One of 17 decapitated bodies found in an ancient Roman cemetery. The cemeteries held the burial of 52 people, and 17 beheaded bodies including 9 men and 8 women and all were over 25 years old at the time of death, a team of researchers reported in an article published online May 19 in the British journal Britannia. In many cases, the heads of the decapitated people were buried next to their feet and the pottery was placed in the position where their heads would normally have been. Some bodies were also laid face down in their graves. Researchers believe that those who were beheaded were executed. They note that the number of criminals in Roman law increased dramatically during the third and fourth centuries, around the time these skeletons were buried. Remains of archaeological evidence shows that the Roman army used Knobb’s farm as a supply center and they would take strict action if there was any violation. “During the third and fourth centuries, the penalties imposed under Roman law became more and more severe. The number of criminals applying the death penalty increased from 14 at the beginning of the third century to about 60 by Constantine’s death in 337 AD,” The researchers have noted that security concerns are one of the reasons for the increase in the death penalty. During the third and fourth centuries, there were many civil wars in the Roman Empire, many of which were fought to be crowned emperor. Despite the possibility of execution, individuals were still buried with ceramic pots and in some cases placed in coffins. Isabel Lisboa, the archaeologist who led the excavation, said: ‘A beheaded woman had the richest collection of tombstones, buried with two urns and a coal bead necklace. Pipe coal is a type of coal that is easy to glow. Under Roman law, family and friends could demand that the body of an executed criminal be returned for burial. Those executed were likely not slaves, as slaves had no status and likely would not have been buried. Scholars argue Even so, Simon Cleary, emeritus professor of Roman Archeology at the University of Birmingham in the UK, said: “What we know of the sites of Roman judicial executions suggests that they are mainly in cities and towns and have a deterrent effect. Knobb’s ranch is not near any major towns or cities.” Cleary adds that a law made by the emperor in Rome is difficult to enforce in a remote place. It is possible that these people were executed but Roman law may have nothing to do with why they were killed. By the fourth century, the Roman army had for centuries become a draconian rule, with no way back for the common man, says Cleary. Why most of the burials of decapitated people in the Roman Empire occurred in Britain is unclear. Roman Britain can be really weird at times, especially in its treatment of the dead, there are plenty of ritual practices other than beheading or burial that to our eyes look eerie. . To people’s eyes at the time, they could be completely conceivable.” Other scholars have also expressed doubt that Roman law had much to do with the burial of the decapitated. Caroline Humfress, director of the Institute for Constitutional and Legal Studies at St. Andrews in Scotland, said: “I personally think it is very unlikely that the executions on Knobb’s farm were related to Roman legal processes.” “If they have a judicial context, it’s more likely to be localized and involve executions carried out without trial,” Humfress said. However, other scholars argue that these people could have been executed according to Roman law. “The official execution seems to be the best explanation for the Knobb Ranch cases,” said Judith Evans Grubbs, a professor of Roman history at Emory University in Atlanta. He noted that women in the Roman Empire were often the target of accusations of witchcraft and adultery, both of which could have been considered crimes by the Romans. Stunned with the largest, deepest $ 211 million swimming pool in the world 08/06/2021

Dressed in white, Mr. Kumar sat in the courtyard of the crematorium with other monks. Of the 26 pyre, only one is in operation. Another body is on its way there. “It’s comfortable now. Every 3-4 days, a body with Covid-19 will come here. We have time to breathe, eat and sleep,” he said The Hindu . To this day, he still cannot imagine what he had to go through two months ago. Unforgettable days Walking around the crematorium, Mr. Kumar pointed to an empty lot. Here, the staff of the crematorium had to erect 9 more cremation pylons. On another site, 5 pyre were built. Now, this area is just a black coal-stained void, with a few bricks left. Mr. Kumar pointed to the land that used to be the cremation pyre of Covid-19 victims. Photo: The Hindu. Taking a step further, Mr. Kumar pointed to another field. “This used to be a children’s cemetery. However, when the number of deaths peaked, we had to turn this into a crematorium and build 72 more cremation pylons. We even had to break down a wall to move the wood in,” he recalls. For about 10 days in April, more than 20 staff at the crematorium, including monks, sanitation workers and helpers, worked 24 hours a day. They even have to cremate their bodies in the middle of the night, which is against Hindu beliefs. “People leave dead bodies at the door without telling us. In addition, many families asked us to send back the video of the cremation ceremony,” Mr. Kumar recalled. “My mother used to make me go home and sleep for a few hours. I chanted sutras even in my sleep, according to family accounts,” he recalls. “Now I can sleep well.” Mr. Kumar has a 6-month-old baby girl. He did not dare to hold his child for the past month and a half due to fear of contracting Covid-19. At home, he ate and slept in a separate corner, trying to stay away from family members. “We didn’t wear protective gear because it was too hot. Can’t breathe… We just use masks and gloves,” he said. Now, the situation is less tense. When India’s vaccination campaign kicked off, all crematorium staff were vaccinated. This is a priority object due to the need to handle the body of a person who died due to Covid-19. “We once cremated a 6-month-old boy, who died from Covid-19, while the father of the baby wept bitterly. I will never forget this scene,” Mr. Kumar said. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused pain to hundreds of thousands of Indian families. Photo: BBC. Return to normal state At Lok Nayak Hospital, two large tents used to be used as waiting rooms for patients in front of the emergency ward. To date, they have been removed. No more patients on oxygen outside the hospital. There is no longer a long line of ambulances with the sound of the patient’s family crying and begging the hospital to accept it. Mr. Abhay, a community volunteer, reminisces about the shifts at the peak of the epidemic. “I don’t want to remember,” he said. At the Punjabi Bagh crematorium, the trees used to die because new pyrements were erected next to them. Now the green sprout is back. “I got used to this scene from last year, so I wasn’t affected much,” said monk Pankaj Sharma. However, for inexperienced monks and staff, seeing a mass of bodies leaves a psychological impact. “There were days when we didn’t have time to eat,” said Deepanshu, a 23-year-old employee. “A working day starts at 6:30. We help the victim’s family. Many were crying, scared, and didn’t know where to go or what to do. We only get to rest after 9-10pm.” Contrary to Seemapuri crematorium staff, Deepanshu and colleagues have not been vaccinated against Covid-19. “When the vaccination campaign started, government officials called us to get information. They asked us to go to a nearby hospital. However, when they arrived at the hospital, they said we were not on the list,” one staff member told The Hindu. During the peak of the epidemic, Indian crematoriums operated day and night. Photo: Reuters. “We are near the bodies of Covid-19 and many Covid-19 patients. We deserve an injection,” Deepanshu asserted. Currently, only 1-2 bodies infected with Covid-19 are brought to this crematorium every day. Most of the pyre are not working. “The situation here is not as bad as other crematoriums. People still have to wait, but with a much shorter time,” said monk Pankaj Sharma.

