Showing posts with label tragedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tragedy. Show all posts
Friday, January 15, 2010
Haiti
here is a short essay on Haiti and Chengdu and some of the similarities and differences in the disasters that struck here and there.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Woe unto the Enemies of the State
Patriotism at the expense of another nation is as wicked as racism at the expense of another race...Let us resolve to be patriots always, nationalists never.
– Rev. William Sloane Coffin
Today at 2:28pm, the entire Chinese nation stood at attention for three minutes to remember the victims of the Sichuan Earthquake. Today's edition of the Chengdu Economic Daily came out at noon and was dressed in mourning.
In the center of the city, Tianfu Plaza, thousands of people gathered at the appointed time and bowed their heads in silence as air sirens and car horns blared throughout the three minutes. A clarion call of sorrow. The country will be at half-mast for the next three days.
Afterward, the crowd chanted "Go China!" several times to show support not only for the people affected by the earthquake, but also the nation as a whole. China has had an eventful year. They are gearing up for the main event this summer.
We in the West have very bad associations with nationalism; we know what horrors have been done in the name of the state. Here as well, the people have suffered under state-sponsored programs carried out by zealous patriots throughout the last century.
Is it possible to have a benevolent, peaceful wave of patriotic love that could surge across China's borders? I think that entirely depends on how the world reacts to a nation bursting with pride and emotion, as China is now.
Imagine if China, in a gesture born of brimming passion and goodwill, invited the Dalai Lama to the Olympics and sat with him as cousins should. Imagine if all of the western politicians who have threatened to boycott the Opening Ceremony quietly re-considered, and came anyway.
In a refugee camp in Mianzhu, a couple guys were passing out leaflets to all the refugees. The leaflets were from the Police Bureau letting everyone know that rumors of Tibetans roaming the camps stealing stuff was false and inflammatory. In every place I visited, they called my "an international friend" and thanked me, spoke with me, offered me a seat and some water.
We'll see where China channels all of this new energy.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
mom i can't see your hand
A Poem by an anonymous Chinese circling the web(translated):
Children quick
quick
Hold fast to Mother's hand
The Road to Heaven
Is so dark
Mom is afraid
you'll hit your head
Quick
Hold fast to Mother's hand
Have Mom walk with you
mom
I'm afraid
The road to heaven
is so dark
I cant see your hand
Since the walls fell
and stole away the sun
I haven't been able to see
your tender gaze
Child
Go
The road ahead carries no more sorrow
no more boring school books
you won't ever see Dad's fist again
You should remember
The image of your Father and I
In the next life, we'll walk together again
mom
don't despair
the road to heaven is crowded
there are classmates and friends here
we all say
don't cry don't cry
every person's mom is also my mom
every chid is my mother's child
since my days are finished,
give your love to the living children
mom
you shouldn't cry
the glimmer of tears gives no light
its our road
let us take it ourselves
mom
I will remember the image of you and dad
and remember our promise
in the next life, we'll walk together again
Children quick
quick
Hold fast to Mother's hand
The Road to Heaven
Is so dark
Mom is afraid
you'll hit your head
Quick
Hold fast to Mother's hand
Have Mom walk with you
mom
I'm afraid
The road to heaven
is so dark
I cant see your hand
Since the walls fell
and stole away the sun
I haven't been able to see
your tender gaze
Child
Go
The road ahead carries no more sorrow
no more boring school books
you won't ever see Dad's fist again
You should remember
The image of your Father and I
In the next life, we'll walk together again
mom
don't despair
the road to heaven is crowded
there are classmates and friends here
we all say
don't cry don't cry
every person's mom is also my mom
every chid is my mother's child
since my days are finished,
give your love to the living children
mom
you shouldn't cry
the glimmer of tears gives no light
its our road
let us take it ourselves
mom
I will remember the image of you and dad
and remember our promise
in the next life, we'll walk together again
A Theory of Relativity
First off: Blogger is blocked in China, so people cannot see it here, I cannot comment back to any of you and i do use a proxy.
