A Traffic accident and its ensuing complications dramatizes the plight of some Chinese peasants.
On late January 9 three elderly women were killed after being hit by a truck on a highway near their village home in northern Jiangsu Province.
One of the victims was my aunt, the wife of my mother's brother.
The highway used to be flanked by rows of trees with thick foliage. But as in many other places, local authorities have been seized by the fever for road building in the past two decades.
The trees have long been eliminated in successive road widenings to accommodate heavier motor traffic, making walking along the road an intimidating and risky experience, with frequent reports of accidents.
The guilty driver was a villager in a mountainous area, and was only able to compensate each victim's family 10,000 yuan (US$1,388) in a private settlement.
According to local custom, at the funeral relatives of the victim are expected to present gift money, whose amount is usually decided following consultations among those similarly related to the victim.
One well-off relative who was also a village cadre at first suggested 1,000 yuan, a sum that clearly embarrassed others who were not so well off.
As farming has long ceased to be profitable, most of my villager relatives derive their cash income from doing odd jobs. For many, 1,000 yuan can mean several months of hard work.
And these villages are relatively prosperous, all advantageously situated close to the county seat and the Yellow Sea.