Recently, when Karina appeared on the way to work, she caused a stir because of her incredibly beautiful body. Center of the aespa group wore a crop-top shirt and short shorts, showing off their flat tiny waist and toned legs. Even if it’s an unedited photo, netizen All recognized Karina’s body as beautiful as the characters in the comics. It’s rare for any female K-Pop idol to have a body like this, not skinny but very toned and healthy. In the past, Karina was still praised for having a more beautiful face than a virtual character, extremely impressive lines and now the audience recognizes her body as even more impressive. The group ITZY is also comeback With a new song and every time she appears, the youngest Yuna attracts all eyes with her surreal small waist. Knowing her advantages, Yuna loves to wear crop-tops to show off her toned waist, revealing the number 11 abs. Yuna’s body proportions are also very beautiful with long slender legs, even without high heels, her legs are long. Although Yuna’s body is very slim, fortunately she is not skinny. Netizens I think Yuna is just as beautiful as she keeps her body like this.

Two weeks ago, just as dawn broke over the Ganges, a riverside resident discovered several bodies drifting into the shallows of the river most sacred to Indians. Darsan Nishad – a 35-year-old man working for a local environmental program – pulled the eight bodies out of the water. He then tied these bodies with sacks to take them away to check the cause of death. Finally, the unfortunate victims will be cremated – according to Hindu rites. “We don’t know where these bodies come from. We didn’t even know if they had any diseases,” said Nishad, pointing to the area where he and his colleagues had to carry out this difficult task. Hindus make offerings to the sacred Ganges River after scattering the ashes of their loved ones. Hundreds of bodies were found floating or buried in the river in May. Photo: Washington Post. Saddened by the experience, Nishad shared his belief in the Ganges, which Hindus revere as a sacred river. According to Hindu beliefs, anyone who has bathed in the river will be cleansed of all sins. “The river has great spiritual significance to us. Indians believe that if you dip yourself in this water even once, you will be protected for life,” said Nishad, standing a few feet from the crematorium in the river. “For us, the river is the goddess,” said Nishad. This is just a small number of hundreds of other bodies floating or buried in sand along the length of the river in the context that India suffered the second worst consequences in the world because of the Covid-19 pandemic. after America. Worried fisherman The mystery surrounding the bodies remains unanswered. Authorities have not been able to find out how many people have Covid-19 among those bodies. Many believe that some families have opted for extreme measures – dropping the bodies of loved ones in the Ganges – because they cannot afford to cremate them. Before the second wave of Covid-19 “swallowed” India, the cremation rite cost only 70 USD. However, the number has now risen to more than $400 – almost six times higher – since the end of April. In Sujabad – a large community that depends on the Ganges for a living – many people are currently without work. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the loss of jobs for river boaters carrying pilgrims and tourists. With bodies constantly dropping into the river causing pollution, local fishermen are worried about their catch and fish stocks being affected. For many people, the source of fish on the sacred river has been a way of life for a long time. The Indian crematorium burns day and night. Photo: New York Times. According to people here, the most prosperous business at this time is providing wood for the crematorium. As of May 23, India recorded more than 26.2 million cases of Covid-19 and more than 295,000 deaths. The number of new infections per day in India has recently decreased, but the average number of deaths in the past 7 days has remained high, above 4,000 people per day. The “tsunami” of Covid-19 has put the Indian economy on the brink of collapse. Like the bodies found in the Ganges – whether they died from coronavirus, heart attacks or old age – residents of communities like Sujabad are falling victim to this virus. Government gets involved Images of floating bodies prompted authorities to step in. Patrol ships are deployed across more than 2,400 kilometers of the Ganges River. State and local governments have established a network of free cremation sites – providing firewood and inviting priests to perform Masses for families who cannot afford it. Hundreds of such crematoriums have been opened across Varanasi, the holy city on the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh state, and home to a series of steps leading down to the Ganges (called ghats). Usually, Hindus will gather in large numbers at ghats to bathe, baptize their children and scatter the ashes of the dead. However, now the ghats are uninhabited, while the crematoriums operate continuously day and night. In downtown Varanasi, officials have set up a Covid-19 “command center”. Here, thousands of staff will take calls from residents, check on patients, order ambulances for those in need of hospitalization and arrange cremation services. A large screen hung on the wall continuously displays the latest information on the number of hospital beds, oxygen supply and the number of new infections. Government employees patrol the Ganges River. Photo: Washington Post. Share with Washington Post , cleric Satindra Kumar in Varanasi could not hide his fatigue after long days of performing funeral rites. “I have performed the funeral rite 15 times in the past two days, most of the dead are patients with corona virus. People who don’t die from the disease also come here,” Kumar said. “The pandemic is so devastating! Everyone is afraid and suffering. I cannot stop what is happening, but I will continue to pray. I hope that will bring peace to the relatives of the deceased.” Even the poor still have to celebrate However, in rural areas, there is no similar service for the family of someone who has died of Covid-19 or other causes. Despite the extra cost, many people still make trips to the ghats to pray for their loved ones in accordance with Hindu custom. They believe that even with the added economic burden on their shoulders, they still have to bear to follow the ancestral traditions. Journalist of Washington Post witnessed a group of peasants reach out to one of Varanasi’s oldest ghats to perform funerals for three loved ones. Cremation platforms along the riverside. Photo: Getty. They prepare offerings consisting of pellets and spices, wrapped in large leaves under the supervision of a Hindu priest. After the bodies of three loved ones were blessed, the men stepped off the ghats, floated their offerings in the river, and began scattering the ashes. After that, besides the cremation fee, the group also had to pay the ceremony money for the ceremony just now. They anxiously counted every penny they had accumulated, plus the costs of barbers, photographers and gifts. They do not hesitate to pay expensive expenses to fulfill their religious obligations at a time of uncertainty, fear of an invisible and deadly force. “For generations, villagers have come here to perform the last rites of life,” said Lakshmi Singh, a farmer in his 60s. Bringing the ashes of unclaimed Covid-19 victims to the Ganges River Indian volunteers collect ashes from crematoriums to organize funerals for Covid-19 victims in Haridwar city.

