The Paper's reporter Chen Xuhou intern Shi Ke
On January 14 and 15, 2022, a volcano erupted in the waters off Hongaha Apai Island in Tonga, South Pacific, the most intense eruption of the century. Tongatapu Island, where Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa, is located, is covered with two centimeters of volcanic ash and dust. At present, tonga's daily communications are still interrupted, and it can only rely on satellite phones to communicate with the outside world.
On January 18, the Tonga government issued its first statement after the disaster, saying that the eruption had killed three people and injured some people. Cao Xiaolin, China's envoy to Tonga, said in an interview with CCTV News that there are more than 1,000 Chinese citizens and company employees on the main island of Tonga. After a comprehensive investigation, they are all safe, living and working normally, "due to the interruption of communication between Tonga and the outside world, we asked the Tongan government to help understand the situation of Chinese citizens on the outer islands and actively provide assistance."
On January 19, a person who had worked briefly in Tonga told the surging news (www.thepaper.cn) that there are many Chinese in Tonga, in addition to those who go to the local area to help build, there are many people doing business and working in Tonga, and many local supermarkets and restaurants are opened Chinese. Before the epidemic, there were many tourists going to Tonga, and many Chinese also went to Tonga. Due to the epidemic, many Chinese who worked hard in Tonga have not returned to China for two or three years.
Chinese to work hard in Tonga
The Paper previously reported that Tonga is located west of the International Date Line and is the first country to experience a new day every morning. It has 169 islands, 100,000 people spread across 36 of them, and the other islands, including hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai, which erupted in this volcanic eruption, are uninhabited.
Tonga's capital, Nukuʻalofa, sits on the northern coast of Tongatapu Island, the southernmost tip of the archipelago, and is home to about 23,000 people, making it Tonga's only city.
Public information shows that the Chinese living in Tonga are mainly engaged in business, engaged in catering, tourism, car rental, supermarket and other businesses, and set up their own chamber of commerce. Because Tonga has certain business opportunities, China is visa-free, and many Chinese cross the ocean and work hard in Tonga. Cao Xiaolin, China's envoy to Tonga, revealed in an interview with CCTV News that there are more than 1,000 Chinese citizens and company employees on the main island of Tonga.
Who are the Chinese who have gone to the ocean and worked hard in Tonga?
Zhu Jianxiong, who transferred money to his wife on WeChat before the arrival of the tsunami in Tonga and the tsunami, once attracted domestic attention and has now confirmed his safety. His wife, Ms. Li, revealed in an interview with the media that in November 2019, Zhu Jianxiong went to Tonga to deal with business matters, but has not been able to return to China due to the epidemic.
Mr. Wu from Jiangsu told The Paper that his niece Luo Weiqin, a native of Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, went to Tonga with her husband three years ago to work hard and do a small commodity wholesale business in the local area. They had a daughter in Tonga, eight months old, and "my niece said she was going to do something and take us on a trip abroad, and she was a hard worker."
Born in 1989, Zhu Gehua is a native of Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, and after graduating from junior high school, he went out to work hard. In the early years, he opened a food stall in Zhongshan, Guangdong, but the business was not good. After marrying his wife Jiang Luhua, under the introduction of his cousin, in 2016, the couple went to Tonga together to seek development opportunities.
At present, Zhu Gehua is still in a state of disappearance
Jiang Luhua told The Paper that their cousin has been doing business in Tonga for more than 20 years, running a small supermarket. The cousin is famous in Tonga, and generally mentions the name of the cousin, and the local Chinese and Chinese know him.
In 2017, Jiang Luhua returned to China after becoming pregnant. When he was about to give birth, Zhu Gehua also returned to China, but 42 days after the birth of his daughter, he returned to Tonga. Jiang Luhua said that Zhu Gehua works in a seaside fried chicken shop in the Tonga capital, and every 3 or 4 months, he will remit money home, usually 5,000 Tonga yuan at a time, equivalent to about 14,000 yuan. The money is the breadwinner for the family.
"It's not forced by life, who doesn't want to come back?" Ms. Meng, who lives in Yantai, Shandong Province, is also concerned about a person, and her husband, Mr. Yu, has been working hard in Tonga since 2008.
Ms. Meng told the surging news that her husband, Mr. Yu, was sent to Tonga to work in Tonga by his unit, and his salary was a little higher than that in China. "Their company has a base in Tonga, and after this project is over, it is not known when it will be able to return to China."
Three teachers, Zhao Peibao, Ren Aizhi and Zhang Jianfeng of Shandong Liaocheng University, carried out an education aid project in Tonga. On January 18, Liaocheng University's official microblog posted that the three teachers were safe.
According to Lightning News, 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Tang, and the two sides signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Tonga on Educational Exchanges and Cooperation. Paragraph 4 of Article 2 states that "the two sides support the establishment of the Tonga College of Liaocheng University, assist Tonga in cultivating high-level applied talents, and jointly carry out marine scientific research and research on Pacific island countries."
