Hit Chinese film looks back at grand evacuation from Libya
Edited by Yang Jian. Subtitles by Yang Jian.
The latest movie to win over Chinese audiences is called "Home Coming."
The patriotic movie has grossed more than 1.4 billion yuan (US$193 million) to date at the domestic box office after 25 days. Last Friday, it hit the North American big screen.
Based on real events, the movie depicts how a Chinese diplomat and his young assistant managed to escort a group of stranded Chinese back to the homeland through the flames of the war in a fictional country called Nubia Republic.
It revived memories of the evacuation of more than 30,000 Chinese nationals from riot-torn Libya in 2011, one of the biggest overseas evacuation missions of China in the last decade.
Moreover, the unswerving efforts by the nation to bring its people home in a turbulent world has touched many Chinese people.
Like China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Xu, who spoke about the movie at a press conference of the 20th National Congress of Communist Party of China last week. "One of the most impressive scripts of the movie is that the homeland won't abandon any citizen and will definitely bring everyone home."
For Ni Xiulong and Lin Dongfei, the lifelike scenes in the movie provided a sense of de ja vu. They recalled their personal experience of being evacuated from Libya 11 years ago.
The new Chinese blockbuster "Home Coming" topped the box office during China's National Day holiday in early October.
Ni Xiulong, a supervisor with China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp
Ni, 52, could not help crying after watching the movie at a cinema in downtown Jing'an District during the week-long National Day holiday early this month.
Hundreds of militants holding rifles surrounded a group of civilians. Bullets burst out from guns and flew to the sky. Many of the scenes were familiar to Ni, such as the close confrontation with armed gangs, the despairing trek in the desert, the assistance from Chinese diplomats and the Himalayan Mountains seen from the porthole on their returning flight.
Ni felt like he was transported back to the unforgettable days 11 years ago when he was working for a construction project in Libya with his three nephews and other Chinese workers.
Ni Xiulong (second left) poses with his nephews in Benghazi, Libya, ahead of the turmoil.
After the outbreak of the civil war in Libya in 2011, the Chinese government arranged over 120 chartered flights of both domestic and foreign airlines, a dozen military planes, 11 foreign cruise liners, five business vessels and a navy ship to evacuate 35,860 stranded Chinese, along with 2,100 foreign citizens over 12 days.
"I burst into tears when I saw the cruise liner arranged by the Chinese government to pick us up," Ni recalled. "Before that, every day was filled with confusion, anxiety and panic."
Ni arrived in Benghazi, the second biggest city of the north African country, in 2010 after finishing a previous construction project in Qatar in the Middle East. Despite his first impression of the city as being a bit deserted, Ni had a happy and relaxed first year.
Since over 60 percent of the products available were made in China, most city residents were friendly to Ni and other Chinese workers.
Ni Xiulong's dormitory after being robbed by militants in Libya.
The honeymoon period ended in the spring of 2011 following the outbreak of the Libyan civil war amid the Arab Spring uprisings.
Many local construction workers stopped showing up after mid-February, while sporadic gunfire could be heard from nearby streets, Ni recalled.
The management of the company asked the Chinese workers to defend themselves with steel bars, tubes and shovels in case of emergency, and told them that safety of life was more important than property, he said.
Ni and colleagues buried important documents, passports and cash, while seniors and female employees were accommodated in the most secure place at the construction site.
Luo Linquan, then Chinese ambassador to Greece, with stranded Chinese workers.
With Benghazi fully occupied by anti-government militants, a group of militias surrounded the construction site on the night of February 20, demanding money and workers' belongings.
Ni remembers 100 armed militants confronting more than 1,000 Chinese workers on both sides of a wall. They threatened the Chinese to hand over all the cash and properties by firing in the sky.
"Though I looked calm at that time, my heart was pounding," he said.
The rioters finally broke in and ransacked the site. They took away television sets, washing machines, computers and clothes. Only some Chinese food such as fermented tofu and chili sauce were left untouched. Luckily, no one was injured.
After the grand evacuation started, like in the movie, a group of Chinese that arrived at the Libya-Egypt border were not allowed in by Egyptian immigration officials because many had lost their passports.
Ni's colleagues smile before taking a chartered flight to China.
A Chinese diplomat persuaded the immigration official by saying that only Chinese could sing the country's national song. The group then sang the national anthem and was allowed to cross the border.
Ni and 4,600 other stranded Chinese took two cruise liners rented by the Chinese government to leave war-ridden Libya and reached Crete Island in Greece.
Ni took 1,000-plus photographs for his colleagues at the popular tourism site with a digital camera that survived the loot. The camera was used to take photos on the construction project.