However, livestream has become a “trend” pursued by many people, but not all “creators” create value. Bullshit, vulgar content is posted by many vloggers defiantly to attract attention and receive donations (money and gifts) from viewers. On major live-streaming platforms in the country of billions of people, such as Bilibili, Douyin, and Kuaishou, it is not difficult for viewers to come across images of female vloggers dressed in revealing, offensive clothing and performing erotic acts. Many streamers are banned from showing off their bodies or showing sexual acts to receive donations. Showing off, deceiving viewers Many live broadcast studios often hack the number of followers to create credibility, attract viewers so that they are willing to donate money. The account holders also deliberately fabricated sensational stories, creating conflicts with others to attract viewers of their livestream. “Poor students borrow more than 100,000 yuan to reward female streamers in Nanjing”, “16-year-old teenager rewards female streamers with 1.58 million yuan for 3 months”, “Male cashier appropriated more than 48 million yuan to donate to the live broadcast room”, a series of negative news related to direct money rewards through livestream has caused many controversial streams in the Chinese online community. On May 17, Kuaishou posted a notice saying that live streamer Yin Shihang, an account holder with 8 million followers, had been banned from the platform for “sensational marketing”, “vulgar performances” and false advertising during the livestream on May 15. Initially, Yin introduced to live stream his marriage proposal with girlfriend Tao Lulu. Millions of people watched to witness the special moment of the popular streamer. In the end, he tricked the audience by turning the broadcast into a 5-hour sales show. Yin Shihang was banned from broadcasting when tricking viewers into the livestream. Various live broadcasting platforms are working to strengthen control over violations. Kuaishou has issued a special regulatory notice on “Scripting, Acting and Purchases”, which bans accounts or imposes fines on those who take advantage of family conflicts and other factors unrelated to the issue. sell merchandise to entice fans to buy. In June 2020, Douyin issued a new rule that allows minors to privately award rewards after verification and can be fully refunded. In April 2021, Douyin revealed that a total of 36,000 minors had been refunded in 11 months, with an average refund time of 19.7 hours. At the end of November 2020, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television of China issued a notice on strengthening the management of livestream and live broadcast of e-commerce. In which, methods such as facial recognition are applied to implement real-name management for broadcasters and users. The new rule also limits the number of rewards users can receive by time, daily and monthly, if there are too many rewards, there will be a reminder message and the reward function will be paused if the limit is exceeded.