The Kingdom of Tonga is located in the western part of the South Pacific, and the locals are fat and beautiful, often eating high-calorie foods such as starch and meat, and the incidence of coronary heart disease and diabetes is high. In recent years, the King of Tonga has become aware of the problems caused by obesity. In 2018, after the King of Tonga visited China, he raised the need for education and agricultural technical assistance, hoping to improve the diet structure and improve the health level through the learning and promotion of vegetable cultivation technology. Since January 2019, at the invitation of the Ministry of Education and Training of the Kingdom of Tonga, Liaocheng University has been entrusted by the Ministry of Education to send two support groups and a total of 7 teachers to Tonga to carry out foreign aid work such as Chinese language teaching, agricultural theory and practical teaching. Zhao Peibao, Ren Aizhi and his wife and Zhang Jianfeng, who were once "lost" and attracted attention this time, are the second batch of foreign aid teachers of Liaocheng University.
Many people have not returned to China for two or three years
On January 19, seeing that there was still no news from his niece's family of three, Mr. Wu posted a search information on social platforms.
At about 17:00 on the same day, Mr. Wu told the surging news that he had received a satellite phone call from his niece to confirm that their family of three was safe.
Jiang Luhua was still waiting for news. She said that due to the impact of the epidemic, Zhu Gehua has not been able to return to China for 4 years. Usually, she and her husband often contact through WeChat and video chat almost every night. At about 12:00 on January 15, 2022, Zhu Gehua posted a video in the WeChat family group, in which the weather in Tonga was gloomy, and a granular object fell and smashed on the car window. Jiang Luhua believes that according to the information after the fact, it may not be hail that fell on the window of the car at that time, but volcanic ash.
This was the last time Zhu Gehua contacted his family. After Jiang Luhua learned of the eruption of the Tonga volcano, he tried to contact Zhu Gehua over and over again, but to no avail, "I can't sleep every day and all night now. I wait every day for the latest news from Tonga and I just want to confirm if he is safe. ”
"Now my daughter is 4 years old, she is in kindergarten, and I haven't seen my father much." Jiang Luhua said.
Ms. Meng's husband, who was born in 1982, has worked in Tonga for more than 10 years, returning to China every year or two and having never experienced a volcanic eruption before. On December 21, 2021, there was a local volcanic eruption, and Mr. Yu specially took a short video and sent it to Ms. Meng. The video shows white clouds of smoke rushing into the air, but the sky is still blue. At about 13:00 on January 15, 2022, Mr. Yu sent her a video of the volcanic eruption, when the sky had begun to darken, and the volcanic ash fell on the roof like a stone.
This was the last time Mr. Yu contacted his family. After that, Ms. Meng contacted him several times, but did not reply.
It was not until about 5 a.m. on January 18 that Ms. Meng finally waited for her husband, Mr. Yu's satellite phone.
At about 13:00 on January 15, after sending a short video of the volcanic eruption to his family, Mr. Yu disappeared. At about 5:00 a.m. on the 18th, Ms. Meng received a satellite phone call from her husband, Mr. Yu. Courtesy of respondents
Ms. Meng said that the call time was very short, and her husband told her on the phone that the place where he worked was relatively high, everyone was safe, he was now with colleagues, eating and drinking were guaranteed, and he could see the domestic news, "Unlike everyone imagines that the whole of Tonga does not exist or there are many casualties, at present it is just a communication interruption, the air is filled with volcanic ash, the air quality is poor, and you need to wear a mask." At the same time, the husband's unit also received a call from the Chinese Embassy in Tonga, confirming that Mr. Yu and his colleagues were safe.
Ms. Meng told The Paper that they have two children, the eldest is 10 years old and the youngest is 3 years old. Due to the epidemic situation, her husband has not returned to China for 2 years, and usually uses WeChat video to contact. Deep down, she also wants her husband to return to china to work, but she can't help herself, "Although you can video, but the child can't see his father for many years, my mother died of illness, and he didn't come back." ”
The surging news noted that Zhu Jianxiong, a guangzhou man who had attracted widespread attention, had not returned home for 2 years. His wife, Ms. Li, revealed that in November 2019, Zhu Jianxiong went to Nuku'alofa, the capital of Tonga, to deal with business matters, and originally planned to return to China at the end of 2019, but unexpectedly encountered the new crown pneumonia epidemic in China and failed to embark on the plane home.
According to many interviewees, if the epidemic factor is not considered, most people return from Tonga, most people choose to fly to Fiji and then transfer to Hong Kong, the whole journey takes 3-5 days, and the cost is 7000 to 8000 yuan. After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, some flights were suspended, coupled with the need for isolation, the time and cost of returning to China increased exponentially, and many people did not return home for two or three years due to the epidemic.
Ms. Meng said that before, one of her husband's colleagues returned to China, and there was isolation everywhere on the road, "usually 3-5 days of travel, walking for several months to return to China."
Editor-in-Charge: Cui Xuan Photo Editor: Shi Jiahui
Proofreader: Liu Wei