Under the direction of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s “hard reasoning”, even the distant steppes of South Mongolia was not permitted to fall behind from the nationwide frenzy for money.

About a year ago, a large coal reserve was discovered in Khongor and four other gachaa (villages) of Hooltiin Gol sum, where 500 nomad households live. The nightmares of thousands of Mongolian herders in this area has not ceased ever since.

The open-pit coal mine is located 50 kilometers west from where the West Ujumchin government building sits, where no pavement, railroad or electricity is found. The local herders use small household wind-powered generators. To make way for the mine, many herders were forcefully removed to live in apartment buildings in the urbanized centers of the banner or the sum. This permanently destroyed any chance of survival of the traditional nomadic lifestyle in the region, in which it has persisted for millennia.

Photo: The nomads in their ancestral lands now live in dust storms. Isn’t it simple to see that the giant trucks are creating the dust storm? Imagine what kind of sinful trucks must be creating the dust storms in Beijing? This is a murder scene.
The relatives of the deceased provided the photo.

The information and statements above were provided to the journalist at BoXun today by a local herder. A neighbor of Mergen also said: “Mergen sacrificed [his life] for all of us. We are all very frustrated. This is the result of the government’s obliviousness”. The neighbor, who has also witnessed the recent changes in the area, said that “in order to haul away the coal, they built a terrible road from dirt and gravels. When hundreds of trucks pass by, the effect is worse than the dust storms. Over 200 trucks like this constantly go through here, day and night. The pollution here is too much. We look like we’re made of dirt and mud, and even the grass have turned black”.

A relative of Mergen said: “Mergen is the only one from here who made the initiative to block the road. He organized over 30 family members and friends to come out and block the road, but he ended up getting killed. That’s why we all feel that he died for all of us.” This relative also explained that “blocking the road” means parking their family owned tractors onto the road to stop the trucks from passing. They had come out to block the road twice, on April 27th and May 10th of this year. On the 10th, however, nobody thought that their leader Mergen would die. The relative says: “All of the bones in Mergen’s body were pulverized into pieces, like powder.”

Photo: For protecting his grasslands and homeland, Mergen’s was crushed into pieces, and his brain flows into the ground. Photo provided by family members.

Mergen, along with his friends and family, began petitioning the local government since last year, demanding the dirt road to be paved in order to protect the most basic environmental conditions for the locals to live. The already-distressed grassland is fundamental to the survival of nomads and their livestock. A neighbor of Mergen says: “The government is too shady! The government is teaming up with corporations to swindle the people. If that wasn’t true, an event like this would never have happened”. 

According to the neighbors and relatives of Mergen, “The truck had hit Mergen on purpose”. When the nomads blocked the road, many trucks had no choice but to stop just to avoid colliding with the tractors parked on the road. The local police received news of the protest, and arrived on scene to mediate between the two sides, and to ease the traffic. At this time, three trucks going towards the mine went off the dirt road and furiously tore through the grassland with high speed, as Mergen and other leaders among the herders were speaking with the police on the grass next to the road. Unfortunately, Mergen was hit by the wheel of the 24-ton truck, and his body was thrown over 200 meters away. The trucker who murdered Mergen did not stop. The police, after witnessing the three trucks speeding in front of their noses, immediately began pursuing them. However, the truck that struck Mergen accelerated away with even higher speed, and the other trucks purposefully blocked the road in front of the police to help the perpetrator escape. The police finally stopped the truck that killed Mergen over 30 kilometers away, but the driver had run away on foot. In the end, however, the driver was captured and jailed at a temporary confinement facility.

The neighbor also said: “Mergen is a very capable man. His intention was to help improve the conditions for his community and to protect our grassland, but his fate is too unfortunate. There is no way he can rest in peace”. Mergen, who was 35 years old, is survived by his mother, who is 64, wife and two children, the younger of which is only 3 years old. Mergen’s family told the BoXun journalist: “His body is still in the morgue at the banner hospital, and the government hasn’t dealt with this issue yet. Nobody came from the government to speak to our family to understand the situation or to offer condolences. We went to the banner center to see the banner governor, but the people there said he’s in a meeting. The banner governor Erdenemunkh met a few of our family members at 3 o’clock, this afternoon. He met with Mergen’s mother, uncle, aunt and siblings. In the end, the banner governor said the situation will be dealt with”. Representatives from public safety and legal authorities were present during the governor’s meeting with Mergen’s family. 

Aside from their demand for financial reparation, the most important thing Mergen’s family is asking for is to have the government officially recognize that Mergen died for his community, and to protect their grassland. A good friend of Mergen, who’s an employee of the banner government and thus did not want to disclose his name, said “he [Mergen] has become our hero now”. He also said that Mergen’s family demanded the building of a monument or statue in his memory. 

This journalist has discovered that in recent days, many cybercitizens have expressed sympathy toward Mergen and the local herders on various websites in China. The following post was quoted from someone with the alias Lan Xi Bao (Blue Cell):

“You are the modern Gaada Meiiren! Those Chinese, traitors of Mongolia, and the so-called “Leaders” should be killed! History will remember that you sacrificed your young life for protecting our grassland. Mongolians will unite and protect the grassland that belongs to us. They said that a Mongolian’s life is worth 400,000 (~$60,000 USD), and just like that, they crushed him to death, even when the police was still there! Now our lives are not even worth the life of a dog…”

The journalists here would like to express our deepest gratitude to Mr. Khivisgalt, who is an émigré living in Japan, for providing important sources, and help in translating from Mongolian to Chinese.

Photo: For protecting his grasslands and homeland, Mergen’s was crushed into pieces, and his brain flows into the ground. Photo provided by family members.