To date, India has recorded more than 25 million cases and 275,000 deaths from Covid-19. However, many experts say the real number could be many times higher. On the riverbanks, many cremation pylons burned around the clock, many cremation sites had no space left. This phenomenon partly reflects the unprecedented number of deaths and has not been updated in official data. According to the BBC , behind the bodies floating in the river is a story of customs, poverty and a deadly pandemic. Many cremation pylons burn around the clock in India. Photo: Getty. Frighten The horrifying story in the state of Uttar Pradesh first came to light on May 10. The opening was the event of 71 bodies washed up on the riverbank in the village of Chausa in Bihar. Officials said some of the remains may have been leftover body parts that fell into the Ganges after cremations, but they suspect the bodies were dumped in the river. The police put a net across the water to prevent the same thing from happening. A day later, about 10 kilometers from Chausa, dogs and crows were seen swarming with dozens of decomposing bodies on the banks of a river in the village of Gahmar, in the Pradesh Ghazipur region of Uttar state. Locals said the body had been washed up on the embankment for several days. However, the authorities ignored their complaints about the stench until news of the corpses found downstream of Bihar made the news. Dozens of bodies swell and decompose, floating in the river. They were discovered by people when they went for a morning dip in India’s holiest river. Sheet Hindustan Police reported that 62 bodies had been recovered. Meanwhile, in Kannauj, Kanpur, Unnao and Prayagraj, the riverbanks are dotted with shallow graves. Shallow graves by the Ganges River. Photo: Getty. Videos sent to BBC from the banks of the Mehndi ghat in Kannauj shows a series of mounds in the shape of human corpses. Each of these mounds contained a body. At the nearby Mahadevi ghat, at least 50 bodies were found. Crematorium is overloaded Traditionally, Hindus will cremate the dead. However, many communities have a practice known as “Jal Pravah” – the practice of floating the bodies of children, unmarried women, or those who have died of an infectious disease or been bitten by a snake. Many poor people do not have money to cremate their loved ones, so they also wrap their bodies in white cotton cloth and drop them into the water. Sometimes bodies are tied to rocks to ensure they will sink to the bottom of the river, but many bodies are floated without the stones tied. In the time before the pandemic, corpses floating in the Ganges were not an uncommon sight. However, the number of bodies in the river is too much in recent times, still surprising many people. A journalist in Kanpur said the number of bodies in the river was proof of the “big disparity between the official death toll and the actual death toll related to Covid-19” in India. He said that from April 16 to May 5, the official reported number was 196 deaths in Kanpur, but data from seven crematoriums showed there were nearly 8,000 cremations. “All electric crematoriums are open 24/7 in April. Even so, there are still not enough furnaces to cremate bodies, so the government has allowed the use of wood on the outside grounds for cremation,” he said. to speak. “However, crematoriums only accept confirmed Covid-19 bodies from the hospital, while a very large number of people who died at home have not been tested. Families of the dead bring the bodies of their loved ones out. on the outskirts of the city or to neighboring districts like Unnao. When they can’t find wood or a place to cremate, they drop the bodies on the riverbed.” Cremation platforms along the riverside. Photo: Getty. Another journalist in Prayagraj also believes that many of the bodies in the river are those of Covid-19 patients who died at home without being tested, or poor people who can’t afford cremation. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “These people are someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, father or mother. They deserve to be respected when they die. But their deaths are not even recorded – no one knows they died or is known. How to be buried? Burial from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m The discovery of graves and decomposing bodies, along with fears that the bodies could have contracted Covid-19 have sparked panic in villages along the river. Originating in the Himalayas, the Ganges is one of the largest rivers in the world. Hindus consider this river a sacred river, they believe that bathing in the Ganges will wash away sins and use this river water for religious ceremonies. In Kannauj, Jagmohan Tiwari, a 63-year-old resident, reported seeing “150-200 shallow graves” by the river. “The burial took place from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.,” he said. The discovery of the graves caused panic in the area. People worry that bodies buried on the ground will start to float in the river when it rains and the water level rises. On May 12, the state government banned the practice of “Jal Pravah” and provided support for poor families who could not afford cremation. Relatives of a victim stand near the riverbank while the body is cremated. Photo: Getty. In many places, the police used sticks to retrieve the body from the river and called on the boatman to bring the body to the shore. After being retrieved, the decomposed bodies are buried in pits or burned on a cremation pyre. Ghazipur district judge Mangala Prasad Singh said teams had been set up, patrolling the riverbanks and cremation grounds to prevent people from dumping bodies in rivers or burying them on the banks. Bringing the ashes of unclaimed Covid-19 victims to the Ganges River Indian volunteers collect ashes from crematoriums to organize funerals for Covid-19 victims in Haridwar city.

Summary: After sending off the third batch of Chinese crew members, Wang Qiang was one of the six Chinese who remained on the “ORIENTAL DRAGON” passenger ship. As the second officer, he sat in the wheelhouse in the morning and in the evening to ensure the normal operation of the ship, which had been suspended for 13 months. In the afternoon, he will spend one to two hours reading professional books, then going for a walk on the boat and going to the gym. Abandoned at sea for a year, these common habits are his way to ensure that he can survive the long days.

This Hong Kong passenger ship was originally a gambling ship. It started sailing at the end of 2019 to attract tourists along the route in Southeast Asia. After the outbreak of the epidemic, it did not operate well. It broke down in Penang, Malaysia in March 2020. More than 200 crew members have been trapped on the ship for more than a year, including 64 Chinese crew members.

These crew members went to the sea for a seemingly good income, but in the end, they were trapped in a jail for wages. After the fuel ran out, the crew endured the darkest hours, long nights without air conditioning, eating food with bugs, and missing their relatives. After a long period of confinement at sea, some people suffered from depression.

