Chapter 3 Village on the Huaihe River

Villages along the Huaihe River (1) In July 2007, the Huaihe River flooded the entire river basin after 1954, causing huge casualties and property losses to residents on both sides of the river.However, in the eyes of Huaihe people, natural disasters are far less terrible than man-made disasters.This river, which nourishes 270,000 square kilometers of land, has already become beyond recognition due to long-term pollution and poisoning.Man-made pollution is a real disaster for the 170 million people who depend on the water of the Huaihe River for survival. On Xinhua Street in Shenqiu County, Henan Province, there are two street-facing shops of less than 30 square meters. One is used as a computer repair shop, and the other is the headquarters of the non-governmental environmental protection organization "Huaihe Guardian".The person in charge of this headquarters is Huo Daishan. Huo Daishan, 54, was originally a photojournalist for Zhoukou Daily.For more than ten years, he has devoted himself to the investigation and data collection of the pollution of the Huaihe River, revealing to the public the truth about the failure of pollution control in the Huaihe River in the past 10 years and the ecological disaster in the cancer village. In 2002, it was around Shenqiu County where he lived that he first discovered the "cancer village" caused by water pollution.Zimo: How did you first start paying attention to the pollution of the Huaihe River?

Huo Daishan: I once went to a place to photograph the drinking water situation of the local people.The local villagers drink well water, which is rolled up from a depth of about 8 meters or 10 meters.During the filming, there were many villagers watching and watching the fun.I asked them, the water pollution is so serious, and you are so close to the river, how can you bear it?At this time, a few middle-aged women started to cry without saying a word, then turned around and left, wiping their tears and trotting all the way.I don't know what's going on, I thought I offended someone by saying something wrong.The person who accompanied me said, you don't know the situation, their relatives, some of them are their husbands, all died of cancer because of drinking water problems.

Shenqiu County is located at the source of the Shaying River, the largest tributary of the Huaihe River, and was once considered the most polluted area in the Huaihe River Basin.Sunying Village in Shenqiu County is a village with about 2,000 people.Since the early 1990s, people with cancer have been found here one after another.Wu Yuerong, a villager who is familiar with Huo Daishan, pointed to a grassy wasteland and said: "This used to be the main house, but when the father died, the mother died, and the main house was taken away. There was only one child left, who also died when he was 20 years old. In one year, this family died three times in less than three years."

Among Wu Yuerong's neighbors, Wang Yangxian, an 80-year-old neighbor who was recently diagnosed with cancer, was diagnosed with advanced intestinal cancer in May 2007.The old man was lying on the bed, weighing only sixty to seventy catties, so thin that his ribs were visible on his chest.Although he was conscious, he was speechless.Before he fell ill, Wang Yangxian lived on punting and drank water from the Huaihe River.His family members said that his body has always been in good health, but in recent years, several old people who punted with him all died of cancer one after another.Reporter: How was the old man before he got sick?

Sun Yuefen (wife): You are in good health.This spring, when he first got sick, the dam was in the way, so he went to help pick up bricks. Reporter: When was it confirmed that you were sick? Sun Yuefen: It was confirmed on May Day that it was cancer. Reporter: Did the doctor tell you how to treat it? Sun Yuefen: The doctor prescribed some medicine for him to relieve the pain.He can no longer eat, and there is no way to treat him. When he came back, he dripped water and glucose all the time to reduce inflammation.Anyway, it was getting worse day by day, the illness was not getting worse, and I couldn't walk anymore.His son came back from work and asked him to be hospitalized.How about living? If you are diagnosed with a disease, you will not be allowed to live, let alone now.Wang Yangxian is not the first person in his family to suffer from cancer.As early as 7 years ago, someone in the family began to suffer from strange diseases.One of Wang Yangxian's grandsons had lameness at the beginning of the illness, and then it became more and more serious. He went to major hospitals in Beijing, Hefei, and Fuyang to see the cause, but he died more than a year later without finding out the cause.Wang Yangxian's three sons are currently working outside the home, and the other two grandsons are still studying. Only two daughters-in-law are at home. The family's income depends on the son's work outside the home.Reporter: How much did the family spend on medical treatment over the years?

