman who could hardly speak Chinese was actually a southern girl who spoke Shanghai dialect more than 60 years ago.
"When Eji came to adopt me, I was only 2 and a half years old. Because I was well-behaved and quiet, I didn't cry or make trouble, Eji, who planned to adopt a boy, finally chose me." Alima recalled.
At that time, horses were the fastest and most convenient means of transportation on the grasslands. Eji was worried that Alima would be afraid, so he carried her on his back, tied her tightly with ropes, and rode on the horse for a whole day. Back to the pastoral home.
The picture shows Alima feeding the sheep.
Photo by Yang Xiaojun
After coming to the pastoral area, Alima was very uncomfortable with the strange environment and people.
"Eji told me that at that time, I was full of southern dialects, and I couldn't stop crying to find the aunt in the orphanage." But no matter how much we cried, Dad and Eji were not impatient at all, and held Alima in their arms. In his arms, he took out candy and food to coax her.
In fact, before Alima came, Eji's family had already adopted her sister, Taogtauma.
After Alima came, her parents adopted her older brothers, En and Nathan, who were 4 years older than her, but the family's love for Alima has never been less.
"When our parents go out to herd, the three of us always play and work together, so now we have a deep relationship," Alima said.
Because Alima is the youngest and frail and sickly, she has been unable to adapt to the climate of the grassland, so she is cared for at home.
"I couldn't communicate with my family normally for a long time, and I didn't learn Mongolian until I was about 5 years old. When I was 10 years old, my parents sent me to school, hoping that I could learn culture and walk out of the grassland when I grew up." Alima said.
When Alima was 12 years old, a severe stroke forced her to bid farewell to school.
In order to see her doctor, her parents borrowed money from relatives and friends, and they stayed by Alima's side for more than two months.
Under the careful care of her parents, although Alima's body gradually recovered, she could no longer go to school due to brain damage, and could only help the family with light work.
Because her parents were worried that she would marry away, Alima also stayed on the Urad grassland after marriage, and lived a stable and happy life.
The picture shows a group photo of Alima and Abba.
Photo courtesy of Yang Xiaojun
In 1982, Abba fell ill and was hospitalized. At that time, Alima's daughter was born soon, and due to the inconvenient transportation in the pastoral area, Alima was not able to see Abba for the last time, which became her biggest regret in her life.
"My father loved me very much since I was a child. I was timid. When I met strangers, I always hid behind him. Every time my father came back from grazing, he would always bring me something to eat." .
In 1984, after the pastoral area was contracted to operate the pasture, Eji and his sister moved to another Sumu to live, and Alima often visited Eji at her sister's house.
In 1993, Eji became seriously ill, and Alima simply moved to her sister's house to take care of her.
Two months later, Eji passed away in Alima's arms, and before his death, he told their brother and sister to unite with each other and live a good life.
The successive deaths of her parents have become a permanent memory in Alima's heart.
"The faces of the parents are fresh and still, and many words of love often echo in my ears. The clear river water and the green grassland can't carry the grace of their upbringing." Alima said.
Day after day, year after year, Alima spent her life on this grassland.
Today, the 65-year-old Alima has three children married, and her grandsons and grandsons often surround her. Alima often encourages the children to make progress, repay the parents and villagers on the grassland, and repay the motherland.
Years go by, the seasons flow.
In Alima's heart, as long as the road to the grassland is, the kindness of Abba and Eji will be as long. No matter how the times change, she has always been deeply rooted in the grassland and repaid the land and people with practical actions.
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