Wednesday, December 31, 2008
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY..... And Dad, Thank You For Everything
By Huma Sheikh
Alas, the road-cruise we had scrambled on together with smiles on our faces had snatched him away forever. I was terrified at the thought that I am no more among the lucky daughters. My father, G N Sheikh, a renowned singer of Kashmir, was killed brutally -- after being suspectedly kidnapped while traveling on the train to Delhi
As the clock chimed 12 in the night, another soft set of notes from an invisible guitar wafted out. The serene influence of the lyrics-free sound had such a powerful impact that it slipped me into deep slumber. I felt as if I were falling to endless tunes of an enchanting harmony. For once, I took it for the regular morning alarm, which is otherwise a ''villainous tone', forcing me to stir up from bed. Typically, it should have distracted me from my sound sleep, mercilessly chopping off a sweet dream in its infancy. This time around, however, that wasn't to be the case. For, I had changed the alarm tone into my favorite guitar tune to happily get the day going.
But then, the sound dropped steadily and eventually died out in a minute. I couldn't press my finger on its button. Restlessness overcame me, forcing me to have a look at it. Lazily with eyes half-opened, I found out it was still dark. Well, it's my cell phone, and I reached out my hand to grab it. As I skimmed through the phone screen, a brief written piece popped up: 'one message received'. I was angry with myself. Because, apart from alarm tone, the guitar tone happened to be my message tone also -- so I presumed it could be one of those pesky 'ring tone' messages or something on new schemes our mobile phone providers often bother us with. I was settling down to be greeted at this point in time, I presume it was going to be something very 'useless', and in fact it only turned out to be rather grimmer for me.
''Today is Fathers' Day. Make this Day special for your dad. Make the most of it and dedicate a wonderful song to your dad,'' read the message. Just a quick read through, and I was completely dead, completely blank. The air-conditioned room, which seemed cozy a moment ago on a hot June night, suddenly gave me a cold sweat. The what little consciousness I had acquired died down in a jiffy -- completely. ''It is June 15: Father's Day. But, how can I make the Father's Day special for my dad who no more exists," I shuddered, ruefully.
So, what do I do to be with him, if only for this day? Is there a way out? How at all would I get some supernatural power to spend some quality time with him? As all these questions emerged in strings from the bottom of my heart, I sped back to the memories of that dreadful July 13-14 night. I took me to the haunting scene when I was crying helplessly to get a glimpse of my father who had disappeared mysteriously in the summer of 2003. Not even in the worst nightmare had I imagined that my father would vanish one day, never to come back again. That my loving father I was talking to just a few hours ago was to soon fade away from real sight? It was only he, who had hand-fed me at dinner --as if I were a small child --, on the train and shared his last moments of life with me. Without knowing it was to be so.
Alas, the road-cruise we had scrambled on together with smiles on our faces had snatched him away forever. I was terrified at the thought that I am no more among the lucky daughters. My father, G N Sheikh, a renowned singer of Kashmir, was killed brutally -- after being suspectedly kidnapped while traveling on the train to Delhi. So, the Dad's Day message has no significance in my life. That was a terrible thought. A moment later, I decided to do something to get rid of it. I got up and logged on my account -- the page opened up to another shock: This time in a riposte on my message: ''don't miss out sending a collection of beautiful cards to your dad on this Father's Day. Be the first one to wish your dad through these invaluable cards.'' The email inadvertently transported me back to the horror and invited unwanted thoughts again.
On July 13 in 2003, both my father and I took off on a trip to Delhi. My father was very adventurous and loved to explore things. So we booked a taxi for Jammu from Srinagar to stop by in Udhampur to pick up one of my dad's friends. The road cruise began merrily as we had planned to take breaks at several places during the course and make the most of it. As we were through some miles I loved how the scenery that started changed slowly -- all of it beautiful, picturesque landscape. My father gave me a precise description of almost everything we passed behind -- it was an unforgettable experience, I really loved it.
We stopped at a roadside 'dhaba' nearby Banihal, which is famous for Kashmiri tea. As is the case, dhabas would have its kitchen blending with the sitting room for visitors; I had the opportunity to watch the tea-maker preparing 'nunchai', the traditional salty tea of Kashmir. Dipped in butter with a dash of wheat powder alongside nans, his 'nunchai' didn't translate into a salty tea but it gave a lasting relief and refreshed us besides satiating our taste buds — unlike the one every household in Kashmir makes. At Udhampur, we had a nice lunch at dad's friend's place. We spent some wonderful moments with his family even though only for a short span of time before uncle accompanied us for the rest of the journey.
I was feeling a little upset because I terribly missed my mom and brother and sister. But dad was at his best at cracking up people — his forte of course. He was a great mimic and would often imitate people, act like them, make their voices and sometimes surprise others on phone by impersonating voice of his other friends with his incredible borrowing of others' styles. My father had a great sense of humor too. He started making voice of my mom, brother and sister and also acted like I do. I burst into laughter and couldn't control when he shared with me some of the funniest moments of his life ''My friend was very thin and I used to pester him a lot. On his marriage, I surprised him when I stuffed his wedding dress and told him if doesn't wear it, he would horrify his in-laws with his zero-size.
Guests would be terrified to see him in the wedding dress and all of them would run away. But, when he seemed to lose all his confidence, my friends told him I was joking. He looked okay only when I assured him all that I said was a joke.'' Our next stop was Jammu, which is only a three-hour drive from Udhampur. Another friend of dad had insisted us to drop by for dinner before pushing off for another overnight journey to Delhi. As we reached his house, we had some time to settle down and take little rest after the day's road voyage, but dad's friends and me alike were amazed to see daddy in such an unbelievable hurry, which sort of seemed the manifestation of some hysterical concern about missing our train. He insisted on leaving for the station long before the departure and all of us had eventually our dinner packed for us to have it on the train.
That kind of behavior was unbecoming of him. For his timing was perfect—he was never late or arrived before time at work or otherwise. Very punctual. That day, however, we had about two hours before the train finally scrambled at 9.30 in the night. During those few hours until our dinner at 11 pm -- which turned out to be my father's final moments with me -- I found in him a completely different person. He was never so philosophical, never so good as a preacher and never so very concerned about me. He made me sit up on the berth to talk with him; though I was a little reluctant and drowsiness had taken a toll me as if in an indication of an impending grief ahead of the tragedy.
"Look Huma, you have to be brave to confront adversities courageously and lend your voice to curiosity by voicing your concerns. Since you will be studying alone in Delhi, you have to be strong and bold. All the rest follows,'' he said. I wondered what prompted dad to start his 'preaching speech' at such an odd hour although I had similar sessions from him earlier as well. But the sullenness in his voice made it all the more different for me and it gave an impression that we would be apart forever, as if he was going far away never to come back again. He was in no mood to wind up his talk: '' You must take a cue from your father — I was only 16 years old when I ventured on an inter-state trip on my own, without my family's support, unlike you. Also in life, we should face adverse situations bravely as they are part of our lives.''
My father said that as I was also going to be in the media now (dad was working in All India Radio), I must learn to explore answers about various things that intrigued me. "One should always keep one's mind open to know about different things.'' He said: ''You can transform weakness into triumph on the anvil of sheer will power in your professional and personal life.'' The session happened to be my last conversation with dad. At dinner, which we had a little while ago, he spoon-fed me as one would deal with a toddler. And then all three of us drifted off to sleep. Dad bade me good night. That was the last time I saw him.
When I got up again in the night, my father had disappeared. He didn't even come again not even for his last rituals, which were performed in absentia. Neither police nor any judiciary found him ever. But his last speech has a lasting influence on me. So much so that every time I think of it, I feel I am born anew. "It is not only a rebirth but also a transformation, as I have become an entirely different human being now,'' I would think. His last words have helped me strengthen the confidence of my family and me alike to move ahead in life courageously.
And what better could be an honor to celebrate the Father's Day than doing what he wanted me to: '' One should face adverse situations bravely as they are part of our lives and transform weakness into triumph on the anvil of sheer will power.'' Thank you so much dad for giving us such a wonderful fatherhood—thank you for everything you have done for us. I got back to sleep again. Later, in the morning, I did purchase some cards -- to gift to the people I am quite close with. That, I thought, was the ideal way I can commemorate the Father's Day.
Alas, the road-cruise we had scrambled on together with smiles on our faces had snatched him away forever. I was terrified at the thought that I am no more among the lucky daughters. My father, G N Sheikh, a renowned singer of Kashmir, was killed brutally -- after being suspectedly kidnapped while traveling on the train to Delhi
As the clock chimed 12 in the night, another soft set of notes from an invisible guitar wafted out. The serene influence of the lyrics-free sound had such a powerful impact that it slipped me into deep slumber. I felt as if I were falling to endless tunes of an enchanting harmony. For once, I took it for the regular morning alarm, which is otherwise a ''villainous tone', forcing me to stir up from bed. Typically, it should have distracted me from my sound sleep, mercilessly chopping off a sweet dream in its infancy. This time around, however, that wasn't to be the case. For, I had changed the alarm tone into my favorite guitar tune to happily get the day going.
But then, the sound dropped steadily and eventually died out in a minute. I couldn't press my finger on its button. Restlessness overcame me, forcing me to have a look at it. Lazily with eyes half-opened, I found out it was still dark. Well, it's my cell phone, and I reached out my hand to grab it. As I skimmed through the phone screen, a brief written piece popped up: 'one message received'. I was angry with myself. Because, apart from alarm tone, the guitar tone happened to be my message tone also -- so I presumed it could be one of those pesky 'ring tone' messages or something on new schemes our mobile phone providers often bother us with. I was settling down to be greeted at this point in time, I presume it was going to be something very 'useless', and in fact it only turned out to be rather grimmer for me.
''Today is Fathers' Day. Make this Day special for your dad. Make the most of it and dedicate a wonderful song to your dad,'' read the message. Just a quick read through, and I was completely dead, completely blank. The air-conditioned room, which seemed cozy a moment ago on a hot June night, suddenly gave me a cold sweat. The what little consciousness I had acquired died down in a jiffy -- completely. ''It is June 15: Father's Day. But, how can I make the Father's Day special for my dad who no more exists," I shuddered, ruefully.
So, what do I do to be with him, if only for this day? Is there a way out? How at all would I get some supernatural power to spend some quality time with him? As all these questions emerged in strings from the bottom of my heart, I sped back to the memories of that dreadful July 13-14 night. I took me to the haunting scene when I was crying helplessly to get a glimpse of my father who had disappeared mysteriously in the summer of 2003. Not even in the worst nightmare had I imagined that my father would vanish one day, never to come back again. That my loving father I was talking to just a few hours ago was to soon fade away from real sight? It was only he, who had hand-fed me at dinner --as if I were a small child --, on the train and shared his last moments of life with me. Without knowing it was to be so.
Alas, the road-cruise we had scrambled on together with smiles on our faces had snatched him away forever. I was terrified at the thought that I am no more among the lucky daughters. My father, G N Sheikh, a renowned singer of Kashmir, was killed brutally -- after being suspectedly kidnapped while traveling on the train to Delhi. So, the Dad's Day message has no significance in my life. That was a terrible thought. A moment later, I decided to do something to get rid of it. I got up and logged on my account -- the page opened up to another shock: This time in a riposte on my message: ''don't miss out sending a collection of beautiful cards to your dad on this Father's Day. Be the first one to wish your dad through these invaluable cards.'' The email inadvertently transported me back to the horror and invited unwanted thoughts again.
On July 13 in 2003, both my father and I took off on a trip to Delhi. My father was very adventurous and loved to explore things. So we booked a taxi for Jammu from Srinagar to stop by in Udhampur to pick up one of my dad's friends. The road cruise began merrily as we had planned to take breaks at several places during the course and make the most of it. As we were through some miles I loved how the scenery that started changed slowly -- all of it beautiful, picturesque landscape. My father gave me a precise description of almost everything we passed behind -- it was an unforgettable experience, I really loved it.