There is so much to tell ... I drove from Chengdu up north to a place called Hanwang today, through the towns of Shifang and Mianzhu.
Shifang was the first stop. The city is a satellite of Deyang Town, which is an industrial city surrounded by wheat fields and rice paddies. Its a poor town with older buildings, near the mountains and itself surrounded by several destitute villages living off of industry and small time local business. The city center was hit, but not hard. Almost all of the buildings are standing and there is a refugee camp in the middle of town. The refugees are both shell-shocked peasants and workers from the suburbs and urbanites who don't dare return to their cracked and splintered apartments.
The outlying villages and towns suffered enormously. Thousands are dead, thousands missing, thousands injured ... in every such town in northern Sichuan, there is a large placard with figures, pictures and details of sorrow that each town experienced. There was one picture in Shifang of a school of 400 in a village called Yinghua -- more than 300 died -- and the picture shows two girls, bodies horribly stretched, twisted and shattered. They have running pants and sneakers on. They are skinny and both have light blue underwear.
A man named He was pointing at the picture and explained that the two were girls he knew. He pulled his son out the wreckage of that school. His son has two broken legs and is in a hospital in Chongqing. Later I was in an apartment nearby and watched three girls point out their teacher on TV whose daughter had died. They knew that girl too.
On the road to Mianzhu, the damage started getting bad. Its wheat threshing season, so there are mobile threshing machines on the road and peasants in the fields. They return to tents of red, white and blue plastic when the work is done. Their houses have all fallen in, or been damaged to heavily to support people so they wrap bamboo around trees and telephone poles and bring their beds out into the open. The road is lined with tent cities, spaced by government supply depots with field hospitals and bands of volunteers stopping and unloading. Some drive BMWS and Audis, others tiny CheryQQs and tinbox bread trucks. Some, like the French, arrive in a caravan of 30 double wide semi trucks filled with supplies.
The supply train stretches 156km long and probably twice as wide, spread out over highways, two- and three-laners, unfinished piles of stone and pavement waiting to be melted into asphalt and potholed dirt roads where we dodge tractors and blind men on motorbikes.
Mianzhu has rubble in the streets. The area has been cleared and is stocked with supplies. It took heavy damage, but here as with all cities in China, buildings built in different eras with different materials stand next to each other. The older buildings built of concrete, sand and brick are largely demolished. The new modern complexes with steel, re bar, good bricks and solid cement stand pristine, towering over a refugee camp in the middle of town. One guy came out in shorts and broken sandals and told me, this is all i got, the pants on my butt and these scruffy sandals. He laughed as he pointed down and everybody laughed with him. I joked with the kids there for a while. I named one Stankfoot and the other Boogerface. Everybody joined in the joke-fest. They kept offering me water and food. Everyone gathered around and I made the little kids laugh till snot came out their noses. Its easy: a big laowai speaking like a peasant makes everybody bust out ...
I said: you guys are awesome, smiling and laughing in the middle of this thing ...
They replied:
we're chinese, we can withstand anything.
It feels good to be alive
no matter what life brings, we always stay happy ...
It was a Hallmark moment so I brought it down by telling Stankfoot to go and wash himself.
Mianzhu to Hanwang is where we began to see the real devastation -- on a macrolevel -- that the earthquake did to northern Sichuan. Nothing was intact. Nobody was indoors.
Hanwang, named after legendary general Liu Bang, will have to be completely re-built. The whole city is a vast ruin -- those structures that still stand are gutted and split. There were people everywhere. Mine Rescue and Recovery teams from Shaanxi, Hebei and Sichuan Provinces. Army Units from Sichuan, Hunan and Hebei. Police lights flashed, heavy equipment rolled past, medics went from tent to tent looking at the survivors.
