For a hundred years, the fifty-six nationalities have all lay in the arms of the mother of the motherland, living on the same land, and together they have formed a big family, China. Each ethnic group has its own customs and beliefs.
But some of these ethnic minorities are almost unknown, and their identities are very mysterious. The Daman are one of them, who waited more than 200 years to become Chinese nationals.
Now, under the protection of the motherland, life is getting better and better every day. Every household also hung a five-star red flag to show their love and gratitude for the motherland.
So what's the origin of this? What have the Damans experienced in the past?
Figure 丨 Dammam people
After many hardships, he finally obtained Chinese citizenship
The Daman people have always lived in the Tibetan region of the mainland. On May 26, 2003, the Chinese government passed the approval of the Application of the Daman Ethnic Group for Chinese nationality. The Dammam people who heard the news were very excited, and the whole village was immersed in joy.
Given their relatively small population, the government incorporated them into the Tibetans and enjoyed the same policy of benefit as the Tibetan people. After more than 200 years of arduous journeys, the Dammam people have finally realized their dreams.
The state also attached great importance to the Dammam people, whose population was less than 100 at the time. For these people, the central government has specially built their own villages and named them "Dammam Village".
Figure 丨 Dammam people
In May 2004, the local government invested millions of dollars in Keelung County to help the Daman people build a house with a total of 49 houses. These houses are all equipped with modern facilities, which is basically the same as the houses in the city.
The government also distributed livestock, farm tools and some items commonly used in daily life. At the same time, about 200,000 yuan was also invested to build drinking water infrastructure for Dammam Village.
The Damans owned their own houses for the first time, and they all changed into brand new clothes to celebrate this happy and joyful moment.
In view of the education of Daman children, the local government has built schools for children, so that they can receive Chinese education like other Chinese children and enter the classroom of their dreams. Importantly, these children can also enjoy the nine-year compulsory education policy, which is free of charge.
Picture 丨 Celebrate
The Damans used to work on iron to make ends meet, but that didn't bring much income to their families. In order to help them get rid of the shackles of poverty, the government donated money to help them build an iron processing cooperative, providing them with advanced modern machinery and making iron culture the exclusive cultural characteristic of Dammam village.
In 2010, the villagers of Dammam Village, with the help of the state, had a per capita income of more than a few thousand yuan. Gradually, they got out of poverty and lived a well-off life.
But not long after the good times, there was an earthquake in the local area in 2011. The houses of the Villagers in Dammam have suffered severe damage. The Daman people looked at the ruins in front of them and felt very desperate. The beautiful homes they had built so hard were all destroyed, and they fell to their knees and cried bitterly.
Figure 丨 Strike iron
But fortunately, they have become part of China. The local government soon sent rescuers to help the Dammam people out of danger. After the disaster, the Chinese government invested 5.46 million yuan to start a post-disaster housing reconstruction project, remodeling the local infrastructure. The government also redistributed livestock, utensils, and other tools that were smashed to death in the earthquake.
Soon after, the beautiful houses reappeared in the view of the Dammam people. The whole village is like a new look, and the People of Dammam are grateful to the motherland and have gone to thank the local government. They are very fortunate to have joined the big family in China, and after moving into a new house, every household has a five-star red flag planted outside the house.
Picture 丨 Rebuilding a house
The first frontier warrior to guard the frontier also appeared among the Daman people, and he was Basang. Bassan has had dreams of becoming a soldier since childhood. Looking at the days in his hometown now, living better and better every day, he is grateful to the motherland in his heart.
So he asked to be stationed on the frontier of the motherland and become the guardian of the country. There are also many young men who are similar to Basang's age, who have chosen to join the army to serve the motherland and defend the country's security.
The first college student also appeared in the village, and he was admitted to Wuhan University of Technology with excellent results that year, and walked out of the mountain with his diligence. After entering the university, he focused on his studies and also found a good job. When the people in the village learned of this news, they were all happy for this college student.
