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Bundle of devotion

By Lei Xiaoxun (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-04 07:37

Kazak couple Biyitayhan (left) and Honbay (right) have been trying their best to cure their adopted daughter Marziya (center). Zhang Lei

A young Kazak man finds a red bag inside which a little girl is soundly sleeping. A note says: "This is a 10-month-old Han girl. You kind-hearted people who find her, please raise her"

The young man brings the baby girl back home. His father Honbay and mother Biyitayhan discover that the girl is not only cleft-lipped, but also mentally retarded. Over time, they find the girl also has spinal problems. She can barely walk till she is 8.

Despite the girl's illness and the family's poor conditions, the Kazak family decide to raise her as their own. The story is well-known in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and has inspired the local government to chip in.

Twenty years later, I arrive at the Kazak family's home in Qitai county, a 3-hour drive from Urumqi, full of expectations. The sight of the old couple and their adopted daughter, a 20-year-old Han girl, did not fail to amaze me.

Years of hardship has left their mark on the couple's faces. They talked in a low but gentle voice, glancing at their beloved daughter from time to time, full of extraordinary parental emotion.

The mother, Biyitayhan, seemed unable to allow the slightest distance between herself and her daughter, hugging her tight. The girl was noticeably cleft-lipped and mentally retarded. One could read her nervousness from the way she gripped her mother's hand. She didn't talk. Only when Biyitayhan embraced her or adjusted her hat, she looked peaceful and relaxed, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

Sitting on a traditional blanket, Honbay recalled how the Kazak family made the decision to adopt the handicapped Han girl. It was October 4, 1989 when their eldest son

The Honbay couple discovered

Soon the whole Kazak village where the Honbays lived was talking about how the girl could be raised. The Honbay couple invited their family members and friends to a formal occasion, to celebrate the new arrival. At the naming ceremony, the girl was given the name Marziya, meaning joyful and happy in the Kazak language.

The Honbays already had six kids, and adding an extra mouth to feed meant the family would have to go through tremendous hardship. Relatives, neighbors and friends warned the family that Marziya's illness could not be cured. However, the couple was determined.

"Marziya represents a lovely life. She was so helpless, we felt obliged to adopt her and give good care and love to the poor little one," Biyitayhan says.

In retrospect, Honbay attributes the selflessness to the Kazak tradition. "We the Kazaks emphasize on mutual help in our everyday lives. As a Muslim population in China, we are Chinese first, our Kazak tutelage dictates we must offer assistance and care to one in need," Honbay says.

Marziya was diagnosed with congenital epilepsy. She would be hit by spasms several times a day, which was as tormenting for her parents as it was for her. The Honbays spent 17 years trying to find a cure for their daughter. They visited almost every hospital and even bare-feet doctors in the neighboring villages.

To squeeze every penny in their hunt for a cure, the couple lived on dried naan pancake on their journeys. Whenever they heard about a good doctor, they would run to the spot. If it was a remote area, without a motorable road, they carried Marziya on their shoulders and walked.

The couple spent 33,000 yuan ($4,800) to save Marziya, and owe 10,000 yuan to lenders. However, they do not have any regrets.

For sometime during our interview, Marziya leaned on her mother Biyitayhan's shoulders. Honbay and Biyitayhan looked hoary and tired. I was told the 65-year-old couple suffered from arthritis, rheumatism and heart attack. The hardships they had to endure, looking for a cure for Marziya, took a toll on their health.

"Raising Marziya left me more exhausted than feeding my six other kids," Biyitayhan acknowledged.

Miraculously, Marziya's epilepsy was healed. However, she was still unable to talk or walk without stumbling, and needed help to go about the daily activities, except eating. However, she was able to understand some Kazak words, and would respond with a child-like giggle.

She still sleeps with her mother, a habit since when she was a child. She snuggles up to Biyitayhan under a quilt and touches her ears all night in bed.

The old couple is worried about the time when they would be gone. "Who will take care of my little Marziya?" Honbay says.

The other six Honbay children are based out of town. "It is uncertain who can and will take good care of Marziya," Honbay says.

The authorities of Qibuku town and Qitai county have offered substantial help to the Honbays. The federation of handicapped people in Xinjiang subsidized 6,000 yuan in 2005 for the family, helping them to build a new bungalow.

In addition, the government of Qibuku town pledged to send Marziya to a rest home when required. "The Honbays and people concerned about them can rest assured, we will do our utmost to help the family," says town official Xue Jianping.

The Honbay's 20-year story has also greatly moved the village folks. From daily cooking to seeing doctors, the villagers now generously offer a helping hand when the family is in need.

"We are honored if we can be of any use for the Honbay's," says the family's neighbor Nahaxibay. "I was one of the people opposing Honbay's adoption decision, but their conscience is marvelous. We are two thumbs up for such perseverance, they are our role models."

(China Daily 05/04/2009 page8)