https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/u04m1h/people_screaming_out_of_their_windows_after_a/
Translation of what the man narrating the video is saying provided by reddit user:
The man is speaking in a combination of Shanghainese and Mandarin. This is a direct translation that I came up with, the other commenters’ responses are inaccurate or lack nuance:
“Everyone is yelling
This is crazy.
Just now, 5 minutes before, only a few people were screaming. Now suddenly, everyone is screaming.
This is crazy/people are going crazy
If this continues, I’m telling you, there will be serious issues. Big trouble.
Nobody knows when the situation will return to normal. You have to at least give a deadline (“you” meaning the authorities) or approximate guidelines [as to when the lockdown will end]. But there’s been no information.
People have been stuck in their homes for 7 days. Staying at home, you’re not even allowed to exit the front door! We’re not even talking about being able to leave the neighborhood.
This is not okay, this is not sustainable.”
Some of the comments in the thread are horrifying….
My wife’s family is from Shanghai. It’s worse than the article makes it sound. Not only are people starving (at least the ones who can’t afford deliveries or the old folks who don’t know how to use a smartphone), but people who test positive are being thrown into what amounts to concentration camps. There was a video from last week of several babies less than year old all crammed together in a pen. There were apparently maybe 10-20 nurses to care for over 200 babies in the facility. They were wallowing in their own waste and most likely not being properly nourished. Parents couldn’t do anything as their kids were dragged off and weren’t told when they could see them.
Now imagine how badly they’re treating the adults who tested positive. They might as well be in concentration camps. Chinese censors can’t delete social media revealing the conditions fast enough. I’ve read Weibo screen caps that make it sound like the infected are being treated like animals. 3 people in my in-laws apartment complex have committed suicide. One of them was a mother who was distraught because she had no idea where here kids were. This is all kinds of fucked up and it’s for the sole purpose of saving face for the CCP. My only hope is that this provides a real wake up call to many people in china that they don’t live in a free society despite wealth and comfort free trade has afforded many of them.
They’re not just screaming because of the lockdown, they’re ALSO screaming because you literally cannot get FOOD online. Hunger has become a serious issue among the residents here. (Edit: To clarify, previous lockdowns did not have food shortage issues. This lockdown is the only lockdown that we’ve been unable to get food. Hope this makes things more clear.)
There is a severe shortage of delivery drivers (since they’re all locked down) and all the delivery/grocery apps are either closed or sold out as soon as they open. The lockdown was also intially announced for 5 days, and when 5 days was up, it was extended indefinitely so people like me who prepared for just 5 days were caught completely off guard with no more food or supplies.
For any hope of buying groceries, you have to wake up at 6AM and spam the purchase button on the app. Then it’ll give you an error saying they’re too busy or the server is overloaded. Then if by some miracle you get to the checkout screen, everything in your cart is already gone. 6.01AM and EVERYTHING is gone. I’ve been trying for days now on multiple apps. It is utterly hopeless.
I went without carbs for four days (no rice), I had to ration the little meat I had into small portions. Also growing carrot tops and spring onions out of plastic water bottles. I even have to ration my skincare products because there’s no way to get any resupply online due to the lockdown. People have been begging for cooking oil, salt, soy sauce. I traded some fruit for a small packet of black rice which was utterly heavenly after not having carbs for so long. Someone traded me milk tea for green beans.
The only way people have been able to get food is by making massive group buys. Since there is such a severe delivery driver shortage, suppliers set a high minimum order (usually 3000RMB) to offset the cost and time to hire a deliver driver. So buildings and comppunds make a giant WeChat (Chinese instant messaging app) group with everyone on the building in it, and band together to make a massive group order, and when it arrives in a large truck they distribute the order amongst the residents in the building.I finally got a sack of white rice this way, and milk.
When they announced the extension of this lockdown, I honestly, truly thought I would starve. I would never wish this feeling on anyone. And functioning without carbs made me horribly grumpy and weak. Added to that all the stress, anxiety, and this being my 4th quarantine/lockdown*(edit below) I had a mental breakdown several times. (No, you don’t cope better the more lockdowns you go through. You get worse every time)
Right now my food situation is much better since my company has been able to do some magic and send lots of supplies to me. And I FINALLY have rice! People are saying the lockdown may be until mid-May. At this point I don’t care how long we get locked down for as long as we have enough food. I never thought in my life I’d ever have to worry about food before.
The one upside of all of this, is that people do care. Nobody wants anyone to go hungry. The amount of kindness and encouragement I’ve seen from people here have been overwhelming, despite us going through such tough times. I had tears in my eyes when I opened up the veggie box from my company. People in the group chat are offering cooking tips, extra food, jokes and words of encouragement. It’s really touching to see. Throughout my other quarantines I felt really isolated and alone. But I’m not alone this time.
