A child born weeks after the earthquake.
What has left the biggest impression on me after these five days of visiting some of the earthquake hit areas of Sichuan, is the resilience of the people who experienced death and devastation on such a grand scale. One farmer I spoke to, Zhao Rude, was energetic and sprightly for a seventy year-old as he showed us his newly built home. But as with so many others, tears rolled down his face as he began to recount the days and months after the quake. Despite all the pain that comes with those memories, and the new burdens of rebuilding a life, he is optimistic that he will one day pay off the 25,000 yuan worth of loans he has accrued.
It’s this kind of optimism that has kept the survivors of the Sichuan earthquake from buckling under feelings of guilt that they were spared while some 70,000 others lost their lives. Even children feel survivor guilt. They worry about making new best friends to replace those lost, and letting new people into their lives, who might possibly replace lost loved ones. But, as hard as it may sound, part of the human condition is learning to deal with sorrow in a constructive manner and move on. This is what many are trying to do. It is clear, however, that wounds have not fully healed.
Seeing Sichuan’s temporary Styrofoam cities and schools, meeting with locals and foreigners who experienced the Wenchuan quake, and interviewing local and provincial officials who are dealing with the aftermath, I am left with a strangely optimistic feeling. For many, despite losing everything, right down to the floor upon which they once stood, people have managed to pick themselves up from the rubble and start to rebuild their lives, piece by piece. This gives me renewed hope in human resilience and endurance.
[I will write more in the next few days about some of the stories I heard and the people I met]
An elderly man at a temporary welfare home in Shifang. He has no family or house.
Zhao Rude, a farmer in Shifang, remains precariously optimistic about the future.
No Comments so far ↓
Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.