From March 25th to April 9th ​​this year, the Chinese crew members were sent back to China in three batches, but labor disputes continued. Whether the wages owed can be recovered or whether they can be worth a year of life in prison at sea is unknown. . The other 6 drivers will continue to be stranded, and the return date is undetermined.

Text| Gu Xin intern Xu Qiaoli

Edit| Mao Yijun

A help video taken by the crew in February this year.Photo by Wang Qiang

furnace

At 5.41 degrees north latitude, every inch of the deck is hot.

A 171.5-meter-long, 30-meter-high medium-sized passenger ship is quietly anchored in the blue, calm sea, facing the waterfront of Penang, Malaysia, 3000 meters away. It is close to the equator, with less wind and waves, and the sun shines throughout the year. In the evening, the sky is full of clouds.

There seemed to be no one on the ship, no sound, no roar of the cabin engine. Some are just silent heat. On the edge of the pool, a yellow lifebuoy floated quietly.

People hid in the room, like moles in the hole, never coming out unless necessary. On this big ship, where the heat waves are everywhere, the air-conditioned dormitory of less than ten square meters on the third floor has become a refuge cell.

The meal was set at 11:20, and they walked from the small “holes” to the hot ground. The crew dining room is on the second floor near the bow of the ship. In order to reach the place to eat, Li Tingting tiptoed downstairs, carefully wading through the sewage. The sewer was broken and overflowing water was everywhere. Li Tingting frowned, trying to ignore the smell of shit and urine.

Leaking staff restaurant on board.Picture source video screenshot

In this restaurant, lunch is served in a rectangular utensil with a rice scoop on each side, crowded with people beside it. Li Tingting, who is small, can’t squeeze others, sometimes can’t grab the food, and will be severely stepped on her toes.

Pushes and quarrels happen every day. She is numb.

Worse things are behind. After the central air conditioner broke down eight times, it couldn’t be repaired completely. The air-conditioning crew dormitory was turned off, and the chest and back were soaked after five minutes. The crew was forced to move from the third floor to the sixth floor on the top floor. This floor was originally an exclusive area for VIPs, but now it has only an independent air-conditioning system on the ship, squeezing out 200 crew members, grouped together in luxurious casinos and Chinese restaurants.

They slept crampedly on the Chase bunk, between the mattress and the mattress just before they could get their feet off. They couldn’t wash the sheets due to lack of water. The restaurants and nightclubs are covered with thick carpets and perennial mold. After sleeping for a long time, gray-green raised bacteria particles grow on the skin. It is a kind of ringworm, which is extremely itchy.

The crew huddled together to sleep.Picture source video screenshot

People’s nerves are tense, because an inexplicable word can entangle each other for a month.

Once at noon, everyone was chatting and resting in the casino. A girl asked everyone if they had an electric rice cooker, and they all shook their heads. Later, a boy said, thinking about it, I know where it is. The girl thinks that the boy is deliberately teasing her, embarrassing her, is so angry, and threatens to get a knife.

There was also a girl who went to the cockpit every day to smash the door to ask for explanation, and smashed the cockpit telescope.

They looked for all the ways to pass the time, killing the Three Kingdoms, fighting the landlords, killing the werewolves, playing mahjong, and got bored after playing a few times.

The most depressed time is when many people are together, and everyone is talking about their own affairs. “I felt a little dissociated. No one thought the same as myself, everyone was talking about their own words.” Li Tingting recalled.

During the blockade, there were five or six more couples on the ship, and several couples were separated before the seal was unblocked. Although the takeaway can be delivered, the delivery fee is 200 MYR (400 yuan off). Many novice crew members ask for money from their families, but they also conceal their own situation.

Until March of this year, the Chinese Embassy stepped in and chartered a flight to send the crew home. After getting off the boat, the feeling of fear and fear did not stop. Li Tingting found that she had become irritable and insecure. After landing in Xiamen and being arranged for an expensive hotel as a quarantine point, Li Tingting was full of doubts, “Why not arrange a cheaper one?” She didn’t trust many people and sat downstairs in the hotel for 20 hours, but in the end it didn’t help.

Gambling post

The second mate Wang Qiang never expected that he would stay on the boat for so long. The predecessor of this passenger ship was the “Vostok Dragon”, which was registered under the name of Hong Kong shipowner, Du Wenlong, to run international routes. The veteran employees who have worked on the ship for more than ten years once recalled to him that the boss was very strong, and at the peak of 2004, he earned tens of millions a day.

Wang Qiang worked on the ship for four years. When he boarded the ship again in March 2019, the business on the ship was already beyond his means, but his wages were paid fairly promptly, and he was in arrears for two or three months by accident and was quickly settled. His wife persuaded him to go home and give up that little profit. He is not reconciled. Although he has heard that business has declined in the past two years, he is more at ease on the ship after several years of cooperation.

The cruise ship was a gambling ship at first. In the past two years, Hong Kong’s tourism industry has been bleak. The shipowner has changed the route from Malaysia to Thailand. Tourists have also changed from Hong Kong and mainland tourists to people from Southeast Asian countries. The street light poles on the seashore are filled with posters to solicit customers.

In November 2019, Wang Qiang received the last instruction before his vacation, asking him to ship the “ORIENTAL DRAGON” to Penang, Malaysia: Due to poor operation, the owner leased the ship to a company in Malaysia for a two-year charter period. year.