We stopped at a roadside 'dhaba' nearby Banihal, which is famous for Kashmiri tea. As is the case, dhabas would have its kitchen blending with the sitting room for visitors; I had the opportunity to watch the tea-maker preparing 'nunchai', the traditional salty tea of Kashmir. Dipped in butter with a dash of wheat powder alongside nans, his 'nunchai' didn't translate into a salty tea but it gave a lasting relief and refreshed us besides satiating our taste buds — unlike the one every household in Kashmir makes. At Udhampur, we had a nice lunch at dad's friend's place. We spent some wonderful moments with his family even though only for a short span of time before uncle accompanied us for the rest of the journey.
I was feeling a little upset because I terribly missed my mom and brother and sister. But dad was at his best at cracking up people — his forte of course. He was a great mimic and would often imitate people, act like them, make their voices and sometimes surprise others on phone by impersonating voice of his other friends with his incredible borrowing of others' styles. My father had a great sense of humor too. He started making voice of my mom, brother and sister and also acted like I do. I burst into laughter and couldn't control when he shared with me some of the funniest moments of his life ''My friend was very thin and I used to pester him a lot. On his marriage, I surprised him when I stuffed his wedding dress and told him if doesn't wear it, he would horrify his in-laws with his zero-size.
Guests would be terrified to see him in the wedding dress and all of them would run away. But, when he seemed to lose all his confidence, my friends told him I was joking. He looked okay only when I assured him all that I said was a joke.'' Our next stop was Jammu, which is only a three-hour drive from Udhampur. Another friend of dad had insisted us to drop by for dinner before pushing off for another overnight journey to Delhi. As we reached his house, we had some time to settle down and take little rest after the day's road voyage, but dad's friends and me alike were amazed to see daddy in such an unbelievable hurry, which sort of seemed the manifestation of some hysterical concern about missing our train. He insisted on leaving for the station long before the departure and all of us had eventually our dinner packed for us to have it on the train.
That kind of behavior was unbecoming of him. For his timing was perfect—he was never late or arrived before time at work or otherwise. Very punctual. That day, however, we had about two hours before the train finally scrambled at 9.30 in the night. During those few hours until our dinner at 11 pm -- which turned out to be my father's final moments with me -- I found in him a completely different person. He was never so philosophical, never so good as a preacher and never so very concerned about me. He made me sit up on the berth to talk with him; though I was a little reluctant and drowsiness had taken a toll me as if in an indication of an impending grief ahead of the tragedy.
"Look Huma, you have to be brave to confront adversities courageously and lend your voice to curiosity by voicing your concerns. Since you will be studying alone in Delhi, you have to be strong and bold. All the rest follows,'' he said. I wondered what prompted dad to start his 'preaching speech' at such an odd hour although I had similar sessions from him earlier as well. But the sullenness in his voice made it all the more different for me and it gave an impression that we would be apart forever, as if he was going far away never to come back again. He was in no mood to wind up his talk: '' You must take a cue from your father — I was only 16 years old when I ventured on an inter-state trip on my own, without my family's support, unlike you. Also in life, we should face adverse situations bravely as they are part of our lives.''
My father said that as I was also going to be in the media now (dad was working in All India Radio), I must learn to explore answers about various things that intrigued me. "One should always keep one's mind open to know about different things.'' He said: ''You can transform weakness into triumph on the anvil of sheer will power in your professional and personal life.'' The session happened to be my last conversation with dad. At dinner, which we had a little while ago, he spoon-fed me as one would deal with a toddler. And then all three of us drifted off to sleep. Dad bade me good night. That was the last time I saw him.
When I got up again in the night, my father had disappeared. He didn't even come again not even for his last rituals, which were performed in absentia. Neither police nor any judiciary found him ever. But his last speech has a lasting influence on me. So much so that every time I think of it, I feel I am born anew. "It is not only a rebirth but also a transformation, as I have become an entirely different human being now,'' I would think. His last words have helped me strengthen the confidence of my family and me alike to move ahead in life courageously.
And what better could be an honor to celebrate the Father's Day than doing what he wanted me to: '' One should face adverse situations bravely as they are part of our lives and transform weakness into triumph on the anvil of sheer will power.'' Thank you so much dad for giving us such a wonderful fatherhood—thank you for everything you have done for us. I got back to sleep again. Later, in the morning, I did purchase some cards -- to gift to the people I am quite close with. That, I thought, was the ideal way I can commemorate the Father's Day.
Wenchuan earthquake: China’s turning point
Link to my article--Wenchuan earthquake: China's turning point--on East West center website
http://forum.eastwestcenter.org/blog/2008/12/18/wenchuan-earthquake-china%e2%80%99s-turning-point/
http://forum.eastwestcenter.org/blog/2008/12/18/wenchuan-earthquake-china%e2%80%99s-turning-point/
Wenchuan earthquake: China’s turning point
By Huma Sheikh
Last month, I visited Sichuan province in China as part of the Asia Pacific Leadership Program and was curious to see survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake that killed 70,000 people and rendered thousands homeless, especially after witnessing another earthquake that was the worst ever natural disaster in my hometown of Kashmir in 2005.
In China, I went to Di Jian Yu, which is one of the worst affected areas, and was expecting to witness helpless survivors braving biting cold in makeshift houses. More so, the memories of Kashmir earthquake survivors still struggling in temporary houses, especially during snow in harsh winter, were fresh in my mind. ‘‘India is a democratic country but quake survivors are still in makeshift houses even after three years so the situation in China in a non-democratic setup will undoubtedly be worse as the Wenchuan earthquake was only six months ago,’’ I thought.
As I reached Du Jiag Yan, I saw some damaged houses with visible cracks. Some meters ahead were piles of brick and sand mounds of the affected houses dismantled for new structures. Some pre-quake residential colonies had become open grounds after damaged houses were razed to ground in the aftermath of the quake. The neighborhood looked like a newly-discovered place where people have just been settling down, with construction work going on in full swing.
I asked a pedestrian if there was any other place where huge damage had taken place, and I was surprised to hear the place I was standing was badly impacted by the quake. But everything had changed except for a few buildings with some visible cracks. Somebody suggested Puyang Lu colony, where most damaged houses still existed. It was a residential colony before the quake and one of the buildings, where a government-run company resided, was completely destroyed, burying over 100 people at the time of the disaster.
However, except for that damaged building, still in tatters, there was hardly anything different from what I had seen earlier. One of the ladies at the site, who was heading the company, was kind enough to give me the address of people in temporary houses. Li Mingyong said her family was also living in temporary shelters provided by the China government. And about her company, she said she was now running it from a nearby building provided by the government. She said the government was seriously considering shifting the quake survivors to their new houses as soon as possible, while she pointed to some construction workers at the site. Huge numbers of workers have been employed in order to expedite construction work.
Her version was enough to transform my perception about China, but her confidence and optimism even after her house was completely destroyed inspired me to know more about how other survivors were feeling. There was another reason behind my curiosity and that was Kashmir: The 2005 earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale and epicentered at Muzafarabad in Azad Kashmir (Pakistan-administered Kashmir) claimed lives of 1,400 people in the Indian part of Kashmir.
Three years on, most of the survivors of the worst-affected areas of Uri, Varmul, and Tanghdar in North Kashmir were yet to be rehabilitated. Not only was the ‘‘disorganized’’ planning of the government in distributing funds to be blamed — even some people who were not affected received compensation initially — but a huge amount of money was siphoned off by some local people working for international NGOs by exploiting the situation in the garb of surveys, which turned out to be unproductive later. Many survivors ended up getting no compensation for building houses as they had spent money the government had provided them in the first place, even far before the government’s announcement. The government announced that only those people would be compensated who had built plinth for their new houses, a pre-requisite to getting more funds. The phenomenon reflected collective failures of the government as well as NGOs and the people, who took undue advantage of surplus funds coming from the country and internationally, and bore the brunt eventually.
I headed to Qing Jian Ren Jia or temporary houses colony. There was no sullen silence in the colony but bustling activities with people wearing expressions that gave no sense of any remorse or the tragedy they had faced only a few months ago. The neighborhood of the colony was the perfect place of serenity. On the left side of the Qing Jian Ren Jia gate stood a policeman beside his office; the police guard the colony to avoid any untoward incident. As I walked past him and inched ahead into the lane, I saw a long stretch dotted with white painted one-storied mud-and-brick houses.
An elderly woman was knitting a beautiful sweater outside her door; I was not sure if she would agree to speak to me for a few minutes, but the woman instead invited me to her home. As she opened the door, I saw three Chinese names written on the door. My Chinese friends who were with me read the names for me, which I understood were the woman and her husband but I was confused about the third name. As I got into the room her husband was in there. The home was a big room divided into two parts. The room was stuffed mostly with clothes and there were two big beds that had covered huge space. We sat down on the bed and I asked them curiously about the third name on the door.
A couple in a makeshift house at Qing Jian Ren Jia, Chengdu, in ChinaThe man said “Yao Shi Kai is me, Ou Ye Zhen is my wife and Yao Ru Ping is my little daughter who died in the earthquake.” There was a one minute silence in the room and after a little while I asked him if they were comfortable in the makeshift house. ‘‘My family and I am very happy over here,’’ he said with a big smile on his face: a scene of gloom was quickly replaced by his gesture. ‘‘The government has helped us a lot. After the earthquake on May 12th, we shifted to the temporary shelter on May 29 and received Rs 300 Yuan from the government for the first three months. I have three children and one of my sons, who was unemployed, was given a job by the government.” About his house, he said it was not completely destroyed and the construction work was going on, though it would take some time because the damage of property in Sichuan province was huge.
Before we headed off to the next place, the couple insisted us on eating some oranges and didn’t let us go without having them. Chinese people are very magnanimous even more hospitable than Indians. Their friendly approach speaks wonders; they would go out of way in helping people, especially strangers.
Later, I met a young woman named Chen Ying. Her house was destroyed by the earthquake, but it hardly had made any difference for her. Before the natural calamity she was running a parlor at Di Jiang Yu and now she was doing the same business at the makeshift colony. She received monetary help from the government in addition to the compensation for the house. ‘‘My house was damaged in the quake and the government is rebuilding it now. I also got 300 Yuan for the first three months after the quake and a big room for my parlor in addition to the two-room apartment here. I have no regrets and the China government is great,’’ she said. Chen Ying has a son and her husband is working in a factory.
Not very far from there, I met another young lady, running an interior designing shop. Jiang Xiao Cui said everyone in her family was safe but her house was completely destroyed by the quake. However, she had no worries at all. Her family– husband, baby boy and Jiang– received 200 Yuan extra compensation from the government for another two months in addition to the first three-month 900 Yuan because the damage of house had surpassed the limit set by the government. The Chinese Government gives extra compensation to those victims whose house is damaged beyond the 70 sq ft limit set by the government.
The systematic management crisis approach of the so called ‘‘undemocratic’’ country of China shined through in the optimism, enthusiasm, passion, intelligence and remarkable pace to re-establishment of the people despite the worst natural disaster. The experience also validated the statement—which I earlier presumed was untrue—of a Canadian professor at Tsinghua University during a conversation I had with him at China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) meetings in Beijing: the role of China government in managing Wenchuan earthquake was by far better than the US government’s response to Hurricane Katrina.
The Wenchuan earthquake has, without a doubt, proved China’ s efficiency in managing one of the country’s worst ever natural disasters. The China government has been credited for its rescue efforts and for its retroaction, despite the country’s initial reservation about allowing in foreign rescue teams.
The quake has been a turning point in Chinese politics: the Wenchuan earthquake has helped China divert the attention of the world from its controversial policies like restrictions on media and limitations imposed on people in general. In fact, the earthquake has brought people closer to the government, and they have all praises for the government’s remarkable approach to tackle the natural disaster in terms of compensation and rehabilitation of quake survivors. The quake has also helped China to regain its image affected by the widespread denunciation worldwide against its stand on Tibet.