Sun Yuefen: The third child alone spent more than 110,000 yuan, all of which were borrowed from relatives and neighbors.The family's money has been spent, and the money has not been repaid until now, and the debt is still on the back. Huo Daishan: Sometimes there are more than a dozen such cancer patients in a village, lying in their homes.When I went to see them this time, they were still suffering very hard.After a period of time to return to visit, many people will no longer be there.In addition, some people got sick and lay on the bed, waving and waving.Born and raised by the Huaihe River, the villagers never imagined that the river they depend on for survival would one day threaten their lives.Statistics show that there are at least 20 cancer villages on the banks of the Shaying River alone, and the highest cancer incidence rate is 3.2%.In Sunying Village, Pan Tingyun, in his 50s, was also lying on a hospital bed at this time.He was diagnosed with rectal cancer two years ago. Although he was diagnosed earlier than Wang Yangxian and underwent surgery, his condition was not optimistic.

Pan Tingyun: What do you think I should do in this situation? Huo Daishan: Treatment, symptomatic treatment, you can't refuse treatment, you can't do without medicine. Pan Tingmin (brother Pan Tingyun): No matter where you go, you can’t get rid of the roots, because it’s malignant, not benign.I asked, how many years can I live after surgery?Some say 3 years, some say 5 years, some say 10 years and 8 years, they all tell you the same.Since the late 1980s, Huo Daishan has continuously reported the pollution of the Shaying River to relevant departments. In 1994, the State Council promulgated the "Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in the Huaihe River Basin", setting the goals of sewage discharge in 1997 and water quality in 2000. At the end of 1997, various places along the Huaihe River announced that the treatment had reached the standard.However, Huo Daishan found that the pollution has not been alleviated during the field inspection, and the situation of false reporting of compliance is very serious. In 1998, Huo Daishan applied to the "China Environment News" under the State Environmental Protection Administration, and obtained a letter of entrustment to conduct a follow-up investigation on the situation after the Huaihe River Basin reached the standard in 1997.With this power of attorney, he left the "Zhoukou Daily" agency and began to shoot and investigate along the Huaihe River.He thought that he could walk the Huaihe River from beginning to end in as little as one year and as long as two years to complete his investigation mission.Unexpectedly, after this walk, it never stopped.The devastation caused by water pollution is indescribable.In some villages in Shenqiu County, families have died to the point of "extinct households", and there is even a one-year-old baby among the cancer patients.During the day, Huo Daishan went door-to-door with the village cadres, wanting to cry but not daring to cry, feeling extremely depressed.When he returned home at night to sort out the photos, he often cried bitterly holding the photos. In 2002, Huo Daishan recorded the tragic situation he saw in the "Cancer Village" with a camera, and completed a group photo of "Pollution Causes Cancer Village".Zimo: How did water pollution lead to cancer in so many people?

Huo Daishan: Water flows out of the Huaihe River, passes through main canals, branch canals, and hair canals, and is distributed to every field, every village, and every pond like human blood vessels, and then seeps into the ground. It became the water in the Huaihe River.The local environmental protection department has done some tests and said that groundwater above 50 meters is not drinkable. Zimo: Where do local people get their drinking water from? Huo Daishan: The water they use is a simple well they dug themselves, about 8 meters to 10 meters deep, and the water is rolled up through a pipe and a rolling rod.

Zimo: Water at a depth of 8 to 10 meters should still be polluted. Huo Daishan: It is polluted, because drinking this kind of water for a long time will cause harm to the body.They made a comparison. The previous water tasted sweet, but the later water tasted astringent, causing throat irritation, precipitation, and foul smell, and diarrhea after eating.Moreover, this kind of diarrhea is long-term and continuous. Many people have diarrhea for a period of time, and it cannot be cured, which eventually leads to cancer and becomes rectal cancer. In 2005, China launched the Safe Drinking Water Project and invested hundreds of millions of dollars to solve the problem of clean water sources in rural areas.At present, there are 46 deep-water wells in Henan Province, which have solved the draft problem of 130,000 people. However, this only accounts for 1/10 of the water-polluted areas in Henan.Zimo: How many people in the Huaihe River Basin will be affected by water pollution?