Among them, his favorite is a long line of Chinese construction workers smiling at the camera before taking a chartered flight to the homeland.
"It was then that I decided to keep recording the life of ordinary construction workers," Ni pointed out. "Experiencing the war and dangers has given me a better understanding of the values of peace and dedication to others."
The stranded workers of China Gezhouba Group Corp (CGGC) take a group photo after their evacuation from Libya.
Lin Dongfei, then vice manager of a housing project in Libya, China Gezhouba Group Corp (CGGC) International Ltd.
More than 4,200 days have passed but that episode is still very vivid in Lin's mind.
It started out ominously. As dusk shaded into night on February 21, the rain began to bucket down, accompanied with biting wind. Suddenly, a shrill scream split the air. "Run! Crowds armed with sticks are coming!" yelled the doorman.
At that time, CGGC was contracted to build residential complexes in Nalut, about 230 kilometers from the Libyan capital Tripoli. More than 200 Chinese workers were housed in makeshift offices and dorms when the stormy unrest spread to their encampment.
There was barely time to pack up. They just grabbed their wallets, mobile phones, laptops and anything else at hand, and made a dash for the nearest safety – the compound of a local subcontractor.
Nearly 200 meters away, the compound was an ideal spot for sanctuary in case of emergency. It had high walls up to 3 meters all around, and extensive stores of water and food supplies.
One of the makeshfit offices that was destroyed.
Thankfully, everyone managed to duck into the compound. However, they couldn't shake off the unruly chasing mob.
The thugs shouted, whistled and hammered at the door. They went on the rampage smashing windows of cars parked outsides. Every time they managed to hotwire a car, they howled, delirious.
Behind the walls, dozens of Chinese workers stood guard every 3 to 5 meters so as to prevent anyone jumping over the walls. Everyone had their heart in the mouth, afraid of a break-in.
The awful din gradually quieted down around 11pm. Suddenly, there was shouting, "You are safe. Come out."
Lin and the project's chief Arabic translator Yang Guowen took time to open the door and saw local tribal leaders and villagers. It was Libyan drivers and security guards working for the project who went off to find help from locals.
The evacuation route.
With their escort, Chinese workers returned to their offices which were a mess. Broken glass and scraps of paper lay scattered on the ground. Computers and other things of value were ransacked, and the remaining office supplies smashed up.
"Gunfire, rioters and blood. Scenes seen in movies were taking place right before our very eyes," Lin said.
Fortunately, the mobs didn't return.
On February 23, China ordered the evacuation of all of its nationals trapped in Libya. CGGC was assigned to assist 11 Chinese firms to evacuate more than 12,000 people to Tunisia from western Libya.
In a way, Lin spearheaded the evacuation efforts amid the volleys of gunfire.
Lin and Yang hailed a taxi at inflated prices and spent 12 hours on a 400-kilometer round trip, scouting the area for a safe evacuation route overland.
"The shelling continued in cities and towns. Burning tanks and military vehicles were seen everywhere. Roadblocks were set up every several kilometers and lookout posts were garrisoned with soldiers and militia fighters," Lin noted.
The stranded Chinese workers can finally return home.
Halfway on the road, a group of militia fighters became suspicious of them. They stopped their car, seized their mobile phones and passports, and locked them up.
"Yang and I were detained separately. It took him about 15 minutes to explain our purpose and they freed us," Lin said.
After a number of mishaps, they reached the Libya-Tunisia border. They returned non-stop and reported to the Chinese Embassy to decide on the evacuation route.
On early morning of February 24, the first 3,000-plus Chinese workers began their journey home. Nearly 100 flatbed trucks drove in a 5-kilometer-long convoy, each with several Chinese workers raising a Chinese national flag on the roof.
The five-star red flags fluttered in the breeze, an extremely eye-catching sight, which protected the Chinese nationals as they made a safe and smooth journey to Tunisia overland at the border crossing.
Chinese workers raise a Chinese national flag on the flight back home.
"Upon arrival, everyone's eyes were brimming with tears," Lin recollected.
However, new problems followed. Only people with passports were allowed to cross the border, when in fact most had lost their passports or had seen them burnt.
Hundreds of people were stranded on the border, with a growing sense of unease lurking. Some even came near to a breakdown and left "last words" to their families in phone calls.
Lin and his colleagues moved around, comforting them and speaking to different authorities to get the pass. "No one can be left behind," Lin said and he meant it. Finally, every one safely crossed the border.
In Tunisia, they boarded a chartered plane, which arrived in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on March 1. "Not until then did I feel relieved," Lin said. "We were finally home!"