The mood was not chaotic or desperate, just methodical and even jovial at times. Some of the wreckage gave off the smell of rotting death and these were handled by teams of 10 - 15 soldiers with shovels and disinfectant who would wait while tractors sifted skillfully through the rubble,then they would dig out anything they would find. A local policeman pointed out his jacket and they retrieved it from the rubble.
The statue of Liu Bang in the middle of town had its head knocked off and the clock nearby is stuck on 2:28p, the time of the earthquake.
Yesterday, when I returned from Qing Cheng Mtn, I ate hot pot with Charlie and Ramon. Ramon seems bedeviled by the feeling that, although he had been in the middle of the earthquake and seen its fury face-to-face, he still remained untouched.
"I don't want to be untouched"
"Maybe you feel your experience was inadequate," said Charlie. "Maybe you feel like you don't deserve to have survived."
"Yeah, Survivor's Guilt," I said.
"Maybe," said Ramon. "All i know is, I was in the middle of the quake and I still feel like a tourist. Like somehow being foreign got me through it all ..."
There is so much to tell ... I drove from Chengdu up north to a place called Hanwang today, through the towns of Shifang and Mianzhu.
Shifang was the first stop. The city is a satellite of Deyang Town, which is an industrial city surrounded by wheat fields and rice paddies. Its a poor town with older buildings, near the mountains and itself surrounded by several destitute villages living off of industry and small time local business. The city center was hit, but not hard. Almost all of the buildings are standing and there is a refugee camp in the middle of town. The refugees are both shell-shocked peasants and workers from the suburbs and urbanites who don't dare return to their cracked and splintered apartments.
The outlying villages and towns suffered enormously. Thousands are dead, thousands missing, thousands injured ... in every such town in northern Sichuan, there is a large placard with figures, pictures and details of sorrow that each town experienced. There was one picture in Shifang of a school of 400 in a village called Yinghua -- more than 300 died -- and the picture shows two girls, bodies horribly stretched, twisted and shattered. They have running pants and sneakers on. They are skinny and both have light blue underwear.
A man named He was pointing at the picture and explained that the two were girls he knew. He pulled his son out the wreckage of that school. His son has two broken legs and is in a hospital in Chongqing. Later I was in an apartment nearby and watched three girls point out their teacher on TV whose daughter had died. They knew that girl too.
On the road to Mianzhu, the damage started getting bad. Its wheat threshing season, so there are mobile threshing machines on the road and peasants in the fields. They return to tents of red, white and blue plastic when the work is done. Their houses have all fallen in, or been damaged to heavily to support people so they wrap bamboo around trees and telephone poles and bring their beds out into the open. The road is lined with tent cities, spaced by government supply depots with field hospitals and bands of volunteers stopping and unloading. Some drive BMWS and Audis, others tiny CheryQQs and tinbox bread trucks. Some, like the French, arrive in a caravan of 30 double wide semi trucks filled with supplies.
The supply train stretches 156km long and probably twice as wide, spread out over highways, two- and three-laners, unfinished piles of stone and pavement waiting to be melted into asphalt and potholed dirt roads where we dodge tractors and blind men on motorbikes.
Mianzhu has rubble in the streets. The area has been cleared and is stocked with supplies. It took heavy damage, but here as with all cities in China, buildings built in different eras with different materials stand next to each other. The older buildings built of concrete, sand and brick are largely demolished. The new modern complexes with steel, re bar, good bricks and solid cement stand pristine, towering over a refugee camp in the middle of town. One guy came out in shorts and broken sandals and told me, this is all i got, the pants on my butt and these scruffy sandals. He laughed as he pointed down and everybody laughed with him. I joked with the kids there for a while. I named one Stankfoot and the other Boogerface. Everybody joined in the joke-fest. They kept offering me water and food. Everyone gathered around and I made the little kids laugh till snot came out their noses. Its easy: a big laowai speaking like a peasant makes everybody bust out ...
I said: you guys are awesome, smiling and laughing in the middle of this thing ...
They replied:
we're chinese, we can withstand anything.
It feels good to be alive
no matter what life brings, we always stay happy ...
