The year that passed. Another year without Mom and Dad.
In China, millions of children are separated from their parents in order to attend boarding schools. The practice is particularly widespread in Tibet and the western region of Xinjiang, but it is also becoming more common in other parts of the country. The aim is to shape the children into true patriots, good socialists, and resolute supporters of Party leader Xi Jinping. “Uncle Xi, you are our friend and guide,” they sing in the schoolyard every morning.
In Tibet and the neighboring provinces with large Tibetan populations, around 800,000 children attended such schools in 2021, according to a report. An additional 100,000 children between the ages of four and six had been torn away from their parents to live in kindergartens. Today’s figures may be even higher.
The boarding schools and kindergartens are located in cities and densely populated areas, often several days’ travel from the children’s homes. Both teaching and play take place in Mandarin Chinese.
As time passes, parents and children gradually become strangers to one another. When the children are rarely allowed to visit their parents, they struggle to express themselves in their own mother tongue. The Tibetan sociologist Gyal Lo says of the children that they feel disoriented and uncertain about where they truly belong: “It is both tragic and painful to witness what is happening.”