Before sailing to Malaysia, the shipowner recruited a group of new crew interns, who graduated from a junior college or bachelor degree in navigation, and were assigned to the ship through an intermediary company contacted by the school. 60% of them come to work as waiters, and many will see the sea for the first time and go abroad for the first time.

“ORIENTAL DRAGON” is indeed a very suitable ship for novices. Li Tingting, 20, had just completed school courses. She recalled that the recruitment requirements on board were “relatively wide”, and there was no need for a cruise ship major or experience requirements. Chen Wangdong had worked in sales for several years before. At the age of 25, he hoped to go out and make a fortune. At the beginning of his career as a seaman, he planned to accumulate a little experience.

After Li Wei worked as a soldier in Gansu for five years, he changed his job. The local Social Security Bureau introduced the job and received a pamphlet that included auxiliary police, seamen, and his family. The environment of the army was relatively closed. After five years of service, he was afraid that he would transfer. The local work is not experienced enough, and he is deliberately asked to “experience” outside. After boarding this boat, Li Wei, who was from an ordinary family, became the first person of the three generations to go abroad.

There are still remnants of luxury on the ship, soft burgundy carpets, round light bulbs in nightclubs, and abstract art paintings hung on the walls. The cold light from the tall buildings along the coast of Tsim Sha Tsui is enough to excite them and dizzy. Now, 300 yuan a day can be enjoyed by elderly passengers in some tour groups.

Except for seasickness, Li Wei lives well. He lives in a double room on the third floor, each room has its own bathroom, can take a shower, and has an electric water heater to boil water.

The life of the waiter is regular, with two shifts, morning and evening-from 11:30 to 6 pm, and from the evening to 6 o’clock the next day. On the way back to the dormitory after the night shift, you can see the weak sun, like a tender egg yolk emerging from the sea level. He always couldn’t help holding up his phone to take pictures of this scene, the layers of red and hot sunlight seemed to have weight, overwhelming the sea level.

Seafarers have their own lives, and ships will dock once or twice a week. They have three hours of free time on the shore. Most crew members eat and shop together. Li Wei will take his girlfriend ashore to eat Haidilao and go to the night market to eat barbecue, burritos, flying cakes, and ice cream.

In March 2020, they received news that the Malaysian government requested that the route be suspended, and the flight will resume when the situation is better. At that time, the epidemic was sweeping the world, and news of the suspension of cruise ships broke out every day.

After the suspension, everyone began to have fun. At that time, there were Chinese, Burmese and Ukrainians stranded on the boat. Because of language problems, everyone only socialized in their own circles. The Burmese played football on the deck, and Chen Wangdong and his friends played mahjong around the table.

“At the age of more than 20 years old, living a life of more than 60 years.” They teased themselves, apparently a group of young people who have just entered the society, but they have lived a life of early retirement. While walking on the deck, Chen Wangdong looked at the shore 3,000 meters away, and began to miss those non-authentic Chinese dishes. He and his friends will disembark every day to visit Penang. He always eats Chinese food, sometimes with a cup of iced coffee.

At first, they were not very worried, the world was paralyzed, they were just paralyzed at sea. At that time, there was a weekly supply of fuel and fresh water, which would be provided at the port of Ben Thanh as usual. The small boats were loaded with fresh vegetables and the meat sailed from Penang to the cruise ship. The agent of the Malaysian company that operates the route will board the ship for regular inspections every other week.

Tenant representatives in their 50s promised them that all problems would be resolved, and also “reminded” them that they are not allowed to go home before the signed contract expires.

Sea duckweed

Until August 2020, nearly half a year later, the ship still has not resumed sailing. They had hoped many times, but they failed one by one.

The crew has not received wages since April. The shipowner comforted them, the business was not good, let them understand, and the wages would be paid in two months after the capital turnover. Gradually, the types of their food are reduced, the cakes and fruits are gone, and they are curry chicken every day.

At that time, the epidemic eased, and the crew may have to resume sailing after receiving news. But hope failed again. The representative of the Malaysian operating company informed the crew that they and the Hong Kong shipowner’s company were in a lawsuit. For the crew, they have two plans, either take one month’s salary and go home at their own expense, or continue to wait on board for the outcome of the lawsuit. At that time, at least RMB 23,000 was required to return home at his own expense.

Hope again and again, disappointment again and again. Li Tingting counted, similar repetitions “no less than 8 times.” The heart of the crew was lifted high and thrown down again. Various rumors began on the boat, and people were panicked. Chen Wangdong heard that the Burmese threw the things on the boat into the sea; there was an emotional girl who was said to be jumping into the sea.

The harsh environment made Li Tingting’s mood worse. She started quarreling frequently, “I have never had so many quarrels in my life.” In the fiercest time, she quarreled with her friend until she was close to her body, and almost got into a fight because her friend was too arrogant to borrow her cosmetics. “It doesn’t matter much if I think about it now,” Li Tingting said, everyone tried to vent their inner emotions through quarrels, and there were constant quarrels and small quarrels.

The crew was crowded indoors.Picture source video screenshot

On September 4, a Ukrainian captain boarded the ship. Prior to this, the former captain negotiated with the owner and charterer, reached an agreement, and disembarked alone with the arrears of wages and air tickets. The new captain is 1.8 meters tall, in his 50s, and his blond hair has turned white. He continued to appease the turbulent crew for the charterer.