It was a Hallmark moment so I brought it down by telling Stankfoot to go and wash himself.
Mianzhu to Hanwang is where we began to see the real devastation -- on a macrolevel -- that the earthquake did to northern Sichuan. Nothing was intact. Nobody was indoors.
Hanwang, named after legendary general Liu Bang, will have to be completely re-built. The whole city is a vast ruin -- those structures that still stand are gutted and split. There were people everywhere. Mine Rescue and Recovery teams from Shaanxi, Hebei and Sichuan Provinces. Army Units from Sichuan, Hunan and Hebei. Police lights flashed, heavy equipment rolled past, medics went from tent to tent looking at the survivors.
The mood was not chaotic or desperate, just methodical and even jovial at times. Some of the wreckage gave off the smell of rotting death and these were handled by teams of 10 - 15 soldiers with shovels and disinfectant who would wait while tractors sifted skillfully through the rubble,then they would dig out anything they would find. A local policeman pointed out his jacket and they retrieved it from the rubble.
The statue of Liu Bang in the middle of town had its head knocked off and the clock nearby is stuck on 2:28p, the time of the earthquake.
Yesterday, when I returned from Qing Cheng Mtn, I ate hot pot with Charlie and Ramon. Ramon seems bedeviled by the feeling that, although he had been in the middle of the earthquake and seen its fury face-to-face, he still remained untouched.
"I don't want to be untouched"
"Maybe you feel your experience was inadequate," said Charlie. "Maybe you feel like you don't deserve to have survived."
"Yeah, Survivor's Guilt," I said.
"Maybe," said Ramon. "All i know is, I was in the middle of the quake and I still feel like a tourist. Like somehow being foreign got me through it all ..."
Friday, May 16, 2008
China handles business
President Hu Jintao made it to Dujiangyan today and shook hands with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao...
Today I took a ride with a civil engineer and a security and infrastructure assessment expert around the northwest suburbs of Chengdu. We visited Chongzhou, Qingcheng Mountain and the outskirts of Dujiangyan.
The purpose of the trip was to give the security's expert's clients -- corporate clients -- an idea of the damage done in Chengdu and the economic impact on their businesses.
We saw hundreds of vehicles heading north out of Chengdu toward Dujiangyan -- a veritable rag tag fleet i.e. Battlestar Galactica -- loaded up with water, blankets, clothes and instant noodles. Many of these vehicles were turned back by police. Some of them dropped their supplies off, others were not able to.
The reasoning behind this was explained by the civil engineer, who has extensive experience in disaster areas such as Sudan and West Africa in the 1970s and 80s and more recently in Indonesia after the tsunami. A lot of times, well-meaning volunteers create more problems than they solve. Often with tragic consequences.
What all of us have seen here is in direct contrast with the situation we saw in New Orleans during and after the tsunami. The sense of social responsibility in China does not exist in our society. Any person who would actually dare to loot, pillage, shoot someone or rape during this time of crisis would be lynched by the neighborhood before the police even heard of it. But the point is, it would never happen here.
We saw the wave of nationalism that took over the nation following the Tibetan protests and the media wave that followed. This ability to unite is in full force again and the world is now seeing the flip-side of a united China -- determined instead of aggressive.
After the government and the people of China showed that they can mobilize quickly and efficiently, the western media flip-flopped from criticism of government efforts to praise for a China that has "finally learned" how to be civilized. It smacks of civilizational fear.
Anyway. In Qingcheng mountain everybody is living in tents, all houses and buildings have been damaged in some way or another, but its extraordinary that the vast majority of these buildings are still standing. I know that the areas farther north closer to the epicenter are decimated and in ruins, but near the outer edge of the earthquakes impact, almost all buildings -- although maybe shaken -- will house people again in the near future.
