‘I will never give up my search’
A desperate father drives a van carrying posters and hope across country in search of lost children.
Zhang Yuchen reports from Xi’an.
Seeing Cheng Zhu pull up in his battered, old gray-silver minibus, it is hard to imagineanyone would travel around China in it. Although largely covered with colorful postersof smiling children, it is clear the Chinese-made six-seater has seen better days.
Yet for the 36-year-old father, the vehicle is the only hope he has of finding hismissing daughter.
Cheng Ying was 5 years old when she vanished as she made her way home fromprimary school in the suburbs of Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province.
Since the girl’s disappearance in 2005, Cheng Zhu, who believes child traffickers tookher, has dedicated his life to getting her back - even if it costs him everything he has left.
“I will never give up,” said the heartbroken father, whose obsession has not only wipedout his savings account and led to him running up massive debts, but also put extra strainon a marriage still recovering from the trauma of losing a child.
Jin Lunju, Cheng Zhu’s wife, still struggles to talk about their first daughter withoutcrying.
“I remember clearly that last morning with her,” said the 32-year-old as she held heryounger daughter, Cheng Baoyi, who is now 5. “I took Ying to school and at the gate, sheasked me to hug her. She had never asked before but all I did was tell her to go to class. Ionly wish I could hug her now.”
Although Jin says she has all but given up on ever again seeing her elder daughter，Cheng Zhu continues to hit the road and has even established a support network forparents of lost children, many of whom now join him on his quest.
The construction worker began by simply driving his battered van around Xi’an,then widened his search to surrounding cities and neighboring provinces. He even spentthousands of yuan on advertisements on local television stations appealing for information.
After meeting other parents online in 2009, Cheng Zhu set up the Parents of LostChildren League and began to plan a month-long trip that would take his van throughnine provinces, regularly stopping to not only hunt for his lost daughter but also to raiseawareness of child trafficking.
“We are determined to carry on and find our stolen children, as well as seize anychance to rouse people’s awareness that traffickers are after our children,” he said.
He left Xi’an for his epic journey with three other parents from the league on Jan 1.
About 50 parents of lost children joined them along the way to help hand out leaflets andphotographs. At one point, the little van was cramped with nine people, while anothereight parents followed using trains. Hundreds more passed on details of their lost children.
In each city on the route, Cheng and the others headed for the biggest public squareto display photographs of almost 3,000 youngsters. At night, they would light candles inmemory of the lost children.
“We’re not just looking for our own kids but for everyone’s kids,” said Feng Shehong,42, also from Xi’an, who took part in entire trip. “We’re not the parents of a specific childany more. We have the duty to help each other.”
Alongside the many pictures of missing children plastered on Cheng’s van is a bannerthat simply reads: “My child: mommy and daddy feel very sorry for losing you. We missyou.”
Cheng and his passengers had just 1,500 yuan (220) with them when they lefthome. On the road, they survived on dried bread and buns, and could only afford to stayin hotels that charged less than 10 yuan a night. They sometimes even slept on the side ofthe road.
Their only entertainment for the long journey was an old cassette tape recorderplaying popular Chinese songs from the 1990s.
Each parent took turns behind the wheel except Xing Zhengguang, 31. He has beenunable to drive since his 2-year-old son, Mengzhuo, was taken from his house in broaddaylight in 2009.
“Whenever it is quiet, I think of him,” he said tearfully. “It is particularly bad when Iam driving, which makes me a danger on the road. All of us are affected in different ways.”
Jin admitted she has been unable to throw away Cheng Ying’s old clothes and hasnever used the air conditioner the couple bought to cool her room during the summermonths. “Losing a child leaves a huge void in a parent’s life. Some parents even buybirthday cakes for their child every year. They just cannot cope with the reality,” saidCheng Zhu.
Strain on the heart
The search to find his daughter has put Cheng’s family in serious debt. Although hecontinues to work, he has already spent 300,000 yuan in savings and owes almost 80,000yuan in bank loans, most of which were used to buy and maintain the van.
“I don’t know how to persuade him (to stop looking),” said Jin, who does not workand stays at home to care for Cheng Baoyi. “In 2008, I finally went to pieces. Every day allI did was sit silently and cry. I could see no meaning to my life.”
The debts combined with the trauma of losing a child have also put a huge strain onCheng Zhu and Jin’s relationship.
“We used to be a happy and affectionate couple,” said Cheng Zhu. “After ourdaughter went missing, all that changed, and we quarreled to the edge of divorce. Now, wedo not talk about our daughter when we are alone.”
However, although his mission has badly affected his own marriage, the Parents ofLost Children League could help others to overcome their difficulties, say experts.
“The coalition of parents to some extent relieves stress and anxiety caused by losingchildren,” said Zhang Baoyan, director-general of Baby Home, an organization with20,000 volunteers that helps parents of missing children. “People feel more comfortablewith others who share the same experiences and they support each other. It is the collectivepower that strengthens them.”
Xing Guangzheng, whose 3-year-old boy was snatched from their home in 2009, alsotook part in the month-long tour with Cheng Zhu.