Wang Qiang and the first officer organized a sailor’s strike. After reaching the shore, they returned to their rooms and did not leave the port or work. Then the Ukrainian captain accused them, “You are illegal.” Then a meeting of sailors was urgently called to keep them on duty.

At that time, Wang Qiang decided that as soon as the renter’s representative came, he would negotiate with him, “request for payment of the wages we owe, as well as a shift plan, and book us a return flight ticket. These must be implemented.” The renter’s representative said, They can only pay them one month’s salary. When the negotiations broke down, Wang Qiang said to the Ukrainian captain, “Our today is likely to be your tomorrow.” The other party ignored it.

After entering the litigation period, the court sealed the ship. After the stalemate, Chuan Dongfang came forward. First persuade the crew to “it is more difficult now, understand it”, then make a promise “the money will arrive in a few days, not so fast”, and finally give a specific time “you wait another week”. Wang Qiang was moved.

Everyone spent a week in hopes, and the shipowner told them that the ship would not dock and the wages would not be paid. “We were quite surprised at the time.” Wang Qiang said. Since then, the opportunity to land once a week has been deprived, and they have become a helpless duckweed on the sea.

The bad news came on November 18 that Li Tingting’s grandma passed away. On this day of the previous year, Li Tingting asked her grandma to wait for her for a year, “I told her to come back in one year.”

Grandma is Li Tingting’s closest family. Growing up in a rural area in Hebei, Li Tingting grew up with her grandparents. The old lady was diligent and planted a lot of fruits in her yard, such as watermelon, sugar cane, lotus, corn… because Li Tingting envied other people’s fruits. Li Tingting has always hoped that when she grows up, she will work hard to earn money and let her grandma live a good life.

Li Tingting broke down when she heard the news of her grandma’s death. She started to call, the mayor’s hotline, labor and social security hotline, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs… the crew all called for help in October, and this time, the voices were the same as usual, and the answers were the same as before: “To you We have been paying attention to this matter, and now we are in an economic dispute, and we can’t get in.”

Every crew member missed a lot. Chen Wangdong’s grandmother also passed away during the epidemic. The local government demanded that everything be kept simple, but Chen Wangdong could not keep up with his grandmother’s funeral. Wang Qiang’s wife spent her birthday and the Spring Festival alone, and survived her mother’s hospital stay alone.

The days on the boat turned into a hazy waiting.

The last straw

After the Spring Festival this year, a girl sat down to the stern every day, looking at the sea. Wang Qiang found someone to look at her, fearing that she would fall. Later, the girl fought with a boy and chased each other in a full boat with a fruit knife, threatening “If you don’t arrange for me (returning to China), I will kill him.” The boy was so scared that he only dared to sleep next to the bridge and stay there. Next to Wang Qiang. After that, the girls began to “do not leave their hands”, wanting to exchange for a chance to go home.

Wang Qiang arranged a VIP guest room for the girl. He asked the manager of the housekeeping department to find a small air conditioner to slowly ease the girl’s emotions. He also negotiated with the insurance company. He paid the girl four months’ salary and arranged for her to go home at her own expense.

Then another girl came to the bridge to sit for one night because of her mother’s hospitalization. Wang Qiang went to the insurance company again and paid four months’ salary as well. Subsequently, ten, twenty…a large number of crew members began to “occupy” the bridge, at most there were more than fifty.

Wang Qiang took the video at that time, and the insurance company finally arranged an agent to board the ship to understand the situation. The agent was immediately surrounded by the crew, and a girl hugged the agent’s thigh tightly, as if holding the last straw.

After being not allowed to dock, Wang Qiang, the chief mate, and a security officer began to take turns to take over the crew’s major and minor matters, soothe everyone’s emotions, and contact various organizations for help at the same time. At the end of October, the captain issued a call for help to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). In November, Wang Qiang issued a notice of abandonment to the Penang Maritime Department.

Finally, the Japanese ITF organization replied to them. Under its leadership, their abandonment insurance took effect, and the insurance company in London began to distribute supplies to the crew.

In fact, crew members were abandoned by the shipowner from time to time. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), there will be as many as 45 shipowners abandoning ships in 2020. In the absence of supplies for months or even years, no salary, or even full of security risks, survival becomes the only goal.

It was not until this time, on March 20, that Wang Qiang received an arrangement from the insurance company to organize repatriation.

The repatriated crew bid farewell to the “ORIENTAL DRAGON”.Photo courtesy of the interviewee

Two days later, the first officer and the second officer organized a meeting in the tourist restaurant on the sixth floor. Hearing the news of the deportation, everyone cheered briefly. Some people stood up and more people lowered their hair. Chen Wangdong felt a lot better for the first time. Before that, he hadn’t had the desire to exercise for a long time, because his nutrition couldn’t keep up, he felt that his body became poor.

As if she had a premonition, Li Tingting had a dream. She dreamed that she was going home. Her mother cooked several dishes, and she ate one bowl after another. Now, she tells her mother about the repatriation, and her mother returns to her: “About when will I be able to go home? The family also keeps a lot of vegetables for you, raises a lot of crucian carp, and your favorite shrimp.”

On March 25, 18 girls including Li Tingting left the ship in the first batch. They arrived in Kuala Lumpur by boat, and then flew to Xiamen where they were quarantined in a hotel for 14 days.