Tu 丨 The days are getting better and better
The origin of the "Dammam"
The Damans were actually Gurkhas many years ago. At the end of the eighteenth century, Nepal was unified. The border between Nepal and China's Tibet region is adjacent, and due to the very harsh natural conditions and complex terrain, the border defense is also relatively weak. Although the war subsided, Nepal's resources were scarce, so they set their sights on China's great northwest region.
The Gurkhas often disrupted the lives of the local population on the border between China and Nepal, and the Qing government sent many officers and soldiers to drive them away, but all failed. After a long time, the Qing government did not want to take care of it and let them do it.
Since then, the Gurkhas have become even more arrogant, not only overthrowing the Mara dynasty in Nepal at that time, but even trying to take over the small countries around them, forcing some of the people of those small countries to flee to the territory of the Qing Dynasty. With the passage of time, the ambitions of the Gurkhas also grew.
Figure 丨 Gurkha tribes
The Gurkhas gathered their troops in the border areas of Tibet and prepared to declare war on Tibet. When their troops reached the border, they did not find the Qing government's troops, only a small group of men and horses coming from afar. One of the Qing officials stepped forward and promised the Gurkhas that as long as they retreated, the Qing Dynasty would give them a certain amount of silver every year.
After listening to what the official said, the leader of the Gurkha tribe was triumphant, and he did not need to go to great lengths with the Qing army to get silver, and he was very satisfied with this condition. So the chief immediately ordered the tribesmen to retreat.
Later, when it came time to issue silver money, the Gurkha chieftain found that the Qing Dynasty people did not believe what they said and did not give silver two as promised. In a fit of rage, they declared war on the Qing Dynasty in 1791. At that time, the ruler of the Qing Dynasty was the Qianlong Emperor, and when the Qianlong Emperor saw that the Gurkhas were so arrogant, he ordered them to be taught a harsh lesson.
Figure 丨 Qianlong Emperor
In 1792, Qianlong dispatched Fukang'an to mobilize 10,000 Qing troops to suppress all the Gurkhas, and most importantly, he also gave Fukang'an a death order: do not beat the Gurkhas to their knees and beg for forgiveness and do not withdraw their troops. After receiving the order, Fu Kang'an led the Qing soldiers to southern Tibet in a mighty way. At this time, the Gurkhas had already occupied southern Tibet and other places.
Fortunately, Fukang'an did not live up to Qianlong's expectations, and he led the Qing Dynasty legions to fight the Gurkhas all the way back to their own capital. Looking at the powerful enemy on the other side, the Gurkhas had no choice but to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and bow down to the subjects.
Figure 丨 defeated
After the war, some of the Gurks got lost in the extremely complex geographical location of southern Tibet. They wanted to return to Nepal, who thought that Nepal had been occupied by the Qing army, and if they returned at this time, they could only be enslaved by the Qing army.
These lost Gurkhas had nowhere to go, so they wandered around in the mountains and forests to make a living, using the ground as a bed and the wild fruits, birds and animals in the mountain forests as food. In such a harsh natural environment, some Gurkha people died because their bodies could not bear it. After much deliberation, the remaining Gurkhas decided to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, hoping to join the Qing Dynasty.
But there had been a war with them before, and the Qing Dynasty was deeply suspicious of them, so it never agreed to their request. In desperation, the Gurkhas had to settle in the town of Giron, which is close to China.
Figure丨 Army
Later, it was learned that the Qing Dynasty army had left Nepal, and they had also moved their minds to return to Nepal. But this is not as easy as they thought, after all, they have not returned for so many years, drifting away, and the Nepalese government is also wary of them.
The return to Nepal also ended in failure.
In this way, these Gurkhas have been settled on the Chinese border. They live in places close to Tibetan areas, and some choose to intermarry with people in local Tibetan areas to continue their offspring. Slowly, they became the Damans they are today.
