Yesterday, while I was studying for my upcoming Chinese midterm, I stumbled upon this documentary, The Blood of Yingzhou District. I have never watched a documentary more devastating and heart wrenching. This says a lot given that I've seen a number of dramatic films, ranging from Schindler's List to The Pianist, and not shed a tear. But this documentary truly tore at my soul.
The Blood of Yingzhou District follows a few children who have been orphaned by AIDS. In an attempt to make money and support their family, their parents sold their blood. What I've gathered from the documentary is that everyone's blood would be mixed together, all the plasmas would be removed and then the blood would be returned to the body so that they would be able to give blood again sooner. In that way, if one person had AIDS 50 other people would contract it.
What got me the most when watching this documentary was the story of Gao Jun, a 2 year old boy who is HIV positive. With the death of his parents, the only person willing to care for him is his grandmother who is mentally unstable. It really hit me hard when I saw his distended belly and his body covered in scabs. It is so painful to see a child be outcast from society.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that this documentary really made me appreciate all that I have in life. My life is probably better than 99% of the world. I feel like humans always ask for too much and I really want to try to be grateful for what I have. I hope that more people watch this documentary and I hope that one day I can truly help children in these conditions
An, how did you stumble across this depressing documentary?!?!
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, sometimes I think about the fact that even the homeless people in America have to better off than people in other countries. Super sadness.