Happy New Year 2021
Happy New Year, Happy New Year, Happy New Year!
As a Chinese saying goes, you must repeat the important message three times.
2020 is an unforgettable year for every life on earth. Many lives have been rewritten and countless natural ecology has been destroyed. Moreover, global communication space constructed by human beings in the past hundred years has been locked into the social cage of COVID-19.
We are all champions already as we came out of 2020 and ready to enter 2021. We should cheer and celebrate!
In 2020, there are several colourful pages in my life chapters.
As a family, the 2020 Spring Festival was the first time I spent in China after I moved to Britain in 1997.
In December 2019, I rushed back to China to celebrate my mother's birthday, and then to Guangzhou for the International Literature Festival in China Great Bay Area.
I took this opportunity to meet up some local MBL supporters and volunteers in Guangzhou. Followed by their guide, I did one of my three homework between Guangzhou's urban and rural areas. Every time I go back China, I always visit some rural areas to update my knowledge of the fast changing China. This time I saw the new city with each passing day, and also watched migrant workers’ ‘handshake building' (a crowed small space with many buildings).
My second homework was to experience the changes in the farmers' market in the city, access how much quality of life such as health management, water supply and drainage, lighting, and toilet have been improved. In 2019 I did this research in Hainan Island. The farmers' market there is huge, fresh, and there are many fruits and vegetables that I had no idea of what they are. But I had a big concern about the raw seafood selling without any quarantines.
My third homework in China was to see how many public toilets have been updated. I think public toilets are the testing elements of peoples’ quality of life. This time back home, I found that China's public toilet renovation is almost like a revolution: clean environment, automatic flushing, toilet paper providence, private spaces, old and young auxiliary facilities, almost all have been improved. I was moved and very proud by that! Some are extremely fancy and luxurious as the ones in the palace, which made me a bit confused.
During my research journey, I gained a partner for MBL ‘Books for Kids (B4K)’ in 2021. It is at Guilin Yangshuo Observatory on Sustainable Tourism, World Tourism Organization of UN. MBL 300 donated books arrived there in January, 2020. Unfortunately, MBL’s plan of it has been stalled by coronavirus. But I know 2021 will bring a light for it!
I was so looking forward to the Spring Festival on January 25, 2020.
China began to report the pandemic situation and carried out strict isolation starting from January 20. Three times a day, every household was checked: asymptomatic, no visitors, and entry and exit registration with masks on. There was no way I could get airplane ticket back to London until February 8. I bypassed Hong Kong back to London, when London had no a single sign of the control and warning about the pandemic. But I chose self-isolation for three weeks. Afterwards, I went out for some meetings and lectures. Only 9 days later, at the end of March, London began to lockdown, so I went on my third isolation in 2020.
UK government’s policy and rules on the pandemic were disordered and the coronavirus was unpredictable, resulting in the sacrifice of countless, social fluctuations. In order to repay my second hometown and thank the community that helped me through the difficulties of losing my darling husband, I resolutely joined NHS volunteer team to help the local elders. But I was stopped by my GP because of my health in October. During my volunteering work, 18 elderlies died alone in the area I was in. I felt honoured to be with some of them at the end of their life. Also, I helped a Chinese mother when she came to London for her lost daughter in Sep and Oct. ‘The despaired daughter’ was a student of Imperial College. She wasn’t strong enough to fight with loneliness and internet abuse and ended her own life on 20th Sep. It made me realize that ‘the variation of society and communication’ could be a very powerful magic of killing youth.
Once again, the strength of MBL has expanded. I participated in MBL volunteer team during the pandemic. MBL donated 2600 masks to Chinese and foreign students and some of the London’s care homes as personal protection equipments were in a dire shortage. As part of MBL mission I started writing for Chinese WeChat and Facebook every day from the end of March. The blog hasn’t attracted too much attention, but from the writing process, I have learned so much which I never knew before, include cognitive errors of historical materials and new ideas. I hope I will gain more readers in 2021.
This is the third year since my husband, my companion and soulmate, passed away. His spirit and encouragement are far stronger than the interference of the pandemic. I’m grateful for my son’s company, who supports me and makes me work harder to write my new book. Thanks to my publisher Bloomsbury Publishing for publishing the paperback of my new book, The Promise. Now the book has both hardback and paperback versions and is available in five languages.
Meanwhile, I have attended many international online conferences, a new experience for me. Also, I have taken part in the creation of the book ‘Still Hot’ with other 30 writers: how to help family open the conversation about women’s menopause.
At the moment, I am working with MBL website team on its improvement. The updated website will be a more efficient interactive platform for the needs of MBL’s adoptive families and volunteers between the birth culture, between the Chinese and Western cultures, and between the rich and the poor.
Did I see my mother and brother in the past year? YES, I did have a lunch with them on the day right before the lockdown. However, we missed our family’s Spring Festival celebration again…
BUT I believe that all of the hardships and regrets in 2020 will light our hopes and happiness in 2021!
Encountering the once-in-a-century pandemic makes us think deeply about life. Covid-19 has been rewriting not only the human process, but also loneliness, internet violence, and social and political conditions, making the values of life face unprecedented challenges. 2021 will be the year of dawn light, the year of OX in Chinese tradition. In both ancient and modern China, and in both Chinese and foreign cultures, ox is auspicious and a powerful symbol!
Best wishes to YOUR 2021. May safety, peace, joy and LOVE be with you and your loved ones.
(A big thank you to Maya Cedergren, a 7th grader in California, one of our youngest volunteers, for designing this beautiful holiday card! She’s been contributing her artwork to us since she was eight years old. Maya, Happy New Year!)
