Slowly the faces of the locals became aggressive with hatred.

Hak gwai. Hak gwai. Black ghost. Black ghost.

‘Hey foreign devils! Why have you come to our country? To eat without working? Go back to wherever you came from. Aren’t you ashamed to return to China after being chased away? Aren’t you ashamed to return like beggars? Leave our country.’

The faces of the people who knew the language became crimson with rage and frustration, tears brimming in their eyes.

The tension in the air was palpable. This sort of behavior was not unfamiliar to them. It was dangerous to protest. Everyone lowered their heads.

The stern-faced policemen were checking their belongings and their bodies. They were removing everything which they considered doubtful. These people had come from a capitalist country. They were not trustworthy. There might be Indian spies hiding among these people. Most of them looked Indian. They had lived in India for a few generations. They might create trouble in China.

The officials of the registration office had taken a few returnees who knew the Chinese language with them. With their help, they started registering the newcomers.

Slowly the queue moved forward. After registration, they were sent to a three-storied hotel, a temporary camp for the returnees. The receiving committee had made good arrangements for them.

Yiu Yi’s mother became restless to meet Yiu Yi.

‘Were the people from the first batch brought to this hotel?’ she asked her husband in a low voice.

‘I don’t know,’ he answered absentmindedly.

‘Ask someone then.’

‘Whom will I ask now? Registration is going on. See how angry the locals are. Now you can’t ask anyone. I will ask later.’

She became silent. But when she reached the hotel, she went to one official to enquire about Yiu Yi.

‘Where are the people from the first batch?’ She asked in broken Chinese.

‘First batch?’ the officer asked in surprise.

‘Yes, that ship which came before, some days before? My daughter was there in that batch. Her name is Yiu Yi.’

‘Who told you that a batch of people had come before this?’

‘He told me. He is Yiu Yi’s father.’

Looking at Yiu Yi’s father for a few moments the officer asked him suspiciously, ‘What is this woman saying?’

Yiu Yi’s father lowered his head and answered slowly, ‘I told her that our daughter had come in the first batch.’

‘But this is the first batch. Why did you lie?’

‘He lied?’ Yiu Yi’s mother turned to her husband. ‘You lied?’

She looked at her husband who stood with his head lowered. Then she cried out, ‘Where is Yiu Yi?’

All the family members came running to them. The children embraced her.

‘Where is Yiu Yi? Where did you leave her? Why are you not telling me anything?’

‘She is no more. At the Deoli camp, because of the heat, she –’