The Chinese government has impressed the world and its efforts in dealing with the crisis have established strong credibility and accountability for this government among millions of Chinese people, who have been brought together by a wave of unity and patriotism. The quake has given rise to the emergence of a growing peaceful, unified and diversified China.
Last month, I visited Sichuan province in China as part of the Asia Pacific Leadership Program and was curious to see survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake that killed 70,000 people and rendered thousands homeless, especially after witnessing another earthquake that was the worst ever natural disaster in my hometown of Kashmir in 2005.
In China, I went to Di Jian Yu, which is one of the worst affected areas, and was expecting to witness helpless survivors braving biting cold in makeshift houses. More so, the memories of Kashmir earthquake survivors still struggling in temporary houses, especially during snow in harsh winter, were fresh in my mind. ‘‘India is a democratic country but quake survivors are still in makeshift houses even after three years so the situation in China in a non-democratic setup will undoubtedly be worse as the Wenchuan earthquake was only six months ago,’’ I thought.
As I reached Du Jiag Yan, I saw some damaged houses with visible cracks. Some meters ahead were piles of brick and sand mounds of the affected houses dismantled for new structures. Some pre-quake residential colonies had become open grounds after damaged houses were razed to ground in the aftermath of the quake. The neighborhood looked like a newly-discovered place where people have just been settling down, with construction work going on in full swing.
I asked a pedestrian if there was any other place where huge damage had taken place, and I was surprised to hear the place I was standing was badly impacted by the quake. But everything had changed except for a few buildings with some visible cracks. Somebody suggested Puyang Lu colony, where most damaged houses still existed. It was a residential colony before the quake and one of the buildings, where a government-run company resided, was completely destroyed, burying over 100 people at the time of the disaster.
However, except for that damaged building, still in tatters, there was hardly anything different from what I had seen earlier. One of the ladies at the site, who was heading the company, was kind enough to give me the address of people in temporary houses. Li Mingyong said her family was also living in temporary shelters provided by the China government. And about her company, she said she was now running it from a nearby building provided by the government. She said the government was seriously considering shifting the quake survivors to their new houses as soon as possible, while she pointed to some construction workers at the site. Huge numbers of workers have been employed in order to expedite construction work.
Her version was enough to transform my perception about China, but her confidence and optimism even after her house was completely destroyed inspired me to know more about how other survivors were feeling. There was another reason behind my curiosity and that was Kashmir: The 2005 earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale and epicentered at Muzafarabad in Azad Kashmir (Pakistan-administered Kashmir) claimed lives of 1,400 people in the Indian part of Kashmir.
Three years on, most of the survivors of the worst-affected areas of Uri, Varmul, and Tanghdar in North Kashmir were yet to be rehabilitated. Not only was the ‘‘disorganized’’ planning of the government in distributing funds to be blamed — even some people who were not affected received compensation initially — but a huge amount of money was siphoned off by some local people working for international NGOs by exploiting the situation in the garb of surveys, which turned out to be unproductive later. Many survivors ended up getting no compensation for building houses as they had spent money the government had provided them in the first place, even far before the government’s announcement. The government announced that only those people would be compensated who had built plinth for their new houses, a pre-requisite to getting more funds. The phenomenon reflected collective failures of the government as well as NGOs and the people, who took undue advantage of surplus funds coming from the country and internationally, and bore the brunt eventually.
I headed to Qing Jian Ren Jia or temporary houses colony. There was no sullen silence in the colony but bustling activities with people wearing expressions that gave no sense of any remorse or the tragedy they had faced only a few months ago. The neighborhood of the colony was the perfect place of serenity. On the left side of the Qing Jian Ren Jia gate stood a policeman beside his office; the police guard the colony to avoid any untoward incident. As I walked past him and inched ahead into the lane, I saw a long stretch dotted with white painted one-storied mud-and-brick houses.
An elderly woman was knitting a beautiful sweater outside her door; I was not sure if she would agree to speak to me for a few minutes, but the woman instead invited me to her home. As she opened the door, I saw three Chinese names written on the door. My Chinese friends who were with me read the names for me, which I understood were the woman and her husband but I was confused about the third name. As I got into the room her husband was in there. The home was a big room divided into two parts. The room was stuffed mostly with clothes and there were two big beds that had covered huge space. We sat down on the bed and I asked them curiously about the third name on the door.
A couple in a makeshift house at Qing Jian Ren Jia, Chengdu, in ChinaThe man said “Yao Shi Kai is me, Ou Ye Zhen is my wife and Yao Ru Ping is my little daughter who died in the earthquake.” There was a one minute silence in the room and after a little while I asked him if they were comfortable in the makeshift house. ‘‘My family and I am very happy over here,’’ he said with a big smile on his face: a scene of gloom was quickly replaced by his gesture. ‘‘The government has helped us a lot. After the earthquake on May 12th, we shifted to the temporary shelter on May 29 and received Rs 300 Yuan from the government for the first three months. I have three children and one of my sons, who was unemployed, was given a job by the government.” About his house, he said it was not completely destroyed and the construction work was going on, though it would take some time because the damage of property in Sichuan province was huge.
Before we headed off to the next place, the couple insisted us on eating some oranges and didn’t let us go without having them. Chinese people are very magnanimous even more hospitable than Indians. Their friendly approach speaks wonders; they would go out of way in helping people, especially strangers.
Later, I met a young woman named Chen Ying. Her house was destroyed by the earthquake, but it hardly had made any difference for her. Before the natural calamity she was running a parlor at Di Jiang Yu and now she was doing the same business at the makeshift colony. She received monetary help from the government in addition to the compensation for the house. ‘‘My house was damaged in the quake and the government is rebuilding it now. I also got 300 Yuan for the first three months after the quake and a big room for my parlor in addition to the two-room apartment here. I have no regrets and the China government is great,’’ she said. Chen Ying has a son and her husband is working in a factory.
Not very far from there, I met another young lady, running an interior designing shop. Jiang Xiao Cui said everyone in her family was safe but her house was completely destroyed by the quake. However, she had no worries at all. Her family– husband, baby boy and Jiang– received 200 Yuan extra compensation from the government for another two months in addition to the first three-month 900 Yuan because the damage of house had surpassed the limit set by the government. The Chinese Government gives extra compensation to those victims whose house is damaged beyond the 70 sq ft limit set by the government.
The systematic management crisis approach of the so called ‘‘undemocratic’’ country of China shined through in the optimism, enthusiasm, passion, intelligence and remarkable pace to re-establishment of the people despite the worst natural disaster. The experience also validated the statement—which I earlier presumed was untrue—of a Canadian professor at Tsinghua University during a conversation I had with him at China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) meetings in Beijing: the role of China government in managing Wenchuan earthquake was by far better than the US government’s response to Hurricane Katrina.
The Wenchuan earthquake has, without a doubt, proved China’ s efficiency in managing one of the country’s worst ever natural disasters. The China government has been credited for its rescue efforts and for its retroaction, despite the country’s initial reservation about allowing in foreign rescue teams.
The quake has been a turning point in Chinese politics: the Wenchuan earthquake has helped China divert the attention of the world from its controversial policies like restrictions on media and limitations imposed on people in general. In fact, the earthquake has brought people closer to the government, and they have all praises for the government’s remarkable approach to tackle the natural disaster in terms of compensation and rehabilitation of quake survivors. The quake has also helped China to regain its image affected by the widespread denunciation worldwide against its stand on Tibet.
The Chinese government has impressed the world and its efforts in dealing with the crisis have established strong credibility and accountability for this government among millions of Chinese people, who have been brought together by a wave of unity and patriotism. The quake has given rise to the emergence of a growing peaceful, unified and diversified China.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
A brief China recall in a blend of experiences and thoughts
By Huma Sheikh
China gives me a ‘home-like’ feeling
I AM HOME again was how Beijing looked like to me as I disembarked from the bus to the by lane leading towards hotel from the airport. Wide roads, people huddled in lanes, boys paired up on roadsides chatting and anxiously waiting for a quick glimpse of beautiful girls walking around all came alive as I landed in Beijing on November 6. The scene made it almost impossible for me to stay indoors even after my arrival at 10 pm from as far away place as Honolulu and the excitement headed me to a nearby restaurant.
A few of my friends also joined me and suddenly the jet lag faded away as the time set up in China suited me because it is only a few hours ahead of my home country India. Making our way to a restaurant we intended to have some snacks and coffee but the aroma in the room increased our appetite even if we had enough of food on the plane during 16 hours journey. The food was fantastic. I don’t eat pork and one of my friends who is from Hong Kong helped me order the food and also for the group before she headed off to the hotel. Another friend ordered fried rice and both of us decided to pack back some of it but it was so tasty that we had it all over there. We cleaned our plates and even wanted to have more.
On my way back, I traveled around to make sure I am in Beijing and not India but there was hardly any difference between the two. The next day we set off on a Beijing exploration mission. We were split into learning groups with some task to do in an effort to make ourselves aware about some places of significant importance as well as some commonly used activities and games and way of living in Beijing. The assignment was also measured on the basis of work and research each group had done and the winning team announced by the APLP staff was the one with the highest number of accurate answers.
Day two was a little bit academic. We (APLPeers G8) started off purchasing some tickets for our nine-day China GIST travel. I bought the tickets for my Scrambling Scribers team before we started off to discover Beijing. We--my learning group comprised five people, including me, and four of us were completely new to China-- had some outline to follow to acquire some points but for us exploring China was awesome. Although we were not the highest point takers, we were quite satisfied with what we did—we visited places as historic as Tiananmen Square, went to Russian Market, shopping malls and had food at a very good Chinese restaurant. The day culminated in meeting up with the staff at Tiananmen Square, which was followed up by dinner.
On Day three we toured to Beiwai to join participants from CFAU, BeiWai, Tsinghua, Beida and Renmin universities who delivered speeches as part of the ‘Joint Workshop on China and the Future’.
Day Four was quite exciting-- I visited Forbidden City with a guide provided for our group of six. We were together until we walked down half Forbidden City and disbursed in crowd. I lost sight of almost all group mates, including our guide, except Kamal who was with me taking pictures.
However, it was a blessing in disguise as both of us—Kamal and I—had a chance ride a rickshaw and bus all alone. The interesting part of our journey was how I managed to win an argument with a rickshaw puller even if I didn’t know Chinese.
We got onto a rickshaw from Forbidden City exit gate to subway, intending to take it to the hotel. The rickshaw puller, in an attempt to bluff us, after taking all the money stopped the rickshaw halfway and pretended his cycle tyre was broken. He called another rickshaw puller and something conspired between them in Chinese. As another rickshaw puller dropped us to some other unknown place and not subway, he asked for money, triggering an argument. Although the scene was weird as I justified our stand with gestures and some signs, the rickshaw puller had to give up finally. THE MOMENT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF MY LIFE. I WILL ALWAYS CHERISH IT.
We had CCPIT meetings on November 10, which culminated in a grand dinner hosted by APLP alumni hosted by Zhao Zhenge and Lin Honghong (G2). And the final day in Beijing on November 11 before we left for China GIST on Nov 12, was devoted to Tsinghua University where Director of Brooklyn Institute gave presentation on China and its development and economy at John Thornton Leadership Center . The lecture was of great help to literate us more deeply about China before China GIST.
China gives me a ‘home-like’ feeling
I AM HOME again was how Beijing looked like to me as I disembarked from the bus to the by lane leading towards hotel from the airport. Wide roads, people huddled in lanes, boys paired up on roadsides chatting and anxiously waiting for a quick glimpse of beautiful girls walking around all came alive as I landed in Beijing on November 6. The scene made it almost impossible for me to stay indoors even after my arrival at 10 pm from as far away place as Honolulu and the excitement headed me to a nearby restaurant.
