Papa and Sis's Sojourn in Di-Pai
(Right: Papa is sight-seeing in an old housing area in Di-Pai) On the third day of travel, Papa and Sis finally treaded the soil of our place of origin, Di-Pai, Lung-Men Province, Gwang Dong, China. Di-Pai is a very remote suburban town in Lung-Men Province. Most of her residents are Hakka, one of the majority tribes in China. My late grandfather came from a local village where all folks bore the same family name --Lo. His reason for leaving his birthplace had nothing to do with seeking a greener pasture, but because of a dramatic trauma. One fine evening when grandpa, a herb-gatherer, was on his way home after finishing his routine work in a nearby forest, he was attacked, overpowered and taken captive by a group of human trafficking syndicates. Along with many other would-be slave labourers, he was shipped all the way from China to Netherlands, being chained and tethered like an animal in the hold. Some had perished from starvation, tortures and illnesses before reaching the f...