The people are resilient and in good spirits. The first words out of every one's mouth was: "Thank you for coming and caring about us." They let us know what they need -- basically medicine, water and dry clothes -- but they also offered us water and noodles. This is quintessentially Chinese. I know this place is corrupt as hell and after the dust settles heads will roll, but now is not the time. I believe all people pull together like this in times of need ... or did once, before we let ourselves be divided.
The relief effort has not reached many towns and villages that could use help, but this is a function of the earthquake's impact and the vast population of Sichuan Province. Every 5km one passes a township of around 50,000 people. Every 20km a town of about 100,000 pops out of the rice fields. The relief crews are focusing on those areas with bleeding, dying, trapped people. Those that are uninjured hunker down in tents, while rain pours into their living rooms. They register with the local government authorities and wait for someone to tell them what is next.
As far as I can see, the relief effort is astounding and well-organized. Around Chengdu, drop-off points for supplies are constantly filling up. Foreigners are giving what they have as well and holding benefit concerts and the like, but our assistance is minuscule and symbolic. The Chinese can handle their own business.
Back to Qingcheng Mountain: The mountain itself was hit very hard and most buildings, temples and pagodas where we once spent afternoons composing bad poetry and dreaming about sages are gone forever. I still don't have reliable info on the White Lotus Monastery -- but I will go back up with Charlie tomorrow to retrieve his bike and to meet with the old woman he carried out. I will keep you posted.
Today I took a ride with a civil engineer and a security and infrastructure assessment expert around the northwest suburbs of Chengdu. We visited Chongzhou, Qingcheng Mountain and the outskirts of Dujiangyan.
The purpose of the trip was to give the security's expert's clients -- corporate clients -- an idea of the damage done in Chengdu and the economic impact on their businesses.
We saw hundreds of vehicles heading north out of Chengdu toward Dujiangyan -- a veritable rag tag fleet i.e. Battlestar Galactica -- loaded up with water, blankets, clothes and instant noodles. Many of these vehicles were turned back by police. Some of them dropped their supplies off, others were not able to.
The reasoning behind this was explained by the civil engineer, who has extensive experience in disaster areas such as Sudan and West Africa in the 1970s and 80s and more recently in Indonesia after the tsunami. A lot of times, well-meaning volunteers create more problems than they solve. Often with tragic consequences.
What all of us have seen here is in direct contrast with the situation we saw in New Orleans during and after the tsunami. The sense of social responsibility in China does not exist in our society. Any person who would actually dare to loot, pillage, shoot someone or rape during this time of crisis would be lynched by the neighborhood before the police even heard of it. But the point is, it would never happen here.
We saw the wave of nationalism that took over the nation following the Tibetan protests and the media wave that followed. This ability to unite is in full force again and the world is now seeing the flip-side of a united China -- determined instead of aggressive.
After the government and the people of China showed that they can mobilize quickly and efficiently, the western media flip-flopped from criticism of government efforts to praise for a China that has "finally learned" how to be civilized. It smacks of civilizational fear.
Anyway. In Qingcheng mountain everybody is living in tents, all houses and buildings have been damaged in some way or another, but its extraordinary that the vast majority of these buildings are still standing. I know that the areas farther north closer to the epicenter are decimated and in ruins, but near the outer edge of the earthquakes impact, almost all buildings -- although maybe shaken -- will house people again in the near future.
The people are resilient and in good spirits. The first words out of every one's mouth was: "Thank you for coming and caring about us." They let us know what they need -- basically medicine, water and dry clothes -- but they also offered us water and noodles. This is quintessentially Chinese. I know this place is corrupt as hell and after the dust settles heads will roll, but now is not the time. I believe all people pull together like this in times of need ... or did once, before we let ourselves be divided.
The relief effort has not reached many towns and villages that could use help, but this is a function of the earthquake's impact and the vast population of Sichuan Province. Every 5km one passes a township of around 50,000 people. Every 20km a town of about 100,000 pops out of the rice fields. The relief crews are focusing on those areas with bleeding, dying, trapped people. Those that are uninjured hunker down in tents, while rain pours into their living rooms. They register with the local government authorities and wait for someone to tell them what is next.
