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Woes of "left-behind children" as Mid-Autumn Festival nears

Xinhua, September 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Xiao Xuan sat alone in front of her home in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, immersed in drawing.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Sunday this year, means family reunion for many in China, but not for Xiao Xuan or the other 60 million "left-behind children" who remain in the countryside with their relatives when their migrant-worker parents leave to work in the big cities.

"My father can drive and ride a bike. Every time he comes home, he passes this road," the five-year-old said, explaining her drawing.

Her grandfather has prepared mookcakes and other treats for the holiday. Everything is in place, except for mommy and daddy.

Xiao and her eight-year-old sister live with their grandparents in Puhua Town, Lantian County. Her father is a construction worker and her mother is a curtain saleswoman in Xi'an City, the provincial capital.

"They only come back at the end of the year, they have very busy jobs," said the grandfather, who added that the sisters cannot go to school in Xi'an, as urban school fees are much higher than in Lantian.

There are more than 10,000 left-behind children in Lantian, according to Chen Juanni, an official with the county's education bureau.

"Local officials will visit some of these children during the upcoming holiday, and gift them pens, books and footballs. Or they have the choice to stay at 51 boarding schools where they can watch TV or read books. But that's not enough," Chen said.

Ren Luqiang, the school head of Hanhe Primary School where Xiao's sister studies, revealed that of the school's 269 students, 58 are left-behind.

"They are lonely, especially during the holidays," said Ren. "Many are shy and, some struggle with behavioral problems."

Zhang Xudong, associate researcher with China Youth & Children Research Center, said left-behind children are more likely to skip class or abscond. "What they need most is their parents."

Chen Juanni hopes the local government can work out more ways to provide decent job opportunities for these rural parents at home.

Xiao Xuan pointed to a painting of a couple on the wall. "This is my daddy and that is my mommy." She lifted up a photograph of herself and put it close to the painting. "See! We're a family now." Endi