来自薛欣然的祝福：
新年快乐，新年快乐，新年快乐！
中国人说，重要的事情要说三遍！
２０２０年对于地球上的每一个生命都是一个难忘的年度，众多的生命被改写，无数的自然生态被毁灭，人类近百年构筑的全球化交流空间被新冠病毒锁进了社会牢笼。
所以，我们能够走出２０２０年进入２０２１的人都是生命的胜者，我们应该为此欢呼和庆祝！
２０２０年在我的人生篇章中有这样几页，喜怒悲欢尽在其中：
作为家人，２０２０年的春节是我在１９９７年移居英国后第一次在中国度过。
２０１９年的１２月我赶回中国为自己的母亲庆生，之后赶往广州参加了中国大湾区的国际文学节。
借此机会与母爱桥的支持者和志愿者相聚，并跟随他们对广州的城乡做了自己的三个作业之一：每次回国必定走访城乡结合部，学习调研那里的社会形态和百姓需求。在广州，我看到了日新月异的新城，也参观了打工者们简陋的‘握手楼’。
我回国的第二个作业是体验城市中农贸市场的变化，那里的卫生管理、给排水、灯光，以及厕所的完善，２０１９年的这个作业是在海南岛完成的。那里的农贸市场鲜活新颖，有许多我完全不知何物的蔬果，但是也有人担心的几乎没有疫检的生猛海鲜买卖。
在国内的第三个作业是对城乡公厕的了解。我认为，公厕是人类生存环境质量的检测要素。这次回国，我发现中国的公厕改造几乎是一场革命：环境清洁，自动冲水，手纸，隐私，老幼辅助设施，几乎都在完善中，令我感动自豪！有的‘景点公厕’豪华如宫殿，令我费思不已。
意外的收获，是为母爱桥２０２１的国际图书馆项目（Ｂｏｏｋｓ ｆｏｒ Ｋｉｄｓ－Ｂ４Ｋ）在风景如画的桂林阳朔寻求到了一位合作者 – 联合国世界旅游组织旅游可持续发展阳朔观测点。母爱桥的３００本多语种捐书已经到位，虽然新冠停滞了我们２０２０年的Ｂ４Ｋ计划，但是２０２１已在向我们招手。
２０２０年１月我是那样期盼着２５日春节的团聚，未料１月２０日全中国开始通报疫情，并进行严格隔离，一日三查确每户人家：无症状，无访客，出入登记佩戴口罩。国际间的飞行嘎然而止，直至２月８日我才绕道香港回伦敦，届时的伦敦毫无疫情准备。自觉隔离三后外出会友、讲座仅９天，３月底伦敦开始封城，于是进入咱２０２０年的第三次疫情隔离。
英国抗疫国策云遮雾罩难辨方向，疫情变幻莫测，导致牺牲无数， 社会波动。为了报恩第二故乡，答谢曾经帮助咱度过失亲难关的社区，俺毅然加入英国国家医疗服务（ＮＨＳ）的志愿者队伍，救助当地老人，直至１０月被体检医生叫停。期间俺的志愿者团队所关注的区域中，有１８位老人因感染新冠而孤独离世，我们成为他们临终的唯一亲人。期间我认识了一位‘消失的女孩’，她生前是一位帝国理工的学生。她的‘消失’令我心痛不已，也让我惊觉‘社会与交流的变异’具备着折杀青春的魔力……
今年的疫情再次证实了母爱桥的大爱无疆和团队的力量。俺参加的母爱桥志愿者队伍，在个人防护品紧缺的条件下，向中外学生和伦敦养老院捐赠的口罩多达２６００多只。许多志愿者成为当地多媒体的爱心源泉，向我们母爱桥的家庭和志愿者提供帮助。俺自己在母爱桥媒体领导的鞭策下，每天坚持写随笔发朋友圈，虽然没有引起关注，但是写作的过程，令俺学到了以前不知道，甚至认知错误的史料和新生观念。
现在我正在与母爱桥团队一起改进网站，希望ＭＢＬ更简约的互动平台，在生养文化之间，在中西文化方之间，在贫富文化之间，为母爱桥的家庭和志愿者提供更完善地牵线搭桥。
今年的疫情封锁，逼迫我‘鸭子上架’，参加了诸多网上的国际研讨。形式新颖，感觉轻松，记忆中也存放了不少哭笑不得的镜头。
今年是我心灵伴侣托笔辞世的第三年，他的精神和鼓励远远强胜于疫情的干扰，加上儿子的相伴支持，令我坚持奋笔疾书。感谢我的出版社，逆行而上，在俺的生月，出版了我新书的简装版，使《爱的承诺》（Ｔｈｅ Ｐｒｏｍｉｓｅ）精简双全。２０２０年我们来自２０几个国家的女性作家联手出版了《依旧热潮》（Ｓｔｉｌｌ Ｈｏｔ），希望以此鼓励各种文化中的家庭关注女性生理期中的需求。
您也许会问，２０２０年我和家人团聚了么？就在中国封城的前一天，我和母亲弟弟三人刚好一起吃了午餐，商讨如何团聚过年……于是２０２０年一份遗憾成为了俺２０２１年的一份期盼。
我相信，所有２０２０年的遗憾，都会点亮咱２０２１的期盼！
遭遇百年一遇的大流行，使得我们对生命的感悟深思不已，不仅是新冠夺命改写人类进程，而且孤独、网暴、以及社会政治的撕裂，使得生命中的价值观面临着前所未有的挑战。
亡者安息，生灵安康！
２０２１将是曙光之年，是中国传统中的牛年。牛在古今中外的文化中都是吉祥和力量的象征。
在此敬祝您，２０２１安康如愿，安康如愿，安康如愿！