Interview

Interview with: Bao Feng 

Q: Think back to before the wall was being built, did you have a job? And if so what was it?
A: Before the Wall was being built I had a job. I was a farmer. I had my own farm and on that farm I would grow rice. My Farm was owned by me and my Family. Since we didn’t live in the big city, we had had to be farmers because we couldn’t travel all the way to the big city each day for work. Plus when I was little I grew up on a farm so it was a way to connect with my parents and the rest of my family.

Q:  When the building of the wall began did you volunteer to help build it, or were you forced?
A: Well, at the time I agreed that the building of the wall was a good idea. I had agreed it was a good idea so I volunteered to help with the building. Little did I know that so many people were going to die, and there was going to be such bad conditions. The thought behind volunteering was that it would keep my Family and close ones safe.

Q: While you were building the wall do you feel that the conditions were good or bad overall?
A: While I was working on the wall I would have to say the conditions were bad. We only got enough food to keep us alive. We weren’t allowed to see our family, unless of coarse they worked on the wall also. We had to work 24/7 without stopping, and if we stopped punishments were as bad a death.

Q:  Did you ever think about committing suicide instead of working on the wall?
A: Never. I never thought of committing suicide while working on the wall. Life meant to much for me. I had a family that loved and cared for me so there was no need to commit suicide. In fact I convinced a really good friend of mine not to convince suicide. I told him conditions were going to get better even though i knew they were not.

Q: When you first heard about the wall being built did you agree to it or where you against it?
A: I didn’t have to think through my thought of the wall. I wanted the wall to be built. The wall had many reasons to be built. One reason was to protect everyone in China from invaders. Without the wall we were getting invaded very often. We also figured that the wall would bring lots of jobs to China. Little did we know the conditions were going to be as bad as they were. The wall does keep out invaders now that it is built, but for all the lives that were lost I don’t think it was worth it in the outcome.