A few of my friends also joined me and suddenly the jet lag faded away as the time set up in China suited me because it is only a few hours ahead of my home country India. Making our way to a restaurant we intended to have some snacks and coffee but the aroma in the room increased our appetite even if we had enough of food on the plane during 16 hours journey. The food was fantastic. I don’t eat pork and one of my friends who is from Hong Kong helped me order the food and also for the group before she headed off to the hotel. Another friend ordered fried rice and both of us decided to pack back some of it but it was so tasty that we had it all over there. We cleaned our plates and even wanted to have more.
On my way back, I traveled around to make sure I am in Beijing and not India but there was hardly any difference between the two. The next day we set off on a Beijing exploration mission. We were split into learning groups with some task to do in an effort to make ourselves aware about some places of significant importance as well as some commonly used activities and games and way of living in Beijing. The assignment was also measured on the basis of work and research each group had done and the winning team announced by the APLP staff was the one with the highest number of accurate answers.
Day two was a little bit academic. We (APLPeers G8) started off purchasing some tickets for our nine-day China GIST travel. I bought the tickets for my Scrambling Scribers team before we started off to discover Beijing. We--my learning group comprised five people, including me, and four of us were completely new to China-- had some outline to follow to acquire some points but for us exploring China was awesome. Although we were not the highest point takers, we were quite satisfied with what we did—we visited places as historic as Tiananmen Square, went to Russian Market, shopping malls and had food at a very good Chinese restaurant. The day culminated in meeting up with the staff at Tiananmen Square, which was followed up by dinner.
On Day three we toured to Beiwai to join participants from CFAU, BeiWai, Tsinghua, Beida and Renmin universities who delivered speeches as part of the ‘Joint Workshop on China and the Future’.
Day Four was quite exciting-- I visited Forbidden City with a guide provided for our group of six. We were together until we walked down half Forbidden City and disbursed in crowd. I lost sight of almost all group mates, including our guide, except Kamal who was with me taking pictures.
However, it was a blessing in disguise as both of us—Kamal and I—had a chance ride a rickshaw and bus all alone. The interesting part of our journey was how I managed to win an argument with a rickshaw puller even if I didn’t know Chinese.
We got onto a rickshaw from Forbidden City exit gate to subway, intending to take it to the hotel. The rickshaw puller, in an attempt to bluff us, after taking all the money stopped the rickshaw halfway and pretended his cycle tyre was broken. He called another rickshaw puller and something conspired between them in Chinese. As another rickshaw puller dropped us to some other unknown place and not subway, he asked for money, triggering an argument. Although the scene was weird as I justified our stand with gestures and some signs, the rickshaw puller had to give up finally. THE MOMENT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF MY LIFE. I WILL ALWAYS CHERISH IT.
We had CCPIT meetings on November 10, which culminated in a grand dinner hosted by APLP alumni hosted by Zhao Zhenge and Lin Honghong (G2). And the final day in Beijing on November 11 before we left for China GIST on Nov 12, was devoted to Tsinghua University where Director of Brooklyn Institute gave presentation on China and its development and economy at John Thornton Leadership Center . The lecture was of great help to literate us more deeply about China before China GIST.
Sichuan earthquake: Du Jiang Yan in making after Wenchuan natural calamity
On a foggy morning of November 18, 2008, we set off to Chengdu Bus Terminal for Wenchuan province, the epicenter of the deadly May 12 earthquake that killed at least 80,000 people and destroyed tens of thousands of houses. But to our disappointment we came to know no public transport goes to Wechuan since the earthquake has hit the area. Two of my Chinese friends Liu Xiao and Liu Pie Gang from Southwest Jiaotong University suggested another place relatively closer and which was badly affected by the natural calamity; Du Jiang Yan became our new destination.
As the bus started off, the chilly morning—coupled with thick smog which barely made visible bare branches of trees along the road-- didn’t give any impression that we were heading to a place where thousands of people died only a six months ago. But as the bus passed Chong Yi and inched closer to Du Jiang Yan, signs of earthquake started emerging. I saw some damaged houses with visible cracks but those were dominated by makeshift houses built by the China government for the victims of the earthquake.
The bus touched down into Du Jiang Yan and we got off: As we looked around the neighborhood it seemed a mix of ruined structures and newly constructed buildings. The building where we stopped by to have breakfast was rebuilt after being completely destroyed by the effect of natural calamity. A look around was enough to gauge the losses incurred by the people in terms of thousands of lives and property. A little ahead was even worse; several stretches of about half a kilometer were completely destroyed by the quake. One among them was the colony at Puyang Lu or Puyang Road .
As I entered one of the colonies in Puyang Lu, I saw the buildings---most of the structures had been dismantled for new buildings-- which were yet to be razed badly affected by the quake. One of the buildings, which housed a local company, gave the horrific look; at least one hundred workers of the company were buried in the building when the earthquake had struck.
As I was taking pictures of the building, somebody said ‘nehaav’, hello in Chinese, to me. I turned back to find out a good looking lady behind me. I slipped my camera into my pocket immediately thinking that the lady might be offended by me for picturing a building that killed so many people.
My name is Li Mingyong. Your friends told me that you want to know about earthquake, she said in Chinese. Before I could say anything, Liu Xiao and Liu Pie Gang—my Chinese friends-- translated it for me. She continued, I am the head of the company (picture above) that was destroyed in the quake. I saw dead bodies of my employees buried under the debris after the earthquake struck. Some of the bodies were not recovered even after several days of the calamity.
I asked her about the other families who were living in the houses; Li Mingyong said they are all, including her, living in temporary shelters provided by the China Government. And about her company, she said she is running it from a nearby building provided by the government.
Li Mingyong pointed towards construction workers who were razing the buildings and said the government was seriously considering replacement of the quake victims in their houses and huge number of workers has been employed in order to expedite construction work.
Several damaged buildings were dismantled paving the way for open space while construction work was going on in full swing to rebuilt structures on the plots.
After spending some time at the spot, I decided to visit some families. I asked Li Mingyong the address of the place where temporary shelters were built and my two Chinese friends and I headed for Qing Jian Ren Jia.
The neighborhood of the location was very calm and soft as if in a bid to sooth the haunted memories of the people in the wake of natural disaster; the backdrop was the perfect place of serenity and for healing the wounds. On the left side of the Qing Jian Ren Jia gate stood a policeman beside his office; the police are guarding the colony to avoid any untoward incident. As I walked past him and inched ahead into the lane, I saw a long line of white painted one-storeyed mud-and-brick houses.
An elderly woman was knitting a beautiful sweater outside her door; I asked my friends if she would agree to speak to me for a few minutes. I was a bit skeptical but the woman agreed; she in fact invited me to her home. As she opened the door, I saw three Chinese names written on the door. My friends read the names for me which I understood were the woman and her husband but I was confused about the third name. As I got into the room her husband was in there. The home was a big room divided into two parts.
The room was stuffed mostly with clothes and there were two big beds that had covered huge space. We sat down on the bed and I asked them curiously about the third name on the door.
The man said Yao Shi Kai is me, Ou Ye Zhen is my wife and Yao Ru Ping
is my little daughter who died in the earthquake. There was a one minute silence in the room and after a little while I asked him if they were comfortable in the makeshift house. ‘‘My family and I am very happy over here,’’ he said with a big smile on his face: a scene of gloom was quickly replaced by his gesture. ‘‘The government has helped us a lot. After the earthquake on May 12th, we shifted to the temporary shelter on May 29 and received Rs 300 Yuan from the government for the first three months. I have three children and one of my sons, who was unemployed, was given a job by the government. About his house, he said it was not completely destroyed and the construction work was going on, though it would take sometime because the damage of property in Sichuan province was extensive.
Before we headed off to the next place, the couple insisted us on eating some oranges and we could not leave the place without having them. Chinese people are very magnanimous and I wonder if this kind of breed exists anywhere in the world besides China. My hometown India is also known for its people’s cooperation but the approach of Chinese people speaks wonders; they would go out of way in helping out people.
My next stop was another family at Qing Jian Ren Jia. Chen Ying runs a parlor at the makeshift colony.
Her house was destroyed by the earthquake but it hardly makes any difference for her. Before the natural calamity she was running a parlor at Di Jiang Yu and now she is doing the same business t the makeshift colony. She received monetary help from the government in addition to the compensation for the house. ‘‘My house was damaged in the quake and the government is rebuilding it now. I also got 300 Yuan for the first three months after the quake and a big room for my parlor in addition to the two-room apartment here. I have no regrets and the China government is great,’’ she said. Chen Ying has a son and her husband is working in a factory.
Not very far from the place I saw an interior designing shop. I got into it and confronted another young lady.
Jiang Xiao Cui with her son is an interior designer. Fortunately, everyone in her family was safe but her house was completely destroyed by the quake. However, she has no worries at all. Her family-- husband, baby boy and Jiang-- received 200 Yuan extra compensation from the government for another two months in addition to the first three-month 900 Yuan because the extent of damage of her house had surpassed the limit set by the government. The Chinese Government gives extra compensation to those victims whose house is damaged beyond the 70 sq ft limit set by the government.
The optimism, enthusiasm, passion and remarkable pace to re-establishment among the people despite all odds speak volumes about China Government’s systematic management to weather crises.
As the bus started off, the chilly morning—coupled with thick smog which barely made visible bare branches of trees along the road-- didn’t give any impression that we were heading to a place where thousands of people died only a six months ago. But as the bus passed Chong Yi and inched closer to Du Jiang Yan, signs of earthquake started emerging. I saw some damaged houses with visible cracks but those were dominated by makeshift houses built by the China government for the victims of the earthquake.
The bus touched down into Du Jiang Yan and we got off: As we looked around the neighborhood it seemed a mix of ruined structures and newly constructed buildings. The building where we stopped by to have breakfast was rebuilt after being completely destroyed by the effect of natural calamity. A look around was enough to gauge the losses incurred by the people in terms of thousands of lives and property. A little ahead was even worse; several stretches of about half a kilometer were completely destroyed by the quake. One among them was the colony at Puyang Lu or Puyang Road .
As I entered one of the colonies in Puyang Lu, I saw the buildings---most of the structures had been dismantled for new buildings-- which were yet to be razed badly affected by the quake. One of the buildings, which housed a local company, gave the horrific look; at least one hundred workers of the company were buried in the building when the earthquake had struck.
As I was taking pictures of the building, somebody said ‘nehaav’, hello in Chinese, to me. I turned back to find out a good looking lady behind me. I slipped my camera into my pocket immediately thinking that the lady might be offended by me for picturing a building that killed so many people.
My name is Li Mingyong. Your friends told me that you want to know about earthquake, she said in Chinese. Before I could say anything, Liu Xiao and Liu Pie Gang—my Chinese friends-- translated it for me. She continued, I am the head of the company (picture above) that was destroyed in the quake. I saw dead bodies of my employees buried under the debris after the earthquake struck. Some of the bodies were not recovered even after several days of the calamity.
I asked her about the other families who were living in the houses; Li Mingyong said they are all, including her, living in temporary shelters provided by the China Government. And about her company, she said she is running it from a nearby building provided by the government.
Li Mingyong pointed towards construction workers who were razing the buildings and said the government was seriously considering replacement of the quake victims in their houses and huge number of workers has been employed in order to expedite construction work.
Several damaged buildings were dismantled paving the way for open space while construction work was going on in full swing to rebuilt structures on the plots.
After spending some time at the spot, I decided to visit some families. I asked Li Mingyong the address of the place where temporary shelters were built and my two Chinese friends and I headed for Qing Jian Ren Jia.
The neighborhood of the location was very calm and soft as if in a bid to sooth the haunted memories of the people in the wake of natural disaster; the backdrop was the perfect place of serenity and for healing the wounds. On the left side of the Qing Jian Ren Jia gate stood a policeman beside his office; the police are guarding the colony to avoid any untoward incident. As I walked past him and inched ahead into the lane, I saw a long line of white painted one-storeyed mud-and-brick houses.
An elderly woman was knitting a beautiful sweater outside her door; I asked my friends if she would agree to speak to me for a few minutes. I was a bit skeptical but the woman agreed; she in fact invited me to her home. As she opened the door, I saw three Chinese names written on the door. My friends read the names for me which I understood were the woman and her husband but I was confused about the third name. As I got into the room her husband was in there. The home was a big room divided into two parts.