As far as I can see, the relief effort is astounding and well-organized. Around Chengdu, drop-off points for supplies are constantly filling up. Foreigners are giving what they have as well and holding benefit concerts and the like, but our assistance is minuscule and symbolic. The Chinese can handle their own business.
Back to Qingcheng Mountain: The mountain itself was hit very hard and most buildings, temples and pagodas where we once spent afternoons composing bad poetry and dreaming about sages are gone forever. I still don't have reliable info on the White Lotus Monastery -- but I will go back up with Charlie tomorrow to retrieve his bike and to meet with the old woman he carried out. I will keep you posted.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
To Mianyang
Tomorrow we will try and head up to see if we can help. THe local authorities and Red Cross have designated the Bookworm and Cafe Paname as two foreign est. where supplies can be dropped off and from which teams might be able to head up and help. Earlier today, a group of Brits trapped in Wolong PAnda Reserve were helicoptered out. The rumors now are that they were helpless, but not dying and the government decided to get them out of there before int'l scrutiny became too hard. The radio reported the news and some Chinese were a little angry, accusing the gov of airlifting out foreigners when Chinese are dying everywhere.
If possible, we will try and get to Mianyang, where a refugee camp is growing. I will keep you posted.
Here are some headlines ... and a lot of good coverage and this story here was really hard to read.
There are still tremors throughout the night and rumors don't stop. Planes are being delayed here at the airport as thousands attempt to leave and thousands more attempt to get in. It is a crzy time to be here and it is only going to get more intense.
For those who have been asking about Qing Cheng Mtn, there is really not much specific information I can give ... judging from the damage of the surrounding areas, the videos that are already online and Charlie's first-hand account, I would say the mountain was devastated and will not be seeing any visitors for some time. It is impossible to say who survived, who didn't and who is missing right now.
If possible, we will try and get to Mianyang, where a refugee camp is growing. I will keep you posted.
Here are some headlines ... and a lot of good coverage and this story here was really hard to read.
There are still tremors throughout the night and rumors don't stop. Planes are being delayed here at the airport as thousands attempt to leave and thousands more attempt to get in. It is a crzy time to be here and it is only going to get more intense.
For those who have been asking about Qing Cheng Mtn, there is really not much specific information I can give ... judging from the damage of the surrounding areas, the videos that are already online and Charlie's first-hand account, I would say the mountain was devastated and will not be seeing any visitors for some time. It is impossible to say who survived, who didn't and who is missing right now.
I'll make ya famous
Well Chengdu is basically back to normal. My friend Charlie's harrowing experience is all over the web now -- here is the AP story, which also has the video. You can check out the text here.
We'll be heading up north tomorrow in a caravan filled with goodies. It will probably only be a daytrip because it is impractical for us to stay up there unless we bring tents .., tents that are better used to house homeless and injured.
Yesterday around 9pm we saw a car full of kids head out to Wenchuan with camping gear and supplies. Some of them were journalists, others were just concerned citizens. The Chinese Red Cross is not taking any more blood, because they are already overflowing with donated blood.
I have heard some rumors that many people are returning their tickets to the Olympics and calling off trips out here that were long planned. I know a few guide book projects I was working on are now on hold. The Chinese embassies are still hassling everyone who wants to come here in the next few months. The combination of natural disasters, Tibetan protests, aggressive nationalism and visa problems is causing an exodus of sorts amongst some of the foreigners here, and it is also keeping others away.
It is a very sad thing to contemplate, an unsuccessful Olympics. For Chinese who have grown up in the past 25 years, it is very confusing and hurtful to have the West scrutinize them so. They don't understand why.
Last night we were talking about the consequences of an unsuccessful Olympics. We basically agreed that China would retreat into itself like a turtle, again, if this were to happen. Here are a few stories about this issue.
We shall see.