On the day of return, Li Tingting went to the bridge to give the first officer and Wang Qiang some snacks to thank them for their efforts. Wang Qiang watched them get on the boat from the bridge, took a video and put it in the circle of friends, with the text “No one can understand how hard they have gone through and want to cry without tears!”

The first group of repatriated crew members disembarked.Picture source video screenshot

The batch of repatriation was decided by the first officer and Wang Qiang. Chen Wangdong was given the opportunity to return in the third batch, and his friends got the second batch, and they could only say “goodbye by destiny” to each other. After this time, Chen Wangdong said that he would not consider being a seaman again.

On April 8, Chen Wangdong returned to Penang by boat. He posted seven or eight circles of friends, one of which said, “Since you can’t be the One Piece, then go home and be the king of passersby.” However, a year of drifting at sea, in Li Tingting. A shadow was cast in his heart, unable to heal. Li Tingting’s greatest wish is to go home and “see grandma”, but she decided to bury this experience in her heart because she was afraid that grandma in the sky would worry, “I think she wants me to live well.”

As the pilot, Wang Qiang needs to maintain the daily operation of the “ORIENTAL DRAGON” and cannot leave until the lawsuit between the owner and the charterer is over. The insurance company has a promise that when the repatriation of the third group of crew members is completed, it will start arranging the return journey of the six Chinese pilots, but Wang Qiang is not sure whether this will also be a bad check.

(The characters in the text are all pseudonyms)

“We have to race against time, work at 100% capacity to cremate bodies in time,” said Kamlesh Sailor, president of the organization that operates a cremation facility in Surat City, Gujarat state. Data from cremation facilities, media to the government show that the number of people buried or cremated by major cities is much greater than the number of Covid-19 deaths recorded by the authorities. official health announcement, according to Reuters . The difference in the number of deaths Reliable data is central to every nation’s anti-pandemic efforts, experts say. Without reliable data, such as vaccine preparation and medical essentials supply are extremely difficult. On April 19, India recorded 273,810 new infections, along with 1,619 deaths. The total number of Covid-19 cases in India is now more than 15 million, ranking second only to the United States. But it is more likely that the above statistic is much lower than what is actually happening. The bodies are cremated according to Covid-19 defense regulations in India. Photo: Sentinel. Indian authorities say the discrepancy in death data could be caused by a variety of reasons. Many corpses are cremated according to the Covid-19 prevention “even if there is only a 0.1% chance that the person is positive for the virus,” said a health official. “There are many cases where patients are hospitalized in a very critical condition and die before being tested. There are cases where patients died prior to admission, we don’t know if they have Covid-19 or not”, the official said to be anonymous. There are many areas in India where reliable data cannot be collected, said Bhramar Mukherjee, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Michigan. “Things are messed up, I feel like no one understood the situation,” Mr. Mukherjee said. Surat is the second largest city in the state of Gujarat. At the cremation facilities Kurukshetra and Umra, more than 100 bodies are cremated every day according to Covid-19 regulations. This figure is four times higher than the official statistics of the number of people dying from Covid-19. Prashant Kabrawala, representative of the Narayan Trust, which runs the Ashwinikumar cremation facility, refused to provide the number of bodies cremated under anti-epidemic regulations. However, he says the number of cremations has tripled in recent weeks. “I’ve never seen so many cremated bodies over the years,” Kabrawala said. An Indian government spokesman in Gujarat declined to comment ahead of the difference in the number of deaths and cremations associated with the epidemic. India is not the only country where corona virus statistics have been questioned. But scientific literature and cremation staff testimony show that the disparity in officially reported deaths in India is much higher than in other countries. Professor Mukherjee’s study against the first wave of epidemics in India showed that the number of viral infections is 11 times more than officially reported, which is similar to research in other countries. However, the difference in officially reported deaths ranges from 2-5 times, much higher than the global average. The incinerator burned non-stop In Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, data from the largest cremation facility called Baikunthdham, which only processed the bodies of Covid-19 patients, showed that the number of bodies brought in was twice as high. The death of corona virus is reported by the government. That’s not to mention data from other cremation facilities, or cases of the Muslim customary burial – the community that makes up a quarter of Lucknow’s population. Azad, the Baikunthdham facility manager, said the number of bodies cremated under anti-epidemic regulations has increased fivefold in recent weeks. “We work day and night. The furnace is burning red continuously, but many bodies still have to line up,” Azad said. The state government of Uttar Pradesh declined to respond to a request for comment on Covid-19 death data. Cremations many times greater than the number of Covid-19 deaths have also been reported in many other parts of India. Cremation facility staff in New Delhi are exhausted from a work shift. Photo: QZ. In Bhopal, the state capital of Madhya Pradesh, it was recorded during 4 days of April that 187 bodies had been cremated according to anti-epidemic regulations. However, the number of corona virus deaths officially announced by the authorities is only 5. Last week, the sheet Sandesh 63 bodies were reported to a hospital for Covid-19 patients only in the city of Ahmedabad. However, that same day, the city authorities only counted 20 people died from the corona virus. Medical Journal Lancet says less than 25% of all deaths in India are confirmed medically, meaning that the exact number of deaths from Covid-19 in many regions cannot be determined. “Most of the deaths are not reported, so it is impossible to have a reliable calculation,” said Professor Mukherjee.