The room was stuffed mostly with clothes and there were two big beds that had covered huge space. We sat down on the bed and I asked them curiously about the third name on the door.
The man said Yao Shi Kai is me, Ou Ye Zhen is my wife and Yao Ru Ping
is my little daughter who died in the earthquake. There was a one minute silence in the room and after a little while I asked him if they were comfortable in the makeshift house. ‘‘My family and I am very happy over here,’’ he said with a big smile on his face: a scene of gloom was quickly replaced by his gesture. ‘‘The government has helped us a lot. After the earthquake on May 12th, we shifted to the temporary shelter on May 29 and received Rs 300 Yuan from the government for the first three months. I have three children and one of my sons, who was unemployed, was given a job by the government. About his house, he said it was not completely destroyed and the construction work was going on, though it would take sometime because the damage of property in Sichuan province was extensive.
Before we headed off to the next place, the couple insisted us on eating some oranges and we could not leave the place without having them. Chinese people are very magnanimous and I wonder if this kind of breed exists anywhere in the world besides China. My hometown India is also known for its people’s cooperation but the approach of Chinese people speaks wonders; they would go out of way in helping out people.
My next stop was another family at Qing Jian Ren Jia. Chen Ying runs a parlor at the makeshift colony.
Her house was destroyed by the earthquake but it hardly makes any difference for her. Before the natural calamity she was running a parlor at Di Jiang Yu and now she is doing the same business t the makeshift colony. She received monetary help from the government in addition to the compensation for the house. ‘‘My house was damaged in the quake and the government is rebuilding it now. I also got 300 Yuan for the first three months after the quake and a big room for my parlor in addition to the two-room apartment here. I have no regrets and the China government is great,’’ she said. Chen Ying has a son and her husband is working in a factory.
Not very far from the place I saw an interior designing shop. I got into it and confronted another young lady.
Jiang Xiao Cui with her son is an interior designer. Fortunately, everyone in her family was safe but her house was completely destroyed by the quake. However, she has no worries at all. Her family-- husband, baby boy and Jiang-- received 200 Yuan extra compensation from the government for another two months in addition to the first three-month 900 Yuan because the extent of damage of her house had surpassed the limit set by the government. The Chinese Government gives extra compensation to those victims whose house is damaged beyond the 70 sq ft limit set by the government.
The optimism, enthusiasm, passion and remarkable pace to re-establishment among the people despite all odds speak volumes about China Government’s systematic management to weather crises.
Wenchuan earthquake split into adaptive leadership, diversity, futures and Networks.
In earthquake-hit Jiang Yan, the spirit of the people and their passion to move ahead in life exemplified the perfect example of the four themes of adaptive leadership, diversity, futures and networks.
When I visited the quake-hit family in Du Jiang Yan, I was stunned looking at the enthusiasm and passion of an elderly couple who had lost their little daughter in the May 12 earthquake. Their optimism about life and positive attitude towards the future of their children reflected China’s role as great emerging future of the country.
People from different color and caste live together in temporary houses, showcasing diversity among them. At a time of worst situation, they (victims of earthquake) started their businesses within the colony to make things available for other victims who had to otherwise go to the far away city to buy stuff. And today the colony looks like hundred-year old given the way people have adapted themselves to a new set up and the connection between the young and old to re-settlement reflects their networking skills.
When I visited the quake-hit family in Du Jiang Yan, I was stunned looking at the enthusiasm and passion of an elderly couple who had lost their little daughter in the May 12 earthquake. Their optimism about life and positive attitude towards the future of their children reflected China’s role as great emerging future of the country.
People from different color and caste live together in temporary houses, showcasing diversity among them. At a time of worst situation, they (victims of earthquake) started their businesses within the colony to make things available for other victims who had to otherwise go to the far away city to buy stuff. And today the colony looks like hundred-year old given the way people have adapted themselves to a new set up and the connection between the young and old to re-settlement reflects their networking skills.
Sichuan earthquake: Du Jiang Yan in making after Wenchuan natural disaster
On a foggy morning of November 18, 2008, we set off to Chengdu Bus Terminal for Wenchuan province, the epicenter of the deadly May 12 earthquake that killed at least 80,000 people and destroyed tens of thousands of houses. But to our disappointment we came to know no public transport goes to Wechuan since the earthquake has hit the area. Two of my Chinese friends Liu Xiao and Liu Pie Gang from Southwest Jiaotong University suggested another place relatively closer and which was badly affected by the natural calamity; Du Jiang Yan became our new destination.
As the bus started off, the chilly morning—coupled with thick smog which barely made visible bare branches of trees along the road-- didn’t give any impression that we were heading to a place where thousands of people died only a six months ago. But as the bus passed Chong Yi and inched closer to Du Jiang Yan, signs of earthquake started emerging. I saw some damaged houses with visible cracks but those were dominated by makeshift houses built by the China government for the victims of the earthquake.
The bus touched down into Du Jiang Yan and we got off: As we looked around the neighborhood it seemed a mix of ruined structures and newly constructed buildings. The building where we stopped by to have breakfast was rebuilt after being completely destroyed by the effect of natural calamity. A look around was enough to gauge the losses incurred by the people in terms of thousands of lives and property. A little ahead was even worse; several stretches of about half a kilometer were completely destroyed by the quake. One among them was the colony at Puyang Lu or Puyang Road .
As I entered one of the colonies in Puyang Lu, I saw the buildings---most of the structures had been dismantled for new buildings-- which were yet to be razed badly affected by the quake. One of the buildings, which housed a local company, gave the horrific look; at least one hundred workers of the company were buried in the building when the earthquake had struck.
As I was taking pictures of the building, somebody said ‘nehaav’, hello in Chinese, to me. I turned back to find out a good looking lady behind me. I slipped my camera into my pocket immediately thinking that the lady might be offended by me for picturing a building that killed so many people.
My name is Li Mingyong. Your friends told me that you want to know about earthquake, she said in Chinese. Before I could say anything, Liu Xiao and Liu Pie Gang—my Chinese friends-- translated it for me. She continued, I am the head of the company (picture above) that was destroyed in the quake. I saw dead bodies of my employees buried under the debris after the earthquake struck. Some of the bodies were not recovered even after several days of the calamity.
I asked her about the other families who were living in the houses; Li Mingyong said they are all, including her, living in temporary shelters provided by the China Government. And about her company, she said she is running it from a nearby building provided by the government.
Li Mingyong pointed towards construction workers who were razing the buildings and said the government was seriously considering replacement of the quake victims in their houses and huge number of workers has been employed in order to expedite construction work.
Several damaged buildings were dismantled paving the way for open space while construction work was going on in full swing to rebuilt structures on the plots.
After spending some time at the spot, I decided to visit some families. I asked Li Mingyong the address of the place where temporary shelters were built and my two Chinese friends and I headed for Qing Jian Ren Jia.
The neighborhood of the location was very calm and soft as if in a bid to sooth the haunted memories of the people in the wake of natural disaster; the backdrop was the perfect place of serenity and for healing the wounds. On the left side of the Qing Jian Ren Jia gate stood a policeman beside his office; the police are guarding the colony to avoid any untoward incident. As I walked past him and inched ahead into the lane, I saw a long line of white painted one-storeyed mud-and-brick houses.
An elderly woman was knitting a beautiful sweater outside her door; I asked my friends if she would agree to speak to me for a few minutes. I was a bit skeptical but the woman agreed; she in fact invited me to her home. As she opened the door, I saw three Chinese names written on the door. My friends read the names for me which I understood were the woman and her husband but I was confused about the third name. As I got into the room her husband was in there. The home was a big room divided into two parts.
The room was stuffed mostly with clothes and there were two big beds that had covered huge space. We sat down on the bed and I asked them curiously about the third name on the door.
The man said Yao Shi Kai is me, Ou Ye Zhen is my wife and Yao Ru Ping
is my little daughter who died in the earthquake. There was a one minute silence in the room and after a little while I asked him if they were comfortable in the makeshift house. ‘‘My family and I am very happy over here,’’ he said with a big smile on his face: a scene of gloom was quickly replaced by his gesture. ‘‘The government has helped us a lot. After the earthquake on May 12th, we shifted to the temporary shelter on May 29 and received Rs 300 Yuan from the government for the first three months. I have three children and one of my sons, who was unemployed, was given a job by the government. About his house, he said it was not completely destroyed and the construction work was going on, though it would take sometime because the damage of property in Sichuan province was extensive.
Before we headed off to the next place, the couple insisted us on eating some oranges and we could not leave the place without having them. Chinese people are very magnanimous and I wonder if this kind of breed exists anywhere in the world besides China. My hometown India is also known for its people’s cooperation but the approach of Chinese people speaks wonders; they would go out of way in helping out people.
My next stop was another family at Qing Jian Ren Jia. Chen Ying runs a parlor at the makeshift colony.
Her house was destroyed by the earthquake but it hardly makes any difference for her. Before the natural calamity she was running a parlor at Di Jiang Yu and now she is doing the same business t the makeshift colony. She received monetary help from the government in addition to the compensation for the house. ‘‘My house was damaged in the quake and the government is rebuilding it now. I also got 300 Yuan for the first three months after the quake and a big room for my parlor in addition to the two-room apartment here. I have no regrets and the China government is great,’’ she said. Chen Ying has a son and her husband is working in a factory.
Not very far from the place I saw an interior designing shop. I got into it and confronted another young lady.
Jiang Xiao Cui with her son is an interior designer. Fortunately, everyone in her family was safe but her house was completely destroyed by the quake. However, she has no worries at all. Her family-- husband, baby boy and Jiang-- received 200 Yuan extra compensation from the government for another two months in addition to the first three-month 900 Yuan because the extent of damage of her house had surpassed the limit set by the government. The Chinese Government gives extra compensation to those victims whose house is damaged beyond the 70 sq ft limit set by the government.
The optimism, enthusiasm, passion and remarkable pace to re-establishment among the people despite all odds speak volumes about China Government’s systematic management to weather crises.
As the bus started off, the chilly morning—coupled with thick smog which barely made visible bare branches of trees along the road-- didn’t give any impression that we were heading to a place where thousands of people died only a six months ago. But as the bus passed Chong Yi and inched closer to Du Jiang Yan, signs of earthquake started emerging. I saw some damaged houses with visible cracks but those were dominated by makeshift houses built by the China government for the victims of the earthquake.
The bus touched down into Du Jiang Yan and we got off: As we looked around the neighborhood it seemed a mix of ruined structures and newly constructed buildings. The building where we stopped by to have breakfast was rebuilt after being completely destroyed by the effect of natural calamity. A look around was enough to gauge the losses incurred by the people in terms of thousands of lives and property. A little ahead was even worse; several stretches of about half a kilometer were completely destroyed by the quake. One among them was the colony at Puyang Lu or Puyang Road .
As I entered one of the colonies in Puyang Lu, I saw the buildings---most of the structures had been dismantled for new buildings-- which were yet to be razed badly affected by the quake. One of the buildings, which housed a local company, gave the horrific look; at least one hundred workers of the company were buried in the building when the earthquake had struck.
As I was taking pictures of the building, somebody said ‘nehaav’, hello in Chinese, to me. I turned back to find out a good looking lady behind me. I slipped my camera into my pocket immediately thinking that the lady might be offended by me for picturing a building that killed so many people.
My name is Li Mingyong. Your friends told me that you want to know about earthquake, she said in Chinese. Before I could say anything, Liu Xiao and Liu Pie Gang—my Chinese friends-- translated it for me. She continued, I am the head of the company (picture above) that was destroyed in the quake. I saw dead bodies of my employees buried under the debris after the earthquake struck. Some of the bodies were not recovered even after several days of the calamity.
I asked her about the other families who were living in the houses; Li Mingyong said they are all, including her, living in temporary shelters provided by the China Government. And about her company, she said she is running it from a nearby building provided by the government.