The dude I referred to in my last post as stupid and selfish got what he wanted. His video is all over the world, he got paid big money by AP and they interviewed him. I have really seen the inside of the media machine for the first time with this natural disaster. I have mixed feelings about it all. The individual journalists are people just like everyone else, but when the machine gets in motion, I find myself being spun around like straw in a mudslide.
My "friend" Rafael is a reporter for La Vanguardia. We traveled together for one month in Xinjiang in 2003. Since then he has called me twice. Once to find out if I can be his translator and help him find Tibetans and Han that live near each other, in Lhasa .. basically find him the perfect story and report it for him.
The last was the day before yesterday, He showed up in Chengdu and asked me to hook up a car and translate and take him around the earthquake stuff. When i said I couldn't he hung up on me and dipped.
My boy Tenz just said: Amazing how this can impact so many individuals in so many different ways. For me its a clean slate, I can leave China. For others its the most traumatic and horrible experience of their lives. For others its a chance at fame and success ... "
I wrestle with myself about all of this too.
Chachin aint easy ya'll ...
We'll be heading up north tomorrow in a caravan filled with goodies. It will probably only be a daytrip because it is impractical for us to stay up there unless we bring tents .., tents that are better used to house homeless and injured.
Yesterday around 9pm we saw a car full of kids head out to Wenchuan with camping gear and supplies. Some of them were journalists, others were just concerned citizens. The Chinese Red Cross is not taking any more blood, because they are already overflowing with donated blood.
I have heard some rumors that many people are returning their tickets to the Olympics and calling off trips out here that were long planned. I know a few guide book projects I was working on are now on hold. The Chinese embassies are still hassling everyone who wants to come here in the next few months. The combination of natural disasters, Tibetan protests, aggressive nationalism and visa problems is causing an exodus of sorts amongst some of the foreigners here, and it is also keeping others away.
It is a very sad thing to contemplate, an unsuccessful Olympics. For Chinese who have grown up in the past 25 years, it is very confusing and hurtful to have the West scrutinize them so. They don't understand why.
Last night we were talking about the consequences of an unsuccessful Olympics. We basically agreed that China would retreat into itself like a turtle, again, if this were to happen. Here are a few stories about this issue.
We shall see.
The dude I referred to in my last post as stupid and selfish got what he wanted. His video is all over the world, he got paid big money by AP and they interviewed him. I have really seen the inside of the media machine for the first time with this natural disaster. I have mixed feelings about it all. The individual journalists are people just like everyone else, but when the machine gets in motion, I find myself being spun around like straw in a mudslide.
My "friend" Rafael is a reporter for La Vanguardia. We traveled together for one month in Xinjiang in 2003. Since then he has called me twice. Once to find out if I can be his translator and help him find Tibetans and Han that live near each other, in Lhasa .. basically find him the perfect story and report it for him.
The last was the day before yesterday, He showed up in Chengdu and asked me to hook up a car and translate and take him around the earthquake stuff. When i said I couldn't he hung up on me and dipped.
My boy Tenz just said: Amazing how this can impact so many individuals in so many different ways. For me its a clean slate, I can leave China. For others its the most traumatic and horrible experience of their lives. For others its a chance at fame and success ... "
I wrestle with myself about all of this too.
Chachin aint easy ya'll ...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Chengdu Earthquake day after
Here is a story I wrote that didn't find space ... its a time-pegged story which means I can probably not publish it anywhere else. So here you are, a look at what was happening in the Du the day after:
In Chengdu a slight drizzle coats thousands of people who have taken to the streets and open public spaces, rather than spend the night in their apartments. The city, mercifully spared the destruction that has ravaged areas further north, has resumed bus transportation around the city. Restaurants and supermarkets are open and phone lines are more or less open.
It is the day after the largest earthquake in more than 30 years reduced vast areas of northwestern Sichuan Province to rubble, killing at least 11,000 people, with more reported missing or buried under rubble. More than 500,000 buildings have collapsed, according to state television, and coal, oil and chemical plants have been ordered to halt production following the disastrous collapse of two ammonia plants in Shifang, which buried more than 900 people, killing at least 90.
