By Ali

A Frie nds hip be yond Borde rs a nd Age s

By Ali

I n1999,19-year-oldSong Yang came to the UK after graduating from high school in Zhengzhou,China.On the third day after his arrival,he got off at the wrong tube station and decided to take a rest on the bench.As he looked around,lost,an old man named Hans,carrying many bags,staggered towards him and sat beside him.With a kind smile,the old man began to ask Yang about China. After awhile,the excited old man gave Yang a warm invitation to visit his home.

Carrying the old man’s things,Yang followed the man to his home in the West End of London.Yang soon discovered that the old man lived alone in a 40 squaremeterapartmentinacheap neighborhood.He only ate ready-made food from supermarkets,as he didn’t know how to cook.

A Friendship across Borders

Hans was born in Switzerland in 1933. His mother died when he was 3 and his stepmother wasn’t kind to him.Thus, he left his home 40 years ago.He had lived in North Africa,the US,Egypt,Israel,and other countries.He had been a car salesman and electrician.He had never been married.He retired to the UK and was aging—he lost hearing in one of his ears and his legs weren’t steady any more.Despite all this,he enjoyed his freedom and refused to live in a care house provided by the government.

In his small apartment,old photos adorned the poorly lit walls,giving a sense of nostalgia.“Look,this is me withPrincessAnna.”Hans’face showed the joy of a child when he explained every photo and relived the memories.

After their meeting,Yang frequented Hans’place to help him cook and clean. One day,Yang received a call from Hans.He said,“If you like,you can move to my place.Free of charge.We can take care of each other.”

At that time,Yang was sharing a rented house with other students.Hans’apartment happened to be much closer to the school Yang was attending.The UK was expensive.To have a place to stay for free was no doubt a great favor for a foreign student such as Yang.

Yang took on the responsibility of the chores at the apartment.Within a few days of moving in,the apartment looked anew.Yang made soup with deep-sea fish almost everyday for Hans,who was deeply impressed by Yang’s wonderful Chinese cooking.

Yang’s mother was a doctor,so healsohadsomemedicalknowledge. Hans’legs cramped quite often so he gave him massages twice a day in the morning and evening.He also contacted a local hospital and took the old man for regular health checks.

One day in 2001,Yang was hit by a bus.He broke several teeth and had a fracture in his jaw.His face was damaged and Hans was the only one he could call.Hearing what happened to Yang,Hans immediately went to the hospital and filed a police report.He stayed all night with Yang in the hospital and helped sue the bus company.The case went on for more than 3 years.

To make money,Yang took on car cleaning work on the weekends.Hans was an old man but he insisted on helping Yang with the cleaning and gave all the tips he earned to Yang.

They lived close to the Heathrow Airport,so when Yang’s family and friends visited the UK,they asked him to help pick them up at the airport.When Yang was in school or at work,Hans would pick up the guests at the airport with a sign in Chinese.Not everyone who came was a close friend to Yang,but Hans was nonetheless always kind to them. Hotels were expensive,so Hans would let them stay with us and buy them dinner.The apartment was small,and when there wasn’t enough room,Yang and Hans would sleep on the floor and give their beds to the guests.Hans was indeed a kind-hearted man who was always there to help others.

A Long Lasting Bound

In June 2002,Yang invited Hans to visit China with the money he made from his part-timejobs.Yang’sfamilyand friends treated Hans with such warmth that the old man felt he was part of a family again.He was brought to tears several times by their kindness.

Eventually,the good friends had to part.In the summer of 2007,Yang graduated from London University with a MBA degree,and he found out there a job opening in the public sector in his hometown of Zhengzhou.Hans knew he could no longer depend on Yang and told him,“Yang,you’ve got to have your own career,get married,and start a family.I’m old.I can’t keep getting in your way.You should go on with your life.”

Yang was worried about Hans,and before he left,he found a 40-year-old Pakistani man to move in with Hans and take care of him.Later he found out that this man treated Hans’home as a hotel and often stayed out past midnight.

Yang’s mother Wang Xiaohua told our reporter,“the first 9 months after my son came back,Hans called every day. There was one time when Yang was on a business trip when Hans called,I had to dial my son and connect the two telephones together for them to talk.”

In June 2008,Hans unexpectedly asked Yang in a phone call,“When are you coming to visit me,Yang?My legs hurt.”O(jiān)n hearing that,Yang was worried but could do nothing.In August,he boarded a flight to London.He couldn’t forget what he saw when he opened Hans’door.The old man was unshaven, his hair long,and he was wearing his winter clothes in the middle of summer. His bedding gave off a bad smell.Hans’hip was not functioning and he was now in a wheelchair.

Yang couldn’t bear to see the old man living alone in London.He had a bold idea—moving Hans to China to take care of him.

In January 2009,Hans received a hip replacement surgery in a hospital in Zhengzhou.Yang took care of the bill of over RMB 60,000.There was serious bleeding after the surgery and Hans finally woke up after 24 hours of intensive care.

A Home in China

Yang has a video of Hans being brought to tears by a saxophone player playing Auld Lang Syne.The care and love from Yang’s family made a home for Hans in China that he needed so dearly.

Before Hans came to China,he had only learned about China through the rare reports on disasters,poverty,and other negative news.Now,he always says,“I’ll fight anyone daring to say bad things about China!”In the meantime,Hans’neighbors’negative opinions about China dissolved after seeing Hans’photos in Zhengzhou;some even made plans to visit China.

Hans is still trying his hardest to give back.Since 2008,he has volunteered in Yang’s neighborhood,teaching the children English.He waits in the square at the same time every day for children to come up and speak with him in English. He also tells stories to them about his life before China.

When Yang’s child was born,Hans seemed more excited than anyone.He’d hold the baby and play with him every day.The baby might wonder why a whiteskinned,blued-eyedoldman would be so fond of him.

Yang and Hans have lived together for 13 years.Yang said that they met each other at their loneliest and most helpless time.The company they provided each other had made them into a real family.

In August 2012,Hans and Yang’s story was made into a video and posted online.Many viewers were touched by this international friendship.One commented that Yang is such a great man with a big heart;while others exclaimed that Hans is the happiest foreigner in the world.

(FromModern Youth,Vol.11,2012. Translation:ZhangLei.Illustration: Shanlifeng)

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a phone call from Hans’neighbor when he was on business trip in Guiyang.The neighbor told Yang that the old man still hadn’t returned home and that it was already 9pm there.Yang was very worried.He drew out the places Hans frequently visited and faxed the map to his friends in the UK to look for Hans.He remotely directed this search,and three hours later,they finally found Hans,lying on the side of the road,drunk.