Suffering in the Jiabiangou Labor Camp: by Xianhui Yang

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《夹边沟记事》杨显惠

In the late 1950s, Jiabiangou, a remote labor camp in the Gobi Desert of Gansu Province, held nearly 3,000 "rightists" from 1957 to 1960. These individuals, labeled as "enemies" during the Anti-Rightist Campaign, were subjected to extreme forced labor, malnutrition, and starvation. The camp, designed for only a few hundred people, became a death trap as food supplies dwindled. Over three years, thousands perished from exhaustion and hunger, resorting to eating grass, leaves, and even rodents. In the camp’s darkest days, survivors turned to cannibalism to stay alive.

The rightists, who were once intellectuals, engineers, and students, were stripped of their dignity and identities, reduced to laborers under inhumane conditions. Guards, often uneducated themselves, imposed grueling tasks with no regard for survival. By 1959, food rations dropped to just seven ounces of grain per day. Hunger, cold, and overwork killed hundreds daily, with no acknowledgment of their suffering in official records.

By the brutal winter of 1960, when even tree leaves and grass seeds were gone, the prisoners turned to the unthinkable. Cannibalism emerged as a last resort for survival. Corpses of those who had starved to death were stripped of flesh. Their chests were cut open, and internal organs were removed and consumed. This horrific act was not out of cruelty but pure desperation—a tragic reflection of the extreme conditions.

Grueling Labor

The prisoners were subjected to relentless forced labor, which served both as punishment and a means of control. Agricultural tasks like digging irrigation ditches, leveling fields, and planting crops were assigned, even though the barren desert conditions yielded little result. Work hours stretched from 12 to 16 hours daily, leaving the prisoners utterly drained. Many collapsed mid-task, their emaciated bodies unable to continue.

The guards, often uneducated and indifferent to the suffering, imposed additional pressure by organizing productivity contests. These contests forced the prisoners to exert themselves even further, straining their already frail bodies to the point of collapse. Labor was not just a punishment; it became a means to break their spirits and dehumanize them.

Living Conditions

The living conditions at Jiabiangou were no less brutal. The prisoners were housed in crude shelters like earthen huts, known as diwozi, or dugout caves. These offered no insulation against the freezing desert winters or the scorching summers. In the bitter cold, prisoners huddled together to conserve body heat, too weak to move except when called to work or for the next meal of watery gruel made from tree leaves or vegetable scraps. Hygiene was non-existent, and diseases spread unchecked, adding to the death toll.

Gu Xiaoyun’s Heartbreaking Journey

The story of Gu Xiaoyun, a woman from Shanghai, epitomizes the despair and resilience surrounding Jiabiangou. She traveled to the camp to find her lover, Dong Jianyi, only to discover he had died seven days earlier. The reality she faced was even more horrifying: Dong’s body had been exhumed, his coat stolen, and parts of his legs and buttocks cut off for food. Despite the horror, Gu was determined to honor his memory. She searched relentlessly until she found his remains, cremated his body, and carried his ashes back to Shanghai. Her unwavering resolve and love stand in stark contrast to the dehumanizing conditions of the camp.

Psychological Torment

The mental anguish suffered by the prisoners was as devastating as their physical hardships. Many clung to false hope, believing their designation as "rightists" was a mistake that would soon be corrected by the Party. This illusion of eventual redemption kept them compliant even as they starved. Others faced the bitter sting of betrayal by family members who refused to help, assuming the government would not allow their loved ones to starve. For some, this misplaced faith in the Party proved fatal.

The Final Tragedy

By late 1960, the situation at Jiabiangou had become so dire that the central government sent a rescue team after reports of mass deaths. However, for most prisoners, it was too late. Over 1,500 had already perished, their bodies emaciated and beyond recognition. Survivors were too weak to work or even stand, and many died even after being rescued. In a final insult, doctors were tasked with fabricating death records, ensuring that starvation was never listed as the cause. Euphemisms like "natural causes" were used to cover up the true horror of what had occurred.

Why Didn’t They Escape?

One haunting question remains: why did so few prisoners attempt to escape, even in the face of certain death? Many prisoners believed that their designation as "rightists" was a mistake and that the Party would soon correct it. Escaping would not only confirm their "guilt" but also betray their loyalty to the Party, a concept deeply ingrained in their minds. Fear of punishment and the stigma of being labeled a "traitor" further deterred escape attempts.