In Chengdu, hundreds of cars line up around gas stations, waiting to receive their ration of 100RMB worth of gas – about 30 liters based on current prices.
“There is no more gasoline being delivered for the time being,” said Wang Bo, a custodian at the PetroChina gas station on Yong Feng Road in south Chengdu. “Only official vehicles can fill up, all others are allotted only 100RMB worth.”
Many of the vehicles are actually waiting out the shocks and tremors which have continued into the morning and afternoon following yesterday’s 7.9 earthquake that leveled buildings in the counties and municipalities of Wenchuan, Beichuan. Mianyang, Deyang and Dujiangyan.
“We are not getting any reliable information from the government,” said Mr. Liu, a local resident standing next to his car on the south side of the city. “We were told to leave our apartments because there will be another quake sometime before six o’clock. I don’t dare go back home, so my family and I will wait here.”
Earlier today, an aftershock measuring 6.5 rocked Wenjiang, just 30 minutes outside of Chengdu. The tremors and shocks from that quake had the city's residents jittery all day -- the atmosphere became ripe for rumors. Nobody is sure where the rumors began, but almost all apartment complexes in the city have been emptied of people. Residents are forced to wait in their cars, under umbrellas and tents or in teahouses across the city listening to the radio and waiting for the tremors to stop.
Wang Xiao Qing and her niece Li Ya Juan spent last night in a tent on the Second Ring Road in Chengdu. They plan on staying outside and sleeping in an open space tonight, as well. Ms. Wang’s sister, the mother or Miss Li, is a Mianyang, Pingwu native and they have heard nothing from that area since the earthquake hit.
“We were told by the apartment authorities to stay out of our homes today, because a big earthquake will hit again this afternoon, sometime before six,” said Ms Wang. “I have heard nothing from my sister – I am worried, but not worried at the same time. I just wish we had reliable information, it is hard to know what is really going on.”
The State Council organized a live press conference this afternoon, giving the exact number of official dead – 11,922 – and expressing thanks for the offers of international assistance from around the world.
“We welcome aid in the form of materials and money from the international community,” said a State Council spokesman. “But we cannot allow foreign relief teams to enter China at this time, as our own teams have not yet managed to reach the worst-affected sites.”
Chengdu’s International Shuangliu airport re-opened this morning at 8am to allow relief teams from around China to get into the area. Rail lines across the country have been damaged by the earthquake, including one gasoline-filled freight train which was derailed in Gansu, subsequently bursting into flame. According to Xinhua, 149 cargo trains have been delayed or blocked on their way to Chengdu.
In a lighthearted moment, a slight tremor this afternoon sent the entire staff of the luxury hotpot restaurant, Huang Cheng Lao Ma, scattering into the street. Young women in uniform were giggling uncontrollably and holding each other. The last one to walk out was the manager, a large, heavy-set man who sauntered out of the restaurants doors to applause from his staff out on the street.
Local officials have stressed that the worst is over and that only small tremors will be felt from here on out, but residents of Chengdu are not convinced. Few are returning to their homes and most are taking their safety in their own hands by stocking up on water, flour and peanuts.
“I am spending the day in San Sheng Xiang (a flower manufacturing base 20 minutes southeast of the city) with water and cigarettes,” said Ran Wei. “I don’t know if there will be another big one and neither does anyone else.”
Local radio stations report that caravans of volunteers are heading north to Dujiangyan with water, tents and supplies, but these reports could not be independently confirmed. Tents and umbrellas were being passed out at elementary schools around the city to small children, the elderly and handicapped and local TV also asked for concerned locals to take care of each other and to seek out the elderly and weak to help them with water and shelter.
“The last time we felt anything like this was back in 1976 when an earthquake hit Songpan,” said elderly resident Xu Qing Guo. “This one is more horrible, because the tremors keep coming and we don’t know when it will all end. Al I can do is sit out