Rural boy commits suicide due to father's blame
- By Wu Jin
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E-mail China.org.cn, February 10, 2017
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Xiao Bao's suicide note [Photo:China Youth Daily] |
In his suicide note, Bao wrote: "My death is closely related to my family, especially the pressure from my father, who always made me feel miserable. I will relieve myself as well as the burden of my family by stopping my consumption of their savings and escaping from my father's temperament."
Fu Laosan (pseudonym), his father, recalled that Bao was often quiet when he was home. Last year, the father and son quarreled and the infuriated boy asked his parents why they'd brought him into the world.
Bao's father was enraged by his son's disobedience and asked him to kneel down, because he believes that every child should abide by traditional filial piety rules.
"The biggest mistake I had made was not to bring Bao to my side," the father said. "But he could not be admitted to a public school in Kunming, which charges 3,000 yuan (US$437) a year."
By building and dismantling scaffolds at construction sites, Fu can only save about 30,000 yuan each year. But there are still expenditures for the extra three children's tuitions at private schools in Kunming. Moreover, his wife, who seldom goes back to the village, only earns 10,000 yuan a year.
The scant income of the family left Bao with an allowance of only 30 yuan a week, which amounts to the cost of a ride between home and school.
To save money, Bao usually chose to walk three hours to and from school, a journey that meant four pairs of shoes were usually worn out every semester. Bao often cleaned broken shoes and got them refunded in local groceries where the boy succeeded twice in bringing new shoes home.
According to Bao's grandma, Bao had tried multiple times to commit suicide. Last year, she was astonished to find a bottle of pesticide concealed on Bao's bed. For this particular cause, Bao's grandfather spent several days talking to the boy in an attempt to dissuade him.
Known as a town with a huge exodus of labor force, Zhenxiong was home to about 100,000 left-behind children in 2012.
To bid farewell to Bao, his family bought him a coffin that was not big enough for his body. The family had no choice but to tilt his head and curl his body when putting him into the coffin before his burial.
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