8c89a59109ef141a47654e.jpg (Photo : vk.com)
On Dec. 16, 80 years old Swiss man Hans's funeral was held in city funeral home in Zhengzhou, China.
Hans has been living in United Kingdom for most of his life. He was taken back to China by his "Chinese son" Song Yang, whom he met 14 years ago back in London. The 34-year old Song Yang brought Hans to China about 6 years ago. He has been taking care of Hans ever since till he passed away.
In 1999, Song was 19 years old when he first came to UK alone for school. Song met Hodel the third day he landed the new country, without a place to stay. On the bank of Thames River, Hodel (who Song also later referred to as Hans) was struggling to carry a lot of things near a subway station when the young Chinese man passed by. "He was elderly and had difficulty getting about, so I came over to give him a hand," recalled Song.
Hans was born in Switzerland in 1933. He's been on his own since he was young. In order to survive, Hans has done many different jobs such as car washing and barkeeping and he later retired from a theater in London. Sadly, Hans was never married, hence has no offspring.
Hans showed the Chinese teenager around London and invited him to his home, not far from the university. Song cooked a meal for Hans, who then invited him to stay for free if he would do simple household chores. From then on, the two not only lived together, they became co-dependent to each other.
"We helped each other. Hans helped me to adapt to the local way of life," said Song. "Sometimes my friends from China visited me and Hans would offer his bedroom to the guests and sleep on the sofa."
One day in 2001, Song was involved in a road accident. He injured his head and three of his teeth got knocked out. He had no one to turn to for help, other than to call Hans, who immediately rushed to the hospital to take care of him. Hans even helped Song win a lawsuit and get compensation. "You look after me now, and I will look after you, too," Song promised.
Song lived in London for eight years, during which he went back China six times, and each time he took Hans with him. Song and his family members accompanied Hans on trips to Beijing, Shanghai and Hainan.
In 2007, Song finished his studies and returned home. Before leaving London, he entrusted Hans to care for one of his schoolmates. Within several months, Hans lost more than 20 kilograms in weight, and then his old problem of necrosis of his thighbone recurred and needed immediate surgery.
Although Hans could enjoy free surgical treatment in the UK, he had to wait a long time on a waiting list for the surgery. He would have to be discharged from the hospital very soon after the surgery, which would have been difficult for him, because he had no one to help him. Song went back to London and took Hans to China. He found him a local hospital where he received surgery and paid everything.
Hans became a real family to Song since he moved to China. Hans even had a pleasant relationship with Song's son. He taught the boy English, as well as Spanish and German. He was a volunteer English teacher for the children of his residential area.
On Dec. 2, Hans died of heart failure in a local hospital in Zhengzhou. On Dec. 15, his funeral was held. Participants included Song's family, representatives from the Swiss Embassy in China, leaders from the Zhengzhou municipal government, medical workers of the hospital and many citizens.
"Hans might be the first foreigner that was taken care of by a Chinese person in his later life. "Hu Xiaofeng, a representative from the Swiss Embassy in China said at the funeral.
The embassy said that Song would take care of Hans' ashes until it becomes possible, if ever, to find any of his relatives in his hometown.