Picture 丨 Tibetans
A hard past life
The descendants of the Daman people have almost six or seven generations, but they have never been able to acquire Chinese nationality, and can only stay in the town of Geelong and barely live. The central government is constantly changing, and the governance of the national border is very limited, and it is easy to ignore some ethnic minorities, let alone foreign tribes such as the Daman.
The clothing, language, and diet of the Daman people are almost identical to those of the Tibetans, but their appearance is different from that of the Tibetan people, and they do not have their own ethnic script. The eyes of the Dammam people are blue, and the eye sockets are deeply sunken. This is very different from the people in Tibetan areas. In addition, the people of Tibetan areas can enjoy the treatment of the state, but the Daman ethnic group cannot.
They cannot acquire land without nationality, they cannot live without land without houses, let alone the education of their children. Their lives are very hard, but what is valuable is that they have a good character of hard-working and hard-working. Even if the living environment is difficult, they can survive tenaciously like weeds in the cracks.
Figure 丨 Strike iron
In order to resist the wind and rain of nature, they looked for stones and wood in the mountains, and then built the stones with a few pieces of wood as support points, and then covered the top with several layers of thick thatch. In this way, a simple shed is formed.
Although not as strong as the house made of concrete, the thatch will be blown away when it encounters heavy winds and rain. But when the weather is clear, the family can still barely live in it.
Some of these Dammam people did not live in such houses. They can only wander around outside. In the event of bad weather, find a safe cave or temporary shelter in a dilapidated livestock shed. For them, daily food and clothing is a problem. So how pathetic these people are!
Picture 丨 Hard life
In order to earn a living, most Of the Damans made a living by professions such as blacksmiths and carpenters. The damans' iron-making technology is very exquisite, and the iron tools they produce are very strong and durable, and an iron tool can be used for at least three or four years.
But the job was extremely hard, and he had to forge iron tools by the hot stove all year round. If you are not careful when working, you are likely to be burned by iron that has been burned at high temperatures. Therefore, this kind of iron work is generally done by men.
Although they are good at striking iron, it takes a long time to hit iron tools, so the output has not been able to come up, and the money earned is naturally less.
Picture 丨 Kids
Most women stayed at home, weaving in exchange for some pocket money and helping with household chores. The elderly, on the other hand, cut bamboo and rattan at home to help take care of the fire.
The Damans were also good at climbing mountains, inheriting the robust physique of their ancestors and being able to climb several mountains in a day. Therefore, they often work as tour guides for tourists who come to the mainland to play, and they also act as porters, transporting goods up and down the mountain.
Although the Daman people have always worked hard, they have never been able to get rid of the shackles of poverty and embark on the road to prosperity. They have also repeatedly applied to the Chinese government to become Chinese nationals, but each time they have been rejected by the Chinese government. This is also the knot in their hearts for many years, and the People of The Daman people are very eager to join the big family of China.
Figure 丨 Dammam people
The inclusion of a nation in China requires the government to consider it carefully. After all, China's population is large and its culture is also diverse. Another has to consider whether the inclusion of them in China will involve national security.
In 2001, the Chinese government sent relevant personnel to inspect the work in the local area and gained a better understanding of the living conditions of the Dammam people. The relevant personnel reported the living conditions of the Daman people to the superiors one by one. In order to give these homeless Damans a place to live, the central government immediately sent personnel into Tibetan areas to investigate.
After more than two years of review, the government finally passed the approval of the Application of Daman people to become Chinese nationals. It was also from this time that the Daman people had a new identity - "Chinese citizens".
Tu 丨 successfully joined China
summary
Later, whenever people asked, the Dammam people were very proud to tell them: "I am a citizen of China and a member of the Big Chinese family." ”
Since becoming a Chinese citizen, the central government has given the Daman ethnic group a lot of care and attention. It is China that has allowed them to have a new life and let them meet a better future with a new identity. Every Dammamian deeply loves their homeland and the land in which they live.
Fifty-six nationalities and fifty-six flowers, fifty-six nationalities are one! We were born under the red flag and grew up in the spring breeze. If the people have faith, the nation has faith, and the country has hope!