三毛流浪记
American teacher revisits land where forest grown from $5,000 donation in 1999_我的网站
A | "Gov. Abbott is right; the Biden policies are directly responsible for encouraging migrants to pay smugglers to bring them across the border illegally, and for enriching the smuggling organizations to the extent that they have expanded their deadly business so much over the last 18 months," says Jessica M Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies based in Washington, DC.,She believes that "until the Biden policies are changed to deter and prevent these mass illegal crossings and to impose consequences on illegal migrants, it’s only going to continue and to get worse.","It’s not possible to curb the illegal migration without policy changes," Vaughan insists.,Following Joe Biden's decision to reverse his predecessor's border policies, the number of illegal entries started to rise. On March 10, 2021, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered 100,441 persons attempting entry along the southwest border in February 2021, which represented a 28% increase over January 2021, when Biden was sworn in. US immigration experts noted at that time that Biden's campaign vows to impose a deportation moratorium, extend protections for those called "Dreamers" and provide a path to citizenship for about 11 million illegals, invigorated migrant caravans.,Melting Pot: How Biden's Immigration Reform May Backfire on US Economy & His Political Future19 January 2021, 20:10 GMT,The US Customs and Border Protection reported in June 2022 about a staggering 239,416 encounters along the southwest land border in May, which represented a 2% increase compared to April. Of those, 25% involved individuals who had at least one prior encounter in the previous 12 months, the report reads. The flow of illicit narcotics including cocaine, methamphetamines, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana across the border has also been increasing, according to the CBP.,The unfolding border crisis has long been in the making, according to Dr. Aileen Teague, an immigration expert from the Texas A&M Bush School of Government and Public Service.,"President Biden's current immigration policies are not solely his," she says. "They follow decades of an inability to reach consensus on both sides of the aisle. Biden has been a bit 'wishy washy' on Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and telling immigrants to 'not come' soon after entering the White House, but besides a murky rhetoric of reform, many of 'his' policies long predate his presidency.",Border Crisis: Who Wants to Flood the US With Migrants and Why?21 March 2021, 16:26 GMT,What's Behind the Federal Government's Inaction?,Last week, Republican Rep. Andy Biggs described the situation at the US-Mexico border as "overrun," "out of control" and "dangerous". He also predicted more deaths would soon be discovered. Nevertheless, "the federal government has not lifted a finger to help the states cope with this influx," according to Vaughan.,"The reason that the Biden administration has not acted to regain control of the border is because they are not concerned about the harm to American communities that this crisis is causing," she says. "They are isolated from its costs, and they hope to reap political benefits, in the form of support from the special interests who profit from this influx, which include certain big businesses, ethnic advocacy groups, and a few leftist politicians.",Republicans are accusing the Democrats of deliberately loosening border policies and promising to legalize illegals to beef up their electoral base. Immigration reform could become an "electoral bonanza" for the Dems, Politico noted in April 2013. At the same time, a 2013 Pew Research revealed that of the Latino immigrants who are eligible to vote, "many more identify as Democrats than as Republicans – 54% versus 11%.",Meanwhile, many powerful US business lobbies such as the agricultural industry, rely on exploiting cheap and illegal non-citizens for seasonal labor. Out of 11.3 million illegals, eight million have jobs, according to CBS News. The basic rights of these unauthorized workers aren't protected. In addition to that, big business capitalizes on mass immigration to drive wages down and to combat organized labor.,DeSantis Advises Migrants Escorted to Washington DC: 'Do Not Come' to Florida14 April, 17:35 GMT,Local Leaderships Struggle With Illegal Entries,Some Republican-controlled states have tried to tackle the border crisis through a series of local legislative initiatives and border operations.,In particular, the Texas governor and attorney general withstood Biden's executive order signed on day one of his presidency stipulating a 100-day pause on the deportation of illegal immigrants. On March 5, 2021, Gov. Abbott kicked off Operation Lone Star, bringing together the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to