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.
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