“In the village society, if you speak out, you will be ostracized,” he said. “There’s a common assumption that if you talk too much or do anything controversial, the authorities won’t help you. They won’t repair the road by your house. They won’t give the benefit of official services. That’s what people assume. We were lucky—our home and our business survived, and we didn’t need their help. But plenty of people around here lost their families, their homes, their possessions. People like that are not going to speak out, or criticize the local government.”