prevent Mexican cartels and other smugglers from moving drugs and people into the state.,"State and local leaders along the border and beyond should be using any and all state authorities to disrupt human smuggling and trafficking pathways using existing laws," says Vaughan. "In addition, they should try to discourage or penalize the NGOs and other entities that contract with the federal government to resettle the migrants, including the child welfare agencies, charter transportation companies and charity assistance groups.",However, the fight to curb the tide of illegal migration could be accompanied with human right abuses, warns Aileen Teague:,"Local leadership in many places supports grassroots initiatives to ensure that outside of politics, immigration policies don't have offshoots that affect human rights," she says. "In the absence of hire level reforms, initiatives of basic human decency are badly needed as are local and mid-level leaders who are willing to share their experiences.",© AFP 2022 / DREW ANGERERWASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: U.S. President Joe Biden arrives to speak about Covid-19 vaccines for children, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on June 21, 2022 in Washington, DC.WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: U.S. President Joe Biden arrives to speak about Covid-19 vaccines for children, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on June 21, 2022 in Washington, DC.© AFP 2022 / DREW ANGERER,Are Migrant Deaths Yet Another Punch to Biden?,The latest gruesome discovery of 51 dead migrants in Texas could deal "another blow to Biden’s presidency and will further tarnish his legacy of incompetence in the minds of voters," according to Vaughan.,A number of Republican politicians have already raised their voices against the Democratic administration's handling of the border issue.,"How many more people have to die before Dems give a da--?" asked Texas Senator Ted Cruz commenting on the matter, as quoted by Fox News.,GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales from Texas criticized US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for the suffocation deaths of trafficked migrants:,"Today in San Antonio it was 102 degrees. Imagine being abandoned inside an 18-wheeler left to die - 42 people died today - will @AliMayorkas even mention their names?" Gonzales tweeted.,However, given that Joe Biden and the Dems have a lot on their plate, including disrupted supply chains, growing inflation and looming recession, it's unlikely that the recent tragedy would make the matters any worse, some observers believe. Possibly, the Texan tragedy will be also overshadowed by the nation-wide debate on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion ruling, according to Teague.,"I'm not convinced that Biden's immigration and border security policies will be detrimental to the Democrats at midterms," she presumes.。
On Monday afternoon, American teacher Ronald Sakolsky visited the homeland of Chinese desert fighter Yin Yuzhen in Uxin Banner of Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. This was a place the American man had visited in 2000 and it has completely changed since then.
In 1999, Sakolsky, a teacher in a China-US education exchange program, was touched by a report on Yin and her husband's afforestation efforts in the harsh wilderness of Mu Us Desert, and raised $5,000 to support her green cause. During that visit, they took pictures - in front of the sunken pit where the Yin couple once resided and in the barren land with a finger-thin sapling they had just planted against a backdrop of dust and bare earth.
What has the $5,000 changed?
On Monday, they came to the Sakolsky forest - a permanent tribute honoring Sakolsky's early contribution to the region's ecological revival - and replicated the vintage pictures, standing in front of a pit that has long been abandoned and beside a newly planted sapling. This time, however, there are bushes and trees in the background.
This contrast not only witnessed their friendship across time and the Pacific Ocean, but also showcased a promise Yin has kept for 27 years and a green dream that has been made possible through generations of joint unwavering efforts from Yin, her husband and countless other sand fighters.
Homecoming with family cooking
Yin hosted Sakolsky on Monday at her home, filling the air with the aroma of home-cooked meals during their long-awaited reunion. Watermelons were served along with other fresh fruits and vegetables, all harvested locally. Yin told the Global Times earlier that she learned the English word "more" to persuade him to eat more.
In 1999, Yin had few options for showing her hospitality, so she cooked a bowl of plain noodles for Sakolsky. Now, the harsh wasteland has transformed into a vibrant green oasis, thanks to unwavering afforestation efforts.