Li Mingyong pointed towards construction workers who were razing the buildings and said the government was seriously considering replacement of the quake victims in their houses and huge number of workers has been employed in order to expedite construction work.
Several damaged buildings were dismantled paving the way for open space while construction work was going on in full swing to rebuilt structures on the plots.
After spending some time at the spot, I decided to visit some families. I asked Li Mingyong the address of the place where temporary shelters were built and my two Chinese friends and I headed for Qing Jian Ren Jia.
The neighborhood of the location was very calm and soft as if in a bid to sooth the haunted memories of the people in the wake of natural disaster; the backdrop was the perfect place of serenity and for healing the wounds. On the left side of the Qing Jian Ren Jia gate stood a policeman beside his office; the police are guarding the colony to avoid any untoward incident. As I walked past him and inched ahead into the lane, I saw a long line of white painted one-storeyed mud-and-brick houses.
An elderly woman was knitting a beautiful sweater outside her door; I asked my friends if she would agree to speak to me for a few minutes. I was a bit skeptical but the woman agreed; she in fact invited me to her home. As she opened the door, I saw three Chinese names written on the door. My friends read the names for me which I understood were the woman and her husband but I was confused about the third name. As I got into the room her husband was in there. The home was a big room divided into two parts.
The room was stuffed mostly with clothes and there were two big beds that had covered huge space. We sat down on the bed and I asked them curiously about the third name on the door.
The man said Yao Shi Kai is me, Ou Ye Zhen is my wife and Yao Ru Ping
is my little daughter who died in the earthquake. There was a one minute silence in the room and after a little while I asked him if they were comfortable in the makeshift house. ‘‘My family and I am very happy over here,’’ he said with a big smile on his face: a scene of gloom was quickly replaced by his gesture. ‘‘The government has helped us a lot. After the earthquake on May 12th, we shifted to the temporary shelter on May 29 and received Rs 300 Yuan from the government for the first three months. I have three children and one of my sons, who was unemployed, was given a job by the government. About his house, he said it was not completely destroyed and the construction work was going on, though it would take sometime because the damage of property in Sichuan province was extensive.
Before we headed off to the next place, the couple insisted us on eating some oranges and we could not leave the place without having them. Chinese people are very magnanimous and I wonder if this kind of breed exists anywhere in the world besides China. My hometown India is also known for its people’s cooperation but the approach of Chinese people speaks wonders; they would go out of way in helping out people.
My next stop was another family at Qing Jian Ren Jia. Chen Ying runs a parlor at the makeshift colony.
Her house was destroyed by the earthquake but it hardly makes any difference for her. Before the natural calamity she was running a parlor at Di Jiang Yu and now she is doing the same business t the makeshift colony. She received monetary help from the government in addition to the compensation for the house. ‘‘My house was damaged in the quake and the government is rebuilding it now. I also got 300 Yuan for the first three months after the quake and a big room for my parlor in addition to the two-room apartment here. I have no regrets and the China government is great,’’ she said. Chen Ying has a son and her husband is working in a factory.
Not very far from the place I saw an interior designing shop. I got into it and confronted another young lady.
Jiang Xiao Cui with her son is an interior designer. Fortunately, everyone in her family was safe but her house was completely destroyed by the quake. However, she has no worries at all. Her family-- husband, baby boy and Jiang-- received 200 Yuan extra compensation from the government for another two months in addition to the first three-month 900 Yuan because the extent of damage of her house had surpassed the limit set by the government. The Chinese Government gives extra compensation to those victims whose house is damaged beyond the 70 sq ft limit set by the government.
The optimism, enthusiasm, passion and remarkable pace to re-establishment among the people despite all odds speak volumes about China Government’s systematic management to weather crises.
A brief China recall in a blend of experiences and thoughts
By Huma Sheikh
China gives me a ‘home-like’ feeling
I AM HOME again was how Beijing looked like to me as I disembarked from the bus to the by lane leading towards hotel from the airport. Wide roads, people huddled in lanes, boys paired up on roadsides chatting and anxiously waiting for a quick glimpse of beautiful girls walking around all came alive as I landed in Beijing on November 6. The scene made it almost impossible for me to stay indoors even after my arrival at 10 pm from as far away place as Honolulu and the excitement headed me to a nearby restaurant.
A few of my friends also joined me and suddenly the jet lag faded away as the time set up in China suited me because it is only a few hours ahead of my home country India. Making our way to a restaurant we intended to have some snacks and coffee but the aroma in the room increased our appetite even if we had enough of food on the plane during 16 hours journey. The food was fantastic. I don’t eat pork and one of my friends who is from Hong Kong helped me order the food and also for the group before she headed off to the hotel. Another friend ordered fried rice and both of us decided to pack back some of it but it was so tasty that we had it all over there. We cleaned our plates and even wanted to have more.
On my way back, I traveled around to make sure I am in Beijing and not India but there was hardly any difference between the two. The next day we set off on a Beijing exploration mission. We were split into learning groups with some task to do in an effort to make ourselves aware about some places of significant importance as well as some commonly used activities and games and way of living in Beijing. The assignment was also measured on the basis of work and research each group had done and the winning team announced by the APLP staff was the one with the highest number of accurate answers.
Day two was a little bit academic. We (APLPeers G8) started off purchasing some tickets for our nine-day China GIST travel. I bought the tickets for my Scrambling Scribers team before we started off to discover Beijing. We--my learning group comprised five people, including me, and four of us were completely new to China-- had some outline to follow to acquire some points but for us exploring China was awesome. Although we were not the highest point takers, we were quite satisfied with what we did—we visited places as historic as Tiananmen Square, went to Russian Market, shopping malls and had food at a very good Chinese restaurant. The day culminated in meeting up with the staff at Tiananmen Square, which was followed up by dinner.
On Day three we toured to Beiwai to join participants from CFAU, BeiWai, Tsinghua, Beida and Renmin universities who delivered speeches as part of the ‘Joint Workshop on China and the Future’.
Day Four was quite exciting-- I visited Forbidden City with a guide provided for our group of six. We were together until we walked down half Forbidden City and disbursed in crowd. I lost sight of almost all group mates, including our guide, except Kamal who was with me taking pictures.
However, it was a blessing in disguise as both of us—Kamal and I—had a chance ride a rickshaw and bus all alone. The interesting part of our journey was how I managed to win an argument with a rickshaw puller even if I didn’t know Chinese.
We got onto a rickshaw from Forbidden City exit gate to subway, intending to take it to the hotel. The rickshaw puller, in an attempt to bluff us, after taking all the money stopped the rickshaw halfway and pretended his cycle tyre was broken. He called another rickshaw puller and something conspired between them in Chinese. As another rickshaw puller dropped us to some other unknown place and not subway, he asked for money, triggering an argument. Although the scene was weird as I justified our stand with gestures and some signs, the rickshaw puller had to give up finally. THE MOMENT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF MY LIFE. I WILL ALWAYS CHERISH IT.
We had CCPIT meetings on November 10, which culminated in a grand dinner hosted by APLP alumni hosted by Zhao Zhenge and Lin Honghong (G2). And the final day in Beijing on November 11 before we left for China GIST on Nov 12, was devoted to Tsinghua University where Director of Brooklyn Institute gave presentation on China and its development and economy at John Thornton Leadership Center . The lecture was of great help to literate us more deeply about China before China GIST.
China gives me a ‘home-like’ feeling
I AM HOME again was how Beijing looked like to me as I disembarked from the bus to the by lane leading towards hotel from the airport. Wide roads, people huddled in lanes, boys paired up on roadsides chatting and anxiously waiting for a quick glimpse of beautiful girls walking around all came alive as I landed in Beijing on November 6. The scene made it almost impossible for me to stay indoors even after my arrival at 10 pm from as far away place as Honolulu and the excitement headed me to a nearby restaurant.
A few of my friends also joined me and suddenly the jet lag faded away as the time set up in China suited me because it is only a few hours ahead of my home country India. Making our way to a restaurant we intended to have some snacks and coffee but the aroma in the room increased our appetite even if we had enough of food on the plane during 16 hours journey. The food was fantastic. I don’t eat pork and one of my friends who is from Hong Kong helped me order the food and also for the group before she headed off to the hotel. Another friend ordered fried rice and both of us decided to pack back some of it but it was so tasty that we had it all over there. We cleaned our plates and even wanted to have more.
On my way back, I traveled around to make sure I am in Beijing and not India but there was hardly any difference between the two. The next day we set off on a Beijing exploration mission. We were split into learning groups with some task to do in an effort to make ourselves aware about some places of significant importance as well as some commonly used activities and games and way of living in Beijing. The assignment was also measured on the basis of work and research each group had done and the winning team announced by the APLP staff was the one with the highest number of accurate answers.
Day two was a little bit academic. We (APLPeers G8) started off purchasing some tickets for our nine-day China GIST travel. I bought the tickets for my Scrambling Scribers team before we started off to discover Beijing. We--my learning group comprised five people, including me, and four of us were completely new to China-- had some outline to follow to acquire some points but for us exploring China was awesome. Although we were not the highest point takers, we were quite satisfied with what we did—we visited places as historic as Tiananmen Square, went to Russian Market, shopping malls and had food at a very good Chinese restaurant. The day culminated in meeting up with the staff at Tiananmen Square, which was followed up by dinner.
On Day three we toured to Beiwai to join participants from CFAU, BeiWai, Tsinghua, Beida and Renmin universities who delivered speeches as part of the ‘Joint Workshop on China and the Future’.
Day Four was quite exciting-- I visited Forbidden City with a guide provided for our group of six. We were together until we walked down half Forbidden City and disbursed in crowd. I lost sight of almost all group mates, including our guide, except Kamal who was with me taking pictures.
However, it was a blessing in disguise as both of us—Kamal and I—had a chance ride a rickshaw and bus all alone. The interesting part of our journey was how I managed to win an argument with a rickshaw puller even if I didn’t know Chinese.
We got onto a rickshaw from Forbidden City exit gate to subway, intending to take it to the hotel. The rickshaw puller, in an attempt to bluff us, after taking all the money stopped the rickshaw halfway and pretended his cycle tyre was broken. He called another rickshaw puller and something conspired between them in Chinese. As another rickshaw puller dropped us to some other unknown place and not subway, he asked for money, triggering an argument. Although the scene was weird as I justified our stand with gestures and some signs, the rickshaw puller had to give up finally. THE MOMENT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT OF MY LIFE. I WILL ALWAYS CHERISH IT.
We had CCPIT meetings on November 10, which culminated in a grand dinner hosted by APLP alumni hosted by Zhao Zhenge and Lin Honghong (G2). And the final day in Beijing on November 11 before we left for China GIST on Nov 12, was devoted to Tsinghua University where Director of Brooklyn Institute gave presentation on China and its development and economy at John Thornton Leadership Center . The lecture was of great help to literate us more deeply about China before China GIST.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Barack Obama is a global hero - Commentary
Huma Sheikh
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Commentary
PrintEmail Article Tools Page 1 of 1 Barack Hussein Obama has become a global superhero. His supporters' enthusiasm reflects the growing desire among the people for change in the US. But does it make any difference to the world? It indeed does; after all America is the super power and its government policies have an impact on world politics.
Barack Obama has been a populous global figure, unlike many Presidential candidates in the history of the US. His sizeable lead in the polls and unimaginable global support show the long-standing desire of the world to see an American leader who can be honored as a great global leader.
If globalization means anything, it means that election in the US has a global role. What happens at home doesn't necessarily stay at home. The current financial crisis that began with the collapse of financial institutions in the US has triggered market instability worldwide after stock prices plummeted, says Vannarith Chheang, a Cambodian doing Asia Pacific Leadership Program at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii.
Change is important to prevent uncertainties like the US economy crunch in the interdependent world. The world needs effective leaders to tackle complexities with potential global risks and I believe Barack Obama has the potential to make the world a better place.
