In Calling a Cave Home, Rushton features Zhongdong Village, or Middle Cave, China’s last cave village. It was built by Miao ethnic minorities after 1949 in order to evade bandits. The villagers have lived off the land for seventy years but may be forced to relocate by Chinese authorities.
He gives the following prompts to accompany this video:
“Can you think of other ways that these people might be able to live better lives?
What do you think they would think of your idea? How would you ask them about it in a way that honors their perspectives?”
In 2000, my husband and I visited China for a month. This video brought a lot of back a lot of memories from when we did a seven-day cruise down the Yangtze River. They were building the Three Gorges Dam which would dam up the river and would displace almost two million people. We talked to a lot of people who were being relocated during that time and it was sad to think about their future. It destroyed beautiful scenery and so many rare architectural and archaeological sites. This video made my heart hurt for these cave people. I know that life is tough for them but I think moving them to a city would devastate them. I’m not sure their lives would be improved much. The sad part is that they may not even have a choice.
Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.
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