Rooted but unrecognized
As the village developed, people's needs grew. Money was needed to buy daily essentials. Young men wanted to marry and the children of these unions needed an education. But without an ID card or residence permit, none of these basics of life were possible.
Some villagers left, and soon brought back information that Guangzhou was a prosperous place where people lived a completely different life. This news spawned dreams of migration among the younger generation. "Villages nearby were also rich we heard, and it was said people there went out to work, made quite a bit of money , and married girls where they lived," said a young man in the village.
Some young people were eager to head out based on the rumors, but soon found out how empty they were. With no ID card, no train tickets could be had, so even making at as far as Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province, was too much to hope.
Besides train tickets, there were other problems. With no residence permit, accompanying children cannot attend the schools of other villages. Although later the government helped Ma Toupo to build their own primary school, the education system was not up to standard, covering only three grades of the usual four.
It was common for most of the children to drop out of school by the fourth grade and for girls in the village to "marry" at a very early age. Girls of age of 11 or 12 were paired with males in their village or nearby villages, but finding mates for boys is not so easy.
With no residence permit, the department of civil affairs cannot grant a marriage certificate to the prospective husband. Even if a couple sets up house, this form of marriage is not recognized or protected by the law and the resulting children become the second generation of black householders.
The government injected capital to help the development of villages in Kaiyua's jurisdiction, but as Ma Toupo village was not a registered territory it fell outside the preferential governmental policy. The village was just an "isolated" entity whose inhabitants endured a primitive life.
People here in the village could only soldier on under current conditions. It is said that by the end of 2010, the average income in the village was less than 1,000 yuan (US$157.6). "People like me are already old and have little hope of leaving, but we wish our children could be granted ID cards, and go out to explore the country and chase down a better life for themselves," said 62-year-old Hou.
Not alone
Actually the villagers of Ma Toupo are not the exceptions in Kaiyuan city. A draft official report reveals research has uncovered over 6,500 "non-existant" villagers, without ID card or residence permit, are living in small, poor settlements that are increasingly beyond the reach of modern services. "The number may be larger than 10,000 as many of them choose to hide from investigators," revealed an official.
Since August 16, 2011, Kaiyuan city has been carrying out a plan to help these invisible populations, but "solving the problem of residence permits needs more time," admits one governmental official.