Huo Daishan: This number is huge.Wherever I have been, all the places close to water sources, near rivers, and ponds are areas with high incidence of cancer.The Huaihe River Basin covers 270,000 square kilometers and is home to 170 million people. According to the most conservative estimate, more than half of the people are harmed by the water pollution of the Huaihe River. Zimo: That is 85 million people, close to 100 million people.How many deep water wells are needed to solve the draft problem of local people? Huo Daishan: This is simply an astronomical figure.You think, a well can solve the draft problem of 3000 to 5000 people.So many people, (deep water wells required) is indeed a huge number.Sunying Village has now been benefited by the "Safe Drinking Water Project". The self-drilled well at Wang Yangxian's house has been sealed off, and they are now drinking tap water from the deep well in the village.However, what disturbs the villagers is that the source of pollution of the river water still exists.Reporter: When you slowly found out that there were more villagers suffering from cancer, did you first think of water?

Villages by the Huaihe River (2) Du Weimin (Head of Sunying Village): I didn't know it at the time, I didn't expect the water to be polluted.Later, someone said that the water from the pressurized well had a bad smell, but the wells far away from the Shahe River had no bad smell.Finally, I found out that in 2005, a reporter from the village took a sample of the well water from my side, and the Water Conservancy Bureau tested it. There were some things with relatively high levels of carcinogens in it. Reporter: Was the water here good before? Du Weimin: I grew up here. When I was young, I played in the Shahe River, and the water was always clear. Before 1985, the water was basically good, but after 1990 it began to deteriorate. Reporter: What are the main sources of pollution? Du Weimin: There are monosodium glutamate factories in the upper reaches, as well as Shenniu ethylene and leather manufacturers. The sewage is poured into the river, but the main source of pollution is the monosodium glutamate factory. Zimo: If the sewage discharge does not meet the standards, will the local environmental protection department have no binding force on these enterprises? Huo Daishan: It is still an old problem, which is called "the cost of breaking the law is low, but the cost of law enforcement is high".There is little effort to deal with non-standard emissions.Government departments are also monitoring, they secretly line up and fight "sports warfare", which they vividly compare to "cats catching mice".It is such a state. The day before the reporter came to Shenqiu County, there had just been a heavy rain here, and it happened to be able to see the factory sewage discharge by the Shaying River.In front of the Wukong Gate in Shenqiu County, only layers of white foam rolled from the upper reaches, the river water almost turned black, and a foul smell filled the air.A couple who were fishing on the shore said that there are no fish in this section of the river itself, but occasionally after heavy rains, there will be fish washed in from the upper reaches or some fish ponds.The pollution level of the river water not only makes it impossible for fish to survive, but even human skin will itch and fester if soaked in the water for a little longer.Reporter: When do bubbles usually appear? Villager: There are often, governance?What do you manage?Basically, there is no good water, just water like this. Reporter: Was the water like this before? Villager: It was not like this before.In the past, with a large net and a lot of fish, you can sell two or three hundred for one round.Now I have to wear rubber shoes in hot weather.After soaking in water, the skin rots when moved.I dare not go into the water, my hands and feet will rot if I touch the water, and I have to cook, but he (husband) is the one who goes into the water, and when I get home, I will apply purple potion. Reporter: Did you go to the hospital for an examination? Villager: Can you not ask for money after the inspection? Reporter: Can purple potion work? Villager: It won't hurt after doing it.The hands and feet were all rotten, and the feet were more rotten than the hands, so they were all smeared with purple potion. Zimo: Have you ever sent the water of the Huai River to be tested?what's the result? Huo Daishan: I have done the inspection. In 1994, a major pollution occurred, and the Bengbu Water Company did not think of doing a test until after the pollution. It turned out that there were many toxic substances and carcinogens.When the pollution was at its worst, the water quality was rated as "Category 5", mainly containing COD, ammonia nitrogen, and some heavy metals.Water pollution will release hydrogen sulfide gas. I learned about this gas when I was a soldier. There is a chemical gas bomb that emits hydrogen sulfide gas. It can suffocate people instantly and even kill them.Starting from Shenqiu County and going downstream is Fuyang, the largest city that the Shaying River flows through. In 2000, a tragedy happened in Qiligou in the southeast corner of Fuyang.At that time, the water pollution was serious, but the villagers didn't know it. They went down to the river to carry water to irrigate the fields. Six people went down first, and they were fumigated, and the people behind went to rescue them, but they were also fumigated. In the end, six people were killed and four were injured.After that, a monument was erected beside the ditch to warn citizens to stay away from this "poisonous gas ditch".The Fuyang Municipal Government has also focused on rectifying this