APLP fellow Phatry Derek Pan says Cambodian-American refugees and other new Southeast Asians struggled when they first immigrated in the early 80s. But prosperity trickled in with Bill Clinton's policies in the 90s that favored minorities and the middle class. On a personal level, he received more financial assistance when he began his college education.
He says people like myself oppose war, because the truth is, his family never wanted to leave their country. So when George Bush decided to invade Iraq, it simply reminded them of our plight here and the struggle we endured.
Another APLP fellow Shawn P Hall, who is African-American, doesn't want to be classified unfairly on the basis of his vote to Obama who is also an African-American. ''For most of the people they feel it is automatic that I would support Obama since we are both African-American, nothing could be further from the truth! I shun anyone from voting based solely on race. For me it is about which candidate has the best vision for the country, and which candidate shares my hopes and views. The quality and efficiency Obama has shown in managing his campaign and his effectiveness in delivering message of change was remarkable.
Nevertheless, he is a little skeptical about what "Change" will encompass. There is a saying he once heard, "do not change for change's sake alone''. In this phrase is the understanding that we can change but possibly change into a worse condition. However, looking at the current state of affairs, I doubt there is much worse we can change into. With this said, he is willing to take a chance with Senator Obama, and cast his vote for Obama instead of Senator McCain, who historically has sided with President Bush over 90 per cent of the time. Sen. Obama's rhetoric addresses my concerns, however I would be less than honest if I didn't say I wish I had more time to examine him, or had some other choices. McCain and Obama are the only choices, he believes, so a relatively unknown and untested Obama seems the better of the two choices, says Shawn.
(Huma Sheikh is an Asia Pacific Leadership Program fellow at the East-West Center)
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Commentary
PrintEmail Article Tools Page 1 of 1 Barack Hussein Obama has become a global superhero. His supporters' enthusiasm reflects the growing desire among the people for change in the US. But does it make any difference to the world? It indeed does; after all America is the super power and its government policies have an impact on world politics.
Barack Obama has been a populous global figure, unlike many Presidential candidates in the history of the US. His sizeable lead in the polls and unimaginable global support show the long-standing desire of the world to see an American leader who can be honored as a great global leader.
If globalization means anything, it means that election in the US has a global role. What happens at home doesn't necessarily stay at home. The current financial crisis that began with the collapse of financial institutions in the US has triggered market instability worldwide after stock prices plummeted, says Vannarith Chheang, a Cambodian doing Asia Pacific Leadership Program at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii.
Change is important to prevent uncertainties like the US economy crunch in the interdependent world. The world needs effective leaders to tackle complexities with potential global risks and I believe Barack Obama has the potential to make the world a better place.
APLP fellow Phatry Derek Pan says Cambodian-American refugees and other new Southeast Asians struggled when they first immigrated in the early 80s. But prosperity trickled in with Bill Clinton's policies in the 90s that favored minorities and the middle class. On a personal level, he received more financial assistance when he began his college education.
He says people like myself oppose war, because the truth is, his family never wanted to leave their country. So when George Bush decided to invade Iraq, it simply reminded them of our plight here and the struggle we endured.
Another APLP fellow Shawn P Hall, who is African-American, doesn't want to be classified unfairly on the basis of his vote to Obama who is also an African-American. ''For most of the people they feel it is automatic that I would support Obama since we are both African-American, nothing could be further from the truth! I shun anyone from voting based solely on race. For me it is about which candidate has the best vision for the country, and which candidate shares my hopes and views. The quality and efficiency Obama has shown in managing his campaign and his effectiveness in delivering message of change was remarkable.
Nevertheless, he is a little skeptical about what "Change" will encompass. There is a saying he once heard, "do not change for change's sake alone''. In this phrase is the understanding that we can change but possibly change into a worse condition. However, looking at the current state of affairs, I doubt there is much worse we can change into. With this said, he is willing to take a chance with Senator Obama, and cast his vote for Obama instead of Senator McCain, who historically has sided with President Bush over 90 per cent of the time. Sen. Obama's rhetoric addresses my concerns, however I would be less than honest if I didn't say I wish I had more time to examine him, or had some other choices. McCain and Obama are the only choices, he believes, so a relatively unknown and untested Obama seems the better of the two choices, says Shawn.
(Huma Sheikh is an Asia Pacific Leadership Program fellow at the East-West Center)
Monday, October 27, 2008
South Asia focus: conflict in Kashmir
Huma Sheikh
Kashmir is a particularly beautiful, yet unstable, region in South Asia that lies between India and Pakistan. Over the past 60 years, both India and Pakistan have fought three wars over this territory. Kashmir has been grappling with incidents of violence since a separatist uprising in 1989 and now the recent spate of protests due to a controversial religious land transfer issue has added fuel to the fire.
On May 26, the Jammu and Kashmir Government, in consultation with the Indian government, reached an agreement to transfer 100 acres of forest land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. The board is responsible for the smooth and trouble-free pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, and the acres were given in order to set up temporary shelters and facilities for Hindu pilgrims. This evoked a huge controversy; demonstrators from the Kashmir Valley were against the land transfer, while protesters from the Jammu region supported it.
At first, the people of Kashmir opposed the land transfer because they feared ecological imbalance in the region. The protesters later claimed that land transfer was an attempt to change the demographics of the valley.
But the acre agreement is not the real issue, as far as protesters are concerned. The people in the region have pent-up emotions and take advantage of any situation that arises. There are already thousands of acres of farmers' land under the occupation of the Indian Army in the valley. While farmers are still optimistic about getting back their land, it seems the Indian government is no longer interested in the reduction or withdrawal of troops from the valley. The land transfer has only helped to spread negative sentiment.
Kashmir has been recognized by the U.N. as a disputed territory. The origin of the problem in the valley is traced back to the non-implementation of the agreement made by the Indian government in 1947 when India and Pakistan won their independence from Britain. According to the agreement, the people of Kashmir were promised the right to self-determination by the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. The various phases of self-determination, however, were always evaded by the Indian government. The valley has since become the bone of contention between the two neighboring countries.
The protesters also said that according to Article 370 of the agreement - which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir - no non-Kashmiri can own land in the valley. The recent row is thus a fight of Kashmiris for their rights.
Thousands of people took part in the processions in which 40 people, including a separatist leader, were killed and hundreds were injured due to police firing. As the protests turned violent, the Congress-led government in the region came under extreme pressure from its main alliance party, the People's Democratic Party. The party threatened to withdraw support if the government did not revoke the land order.
Though the order was revoked, the Ghulam Nabi Azad government had to step down after the People's Democratic Party didn't lend support to his government and the governor rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir.
The revocation of the order, on the other hand, provoked widespread protests in Jammu. Several people there were killed and many others injured in demonstrations. The people of Jammu, in support of the land transfer, enforced an economic blockade in the Kashmir Valley by stopping traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
The protest continued for 61 days, and on Aug. 31, a Jammu and Kashmir governor-appointed panel signed an agreement with the Hindu groups, who were leading the agitation in Jammu. According to the agreement, the shrine board would be making temporary use of 40 hectares of land during the "yatra" (pilgrimage) period.
Although the new agreement has brought the situation under control in Jammu, it has provoked Muslims in Kashmir. Though there was a lull in violence in the Kashmir Valley during the holy month of Ramadan, a string of violent incidents have taken place in the past few days. Recently, curfew was imposed in the valley and several separatist leaders were arrested in order to stop them from holding sit-ins in Lal Chowk, the heart of the capital city in Kashmir.
The question is how many more lives must be lost before there is a complete end to violence in Kashmir?
Kashmir is a particularly beautiful, yet unstable, region in South Asia that lies between India and Pakistan. Over the past 60 years, both India and Pakistan have fought three wars over this territory. Kashmir has been grappling with incidents of violence since a separatist uprising in 1989 and now the recent spate of protests due to a controversial religious land transfer issue has added fuel to the fire.
On May 26, the Jammu and Kashmir Government, in consultation with the Indian government, reached an agreement to transfer 100 acres of forest land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. The board is responsible for the smooth and trouble-free pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, and the acres were given in order to set up temporary shelters and facilities for Hindu pilgrims. This evoked a huge controversy; demonstrators from the Kashmir Valley were against the land transfer, while protesters from the Jammu region supported it.
At first, the people of Kashmir opposed the land transfer because they feared ecological imbalance in the region. The protesters later claimed that land transfer was an attempt to change the demographics of the valley.
But the acre agreement is not the real issue, as far as protesters are concerned. The people in the region have pent-up emotions and take advantage of any situation that arises. There are already thousands of acres of farmers' land under the occupation of the Indian Army in the valley. While farmers are still optimistic about getting back their land, it seems the Indian government is no longer interested in the reduction or withdrawal of troops from the valley. The land transfer has only helped to spread negative sentiment.
Kashmir has been recognized by the U.N. as a disputed territory. The origin of the problem in the valley is traced back to the non-implementation of the agreement made by the Indian government in 1947 when India and Pakistan won their independence from Britain. According to the agreement, the people of Kashmir were promised the right to self-determination by the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. The various phases of self-determination, however, were always evaded by the Indian government. The valley has since become the bone of contention between the two neighboring countries.
The protesters also said that according to Article 370 of the agreement - which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir - no non-Kashmiri can own land in the valley. The recent row is thus a fight of Kashmiris for their rights.
Thousands of people took part in the processions in which 40 people, including a separatist leader, were killed and hundreds were injured due to police firing. As the protests turned violent, the Congress-led government in the region came under extreme pressure from its main alliance party, the People's Democratic Party. The party threatened to withdraw support if the government did not revoke the land order.
Though the order was revoked, the Ghulam Nabi Azad government had to step down after the People's Democratic Party didn't lend support to his government and the governor rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir.
The revocation of the order, on the other hand, provoked widespread protests in Jammu. Several people there were killed and many others injured in demonstrations. The people of Jammu, in support of the land transfer, enforced an economic blockade in the Kashmir Valley by stopping traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
The protest continued for 61 days, and on Aug. 31, a Jammu and Kashmir governor-appointed panel signed an agreement with the Hindu groups, who were leading the agitation in Jammu. According to the agreement, the shrine board would be making temporary use of 40 hectares of land during the "yatra" (pilgrimage) period.
Although the new agreement has brought the situation under control in Jammu, it has provoked Muslims in Kashmir. Though there was a lull in violence in the Kashmir Valley during the holy month of Ramadan, a string of violent incidents have taken place in the past few days. Recently, curfew was imposed in the valley and several separatist leaders were arrested in order to stop them from holding sit-ins in Lal Chowk, the heart of the capital city in Kashmir.
The question is how many more lives must be lost before there is a complete end to violence in Kashmir?
'Writing with Thread' at a glance
Huma Sheikh
'Writing with Thread' uses a mix of textile art and jewelry to showcase the lives of Southwest Chinese minorities.[Click to enlarge]
'Writing with Thread,' an exhibition of Southwestern Chinese jewlery and textile art, started off as a bid to bring awareness to UH students about a community that scripted its history without a written language.The exhibition, organized by the University of Hawai'i Art Gallery, is the largest of its kind, featuring over 500 objects from 15 ethnic groups and 100 subgroups of Southwest China."The event is fascinating, as it provides the history of the ethnic minorities who lived without written languages and passed their customs and traditions orally through generations," UH Art Gallery Director Lisa Yoshihara said. "So one way to document their cultural beliefs was through embroidery. And the thread became their ink and the needle their pen."The exhibition, which is on loan from Taiwan, showcases what they choose to be the most outstanding examples of the textile arts and is assembled by Huang Yingfeng, the director of Evergrand Museum in Taiwan. Huang has worked for over 17 years to collect the objects of historical importance. According Yoshihara, he believes the collection reflects the meaning associated with the production of indigenous clothing."Mr. Huang has spent nearly two decades building the collection in order to preserve it before it is lost. So it's a real gift to the world," Yoshihara said.She also said the UH Art Gallery is committed to featuring both contemporary and historic works to acclimatize students to different traditions. "We encourage students to see this unique collection because this is once in a lifetime chance," she said.'Writing with Thread' began on Sept. 21 and will continue until Nov. 30. The collection's presentation, which showcases apparel, baby carriers, quilt covers, festive and religious vestments and silver jewelry, reflects the great river systems of the Southwestern region of China along which indigenous groups settled.For more information on the exhibit, contact the University of Hawai'i Art Gallery at (808) 956-6888 or visit their website at hawaii.edu/artgallery/The exhibition will be held next in the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin from Jan. 31, 2009 through April 12, 2009. It will then be opened in New Mexico from May 15 to Aug. 16 at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe.