In the courtyard, the Global Times reporter saw Yin grinning from ear to ear with pride as she introduced the produce from the farmland - green pepper longer than a palm, a bottle gourd even bigger than Yin's head, and bags of foxtail millet packaged with the assistance of Yin's grandchildren, who are proud of the family's generations of commitment to green causes.
During a tour of Yin's home, Sakolsky was impressed by the beautiful house with its green courtyard, saying "You deserve every centimeter of this house." Throughout the visit, he repeatedly praised Yin's hands, which the desert fighter and model worker used to change both the land and her own life through arduous work.
The $5,000 Sakolsky donated in 1999 was equivalent to three years' income for Yin's entire family at the time. Today, that money has grown into more than 50,000 trees.
But Yin's journey did not stop there. Over the following decades, with the support of China's growing ecological restoration policies — including subsidies for afforestation and compensation for forest managers — she transformed the barren land into a productive family forest farm. Her success has inspired many others in the region to take up tree planting and sand control, transforming what was once a desperate struggle into a sustainable livelihood.
From the sandy hollow where the Yin couple lived in in 1985 and the earth hut they resided in until 1993, to the solid brick house Sakolsky saw when he last visited, and the two-story house the big family now lives in, the change in living environment is a clear example of ecological dividends.
Uxin Banner lies in the heartland of the Mu Us Desert. The desertification rate was over 90 percent in the 1950s and forestation coverage was merely 7.2 percent as of 1980. Now, the forestation rate has increased to 33 percent, while plantation coverage has expanded to 85 percent, per official data.
Carry on the greenness, kindness
This miracle would have been impossible without numerous people like Yin, long-term systematic planning and scientific governance.
Chen Ziliang, an expert from the local forestry and grassland bureau, said that Mu Us Desert's sand‑control journey has evolved from collective afforestation to contract desert‑reclamation, moving beyond the simple goal of "keeping trees alive" to restoring vegetation based on water‑resource conditions.
Putting the idea of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" into practice, Uxin Banner no longer views "greenness" and "growth" as an either‑or proposition. On restored sandy lands, the under‑forest economy, eco‑agriculture and eco‑tourism have flourished. Sand‑fixing shrubs are now processed into animal feed and biomass fuel, and local authorities are exploring photovoltaic‑powered desert control, the Global Times learned.
Sand control is no longer just about keeping sand away; it's a development approach that guarantees a greener and better living environment alongside a booming economy and increasing incomes.
On Monday afternoon, when Sakolsky finally stepped into the forest named after him, this American teacher witnessed the Chinese woman's perseverance and commitment to her promises. The $5,000 donated without expectations has grown into a thriving forest of around 50,000 trees.
"A promise is a promise. Ms. Yin fulfilled her promise," Sakolsky said. After 27 years, the wasteland is green, and Sakolsky and Yin are "brother and sister."
"This is the answer to how we guide young people: We must teach them love and perseverance. We need to show young people photos of Ms. Yin planting trees, digging the soil with her bare hands," Sakolsky remarked while packing a jar of sand. He said he planned to bring it back to the US, telling his grandchildren it is not just a jar of sand, but "a jar of love."
Sakolsky told the Global Times earlier that the younger generation only knows about the dust-covered landscape from photos and stories of the elderly. It is important to tell them how the greenness is achieved, and how every single person can contribute to making an extensive forest in the harshest environment.
"I see where China and America can work together. I see it, so I will not quit. She [Yin] never quit. 'Quit' is not in her vocabulary," Sakolsky said with emotion on Monday.
"Chinese and Americans can be family. We can get over the differences if we focus on the similarities... If we focus on our similarities and not our differences, we can solve the problems."
At the end of Monday's schedule, Yin and Sakolsky planted another sapling together, just as they did about three decades ago, but in a completely different landscape.
This new sapling carries on the story of not only greenness through generations of joint efforts, but also kindness across the Pacific Ocean.
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