ditch. However, when reporters came to the ditch, they still had to wear masks to continue filming.The family where the tragedy happened back then still lives less than 100 meters away from the river ditch. Seven years have passed, and they still haven't looked forward to the day when the ditch will become clear. They have never even drank tap water.Reporter: What kind of water are you drinking now? Villager: rolling water.After it is boiled and cleared, drink the clear water on the top, and the bottom is white and thick. Reporter: Is it like this in the village? Villager: Yes.Boil it and drink it after clarification. Reporter: Unboiled water is not drinkable at all, is it? Villagers: Don’t drink raw water, boil water to clarify before cooking.According to the villagers, there is a brick kiln, a pharmaceutical factory, and the city's garbage disposal site on both sides of the ditch.A villager said that after the accident in 2000, the government took care of it and the sewage plant started to operate, but it relaxed after a while.Brick kilns and pharmaceutical factories are shut down, and the sewage problem has not been completely solved.The domestic waste has not undergone any treatment and is piled up next to the river ditch. Going east along the Qilichanggou, less than 1000 meters, came to Fuyang City Sewage Treatment Plant.It is understood that this sewage treatment plant was built in 2003, with a daily capacity of 100,000 tons of industrial wastewater and domestic sewage. Its supporting measures - the "sewage interception project" with an investment of 23 million yuan was also officially launched in 2006.However, when the reporter arrived, the door was closed and no staff could be seen.A ditch at the gate of the sewage treatment plant was also covered with duckweed, but it was not clear.Zimo: In the past 13 years, the state has spent so much manpower, material and financial resources to control the Huaihe River. Why can't the sewage discharge of those enterprises meet the standards? Huo Daishan: The real solution to the problem depends on public participation.It can be said that the water pollution control of the Huaihe River has failed for 10 years, and one conclusion can be drawn: the level of public participation is low.From my wish, let the public participate in the supervision of water pollution.Only in this way can we achieve the effect of constant supervision and curb the illegal discharge of enterprises.Isn’t there thirty-six tricks for companies to secretly discharge, do not discharge when it is sunny, and discharge when it rains; do not discharge during normal times, but discharge when floods are released; Building plank roads, hiding old warehouses, and crossing the sea, almost all sewage companies will use these methods, as if they have been trained. In November 2002, Huo Daishan launched the Huaihe Guardian environmental protection website. In October 2003, the Huaihe River System Ecological and Environmental Science Research Center was registered and established. The main tasks include publicity, treatment of tumor villages, establishment of monitoring stations, and establishment of early warning mechanisms for civil water pollution disasters.Huaihe Guardian No. 1 website now has 800 registered members, but the research center has only four or five permanent staff members, including retired cadres, retired workers, civil servants and editors.In Shenqiu, a small county, they were unwilling to reveal their identities.Zimo: How is the relationship between you and the local government? Huo Daishan: This question is hard to answer.Local officials also have a choice.In recent years, with the implementation of the scientific outlook on development, they have also adopted the concept of sustainable development, which is different from the past few years and has changed somewhat.During the years when the water pollution of the Huaihe River was the most serious, their decision-making was to seek development wholeheartedly, and the so-called "development" was an extraordinary development, a leapfrog development.From these formulations, we can see their desire for economic development, but neglect of environmental protection.In fact, they don't want a group of people, an organization to stand in the position of supervisor and supervise the government.Therefore, the situation of non-governmental organizations can be imagined, and our living conditions are not optimistic. Zimo: What is the biggest change in your own life brought about by paying attention to the Huaihe River these years? Huo Daishan: It has completely changed my life.I have nothing else in my mind now. When I speak, I am like water. When I see water, I think of the Huaihe River. When I see good water, I cry.I just saw the Three Gorges and saw the clear water upstream. Others were very excited, and I shed tears.I have been photographing and following the Huaihe River for more than ten years, and I have seen more horrible scenes caused by the water pollution of the Huaihe River.I look forward to clear water, I feel sad, my mood is very complicated, and I shed tears. Zimo's Comments: Under the influence of Huo Daishan, his two sons gave up their original jobs and joined their father in the environmental protection work of the Huaihe River.Huo Daishan said that he himself could not see the day when the Huaihe River would become clear, and he hoped that his son could see it.Revisiting the Huaihe River, when we face his pessimistic mood, there is no way to refute it.In order to appeal for the protection of the Huaihe River, Huo Daishan's family has used up all their savings.This makes us think, for the Huai River, the mother river, maybe each of us can do more.