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'Writing with Thread' uses a mix of textile art and jewelry to showcase the lives of Southwest Chinese minorities.[Click to enlarge]
'Writing with Thread,' an exhibition of Southwestern Chinese jewlery and textile art, started off as a bid to bring awareness to UH students about a community that scripted its history without a written language.The exhibition, organized by the University of Hawai'i Art Gallery, is the largest of its kind, featuring over 500 objects from 15 ethnic groups and 100 subgroups of Southwest China."The event is fascinating, as it provides the history of the ethnic minorities who lived without written languages and passed their customs and traditions orally through generations," UH Art Gallery Director Lisa Yoshihara said. "So one way to document their cultural beliefs was through embroidery. And the thread became their ink and the needle their pen."The exhibition, which is on loan from Taiwan, showcases what they choose to be the most outstanding examples of the textile arts and is assembled by Huang Yingfeng, the director of Evergrand Museum in Taiwan. Huang has worked for over 17 years to collect the objects of historical importance. According Yoshihara, he believes the collection reflects the meaning associated with the production of indigenous clothing."Mr. Huang has spent nearly two decades building the collection in order to preserve it before it is lost. So it's a real gift to the world," Yoshihara said.She also said the UH Art Gallery is committed to featuring both contemporary and historic works to acclimatize students to different traditions. "We encourage students to see this unique collection because this is once in a lifetime chance," she said.'Writing with Thread' began on Sept. 21 and will continue until Nov. 30. The collection's presentation, which showcases apparel, baby carriers, quilt covers, festive and religious vestments and silver jewelry, reflects the great river systems of the Southwestern region of China along which indigenous groups settled.For more information on the exhibit, contact the University of Hawai'i Art Gallery at (808) 956-6888 or visit their website at hawaii.edu/artgallery/The exhibition will be held next in the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin from Jan. 31, 2009 through April 12, 2009. It will then be opened in New Mexico from May 15 to Aug. 16 at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe.
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Friday, October 17, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
I am not unemployed, suggests Natwar
I am not unemployed, suggests Natwar
Despite resigning, Mr Natwar Singh today
suggested on a defiant note that he would not remain unemployed
for even a day after losing his ministership.
''From tomorrow, I shall be writing a book and having a damn
good time,'' he said at the launch of a book written by
former Permanent Representative to the UN Chinmaya R Gharekhan.
''Half an hour earlier, I became gainfully unemployed,'' he
said, adding in response to questions, ''I will play with children,
read books, and have a good time''.
Asked later about the subject of his books, he said it would
be about ''diplomatic incidents'', but did not elaborate. Earlier
in reference to a remark about the Volcker controversy he said
that ''Mr Volcker, you know, is not one of my favorite
individuals''.
Mr Singh sought to give a positive spin to his return among
the diplomatic and scholarly community present for the launch.
'' Given the choice, I would have been here instead of meeting the
Prime Minister,'' he said by way of explaning his delayed arrival
at the function.
On the book 'The Horseshoe Table', Mr. Singh said, it not
only provided an insider's view of the UN Security Council but
was also a very ''sensible and solid contribution'' reflecting
on the ''working and non-working contributions'' of the world
body.
''There is a democracy deficit in the UN Security Council,''
he said, reflecting on the ''power games'' that are witnessed on
the world stage under the garb of ''morality and justice''.
No longer bound by the ministerial code, Mr Singh used the
occasion to highlight the growing ''interventionist'' role of
the
''The collapse of the
an alternative point of view from the world, he pointed out.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Nixon, Bush, Palin
Nixon, Bush, Palin
By Roger Cohen
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
NEW YORK: In 1970, in the midst of the longest bear market since World War II, President Nixon declared: "Frankly, if I had any money, I'd be buying stocks right now."
The market soared.
Now, I've been asking myself, for the heck of it, what would happen if President Bush tried his own jawboning of the market and said: "Frankly, if I had any money, I'd be buying stocks right now."
My conclusion is: Mr. President, please, please, whatever your next whim, do not say that! I reckon the market could tank in ways that would make this week's 777 point one-day plunge look paltry.
I'm not about to write a paean to Nixon. I watched him quit in a bar in Bolinas, California; I can still hear the cheer. But even his tortured nature betrayed some essential seriousness about the fate of the United States of America. By contrast, the Bush crowd has gambled the future of this country with abandon.
(And Nixon did resign. Whatever happened to the notion that someone - a Cabinet member, a Wall Street CEO, the inventor of credit-default swaps - might actually fall on his or her sword? Shame has become a quaint chivalric notion, like honor, a thing of another American time.)
Let's take a closer look at the Bush gamble. It's worth doing, because the first person in this country to re-price risk on the basis that it no longer existed was the president. Now, that's leading by example.
The gamble involved going to war in Iraq at an estimated cost to date of about $700 billion (does that figure sound familiar?) while opting not to raise taxes but lower them. It involved going into that war, and another in Afghanistan, while asking not for shared sacrifice but a collective maxing-out in the service of shopping.
At the same time, Bush, who often seemed to need directions to the Treasury, opted to allow an opaque derivatives market to grow into the trillions without supervision, regulation or information. The market knew best. Turns out that what the market knew best was how to turn capitalism into a pyramid scheme for trading worthless pieces of paper.
The terrible cost is now clear. But we should be grateful for small mercies. Remember Bush wanted to throw Social Security into the gamble, too, by privatizing it!
Market capitalism is a sophisticated thing that calls for transparency, ethics and rules. Bush and his crowd gambled that some "new paradigm" meant these things were passé.
They're not. We have to be careful now. Already the contagion of bank failures has spread to Europe. People are asking of the United States: What became of this country?
The Chinese have been ready to treat U.S. Treasuries as a rock-hard store of value and loan us the dollars they accumulate at a very low interest rate. But what if they start to doubt the U.S. government will repay its debt?
"We are getting closer to a tipping point," said Benn Steil, an economist. "People are asking, can we really trust the dollar as a store of value?"
The Bretton Woods system of monetary management collapsed in 1971. Since then the dollar's been the primary reserve currency. Now, we're reaching another point where a rethink of the foundations for a global economy is needed.
Global trade and capital flows are essential to prosperity. But it's illogical to have a global system with no global reserve as insurance. Perhaps the trillions of Gulf and Chinese surpluses could be used to fund that. Or perhaps it's time for a return to the gold standard.
I know one thing: This is no time for further gambling. I'm grateful to Bob Rice of Tangent Capital for pointing out that the actuarial risk, based on mortality tables, of Sarah Palin becoming president if the McCain-Palin Republican ticket wins the election is about one in six or seven.
That's the same odds as your birthday falling on a Wednesday, or a flipped coin coming up heads three times running. Is America ready for that?
When power is a passport to gamble, people can end up seriously broke or seriously dead. There is one capable, sober guy in the Bush administration: Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He recently said U.S. forces in Iraq had to learn how to do counterinsurgency there. "But that came at a frightful human, financial and political cost," he noted.
Gates warned that "warfare is inevitably tragic, inefficient." He urged skepticism of any notion that "adversaries can be cowed, shocked or awed into submission, instead of being tracked down, hilltop by hilltop, house by house, block by bloody block."
In short, he lambasted the Rumsfeld-Cheney-Bush war effort for its gambler's irresponsibility. The same has been true on the financial front. The equivalent of "Shock and Awe" has been "Sub and Prime."
And people's houses across America really did go up in smoke while fear stalked the land.
Readers are invited to comment at my blog: www.iht.com/passages
By Roger Cohen
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
NEW YORK: In 1970, in the midst of the longest bear market since World War II, President Nixon declared: "Frankly, if I had any money, I'd be buying stocks right now."
The market soared.
Now, I've been asking myself, for the heck of it, what would happen if President Bush tried his own jawboning of the market and said: "Frankly, if I had any money, I'd be buying stocks right now."
My conclusion is: Mr. President, please, please, whatever your next whim, do not say that! I reckon the market could tank in ways that would make this week's 777 point one-day plunge look paltry.
I'm not about to write a paean to Nixon. I watched him quit in a bar in Bolinas, California; I can still hear the cheer. But even his tortured nature betrayed some essential seriousness about the fate of the United States of America. By contrast, the Bush crowd has gambled the future of this country with abandon.
(And Nixon did resign. Whatever happened to the notion that someone - a Cabinet member, a Wall Street CEO, the inventor of credit-default swaps - might actually fall on his or her sword? Shame has become a quaint chivalric notion, like honor, a thing of another American time.)
Let's take a closer look at the Bush gamble. It's worth doing, because the first person in this country to re-price risk on the basis that it no longer existed was the president. Now, that's leading by example.
The gamble involved going to war in Iraq at an estimated cost to date of about $700 billion (does that figure sound familiar?) while opting not to raise taxes but lower them. It involved going into that war, and another in Afghanistan, while asking not for shared sacrifice but a collective maxing-out in the service of shopping.
At the same time, Bush, who often seemed to need directions to the Treasury, opted to allow an opaque derivatives market to grow into the trillions without supervision, regulation or information. The market knew best. Turns out that what the market knew best was how to turn capitalism into a pyramid scheme for trading worthless pieces of paper.
The terrible cost is now clear. But we should be grateful for small mercies. Remember Bush wanted to throw Social Security into the gamble, too, by privatizing it!
Market capitalism is a sophisticated thing that calls for transparency, ethics and rules. Bush and his crowd gambled that some "new paradigm" meant these things were passé.
They're not. We have to be careful now. Already the contagion of bank failures has spread to Europe. People are asking of the United States: What became of this country?
The Chinese have been ready to treat U.S. Treasuries as a rock-hard store of value and loan us the dollars they accumulate at a very low interest rate. But what if they start to doubt the U.S. government will repay its debt?
"We are getting closer to a tipping point," said Benn Steil, an economist. "People are asking, can we really trust the dollar as a store of value?"
The Bretton Woods system of monetary management collapsed in 1971. Since then the dollar's been the primary reserve currency. Now, we're reaching another point where a rethink of the foundations for a global economy is needed.
Global trade and capital flows are essential to prosperity. But it's illogical to have a global system with no global reserve as insurance. Perhaps the trillions of Gulf and Chinese surpluses could be used to fund that. Or perhaps it's time for a return to the gold standard.
I know one thing: This is no time for further gambling. I'm grateful to Bob Rice of Tangent Capital for pointing out that the actuarial risk, based on mortality tables, of Sarah Palin becoming president if the McCain-Palin Republican ticket wins the election is about one in six or seven.
That's the same odds as your birthday falling on a Wednesday, or a flipped coin coming up heads three times running. Is America ready for that?
When power is a passport to gamble, people can end up seriously broke or seriously dead. There is one capable, sober guy in the Bush administration: Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He recently said U.S. forces in Iraq had to learn how to do counterinsurgency there. "But that came at a frightful human, financial and political cost," he noted.
Gates warned that "warfare is inevitably tragic, inefficient." He urged skepticism of any notion that "adversaries can be cowed, shocked or awed into submission, instead of being tracked down, hilltop by hilltop, house by house, block by bloody block."
In short, he lambasted the Rumsfeld-Cheney-Bush war effort for its gambler's irresponsibility. The same has been true on the financial front. The equivalent of "Shock and Awe" has been "Sub and Prime."
And people's houses across America really did go up in smoke while fear stalked the land.
Readers are invited to comment at my blog: www.iht.com/passages
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