It’s May 28th, 2017, and we are standing on the patchy field of Mengku High School. There is the thud of a basketball hitting the concrete, and the sound of shoes hitting rubber as students race around the track. A boy dressed in a neon yellow t-shirt runs far ahead of the others, arms pumping furiously.
“My name is Wang Fang,” He says to us later when we sit in a fluorescently-lit room after his last class, which had ended at 10:00 p.m.
“I’m no good at school,” He laughs bashfully when we ask him about his academics. Wang Fang wants to be a policeman, he says, so “Then I can beat up bad guys.”
His answer brings a smile to everyone’s face, and we ask, “What do your mom and dad think about your plans?”
“Oh,” He replies, smile barely wavering, “They’re in jail,”
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“Yeah,” Wang Fang continues, “My family is originally from Myanmar. We’re refugees,
“Mom and Dad got caught trying to smuggle drugs across the border. I haven’t seen them...in a while.”
Somehow, Wang Fang’s smile never drops, even as he tells us about the war-torn borders of China. “I feel really lucky,” He says, “I’ve seen refugees in the streets who don’t even have shoes on.” He pats his trusty rubber sneakers.
“Although things were pretty messed up before I came to this school,” Wang Fang muses. “One of my cousins was forced into an arranged marriage when she was 16.” He looks a bit angry. “She had already had a kid by then, but she wanted to abort the second one. I didn’t stay there long enough to know what happened to her.”
Wang Fang tells us about his life back near the borders of China, which is much more horrifying than we could imagine. His best friend’s uncle killed himself when he was 22 by drinking pesticide, leaving behind two kids and a wife. He was bullied when he was young for being a refugee and for having no money. Troubles that are unimaginable to us have followed Wang Fang since he was a child.
“Everything’s better now, though!” He declares brightly, “I never thought I would say this, but I love school!” He smiles, “My friends are great. I mean, I spend most of my time training and running, but even if I’m tired it’s a lot of fun to just hang around with the other guys.
“Time flies by at school. I’m really glad I came here.”
His sneakers squeak against the tiled floor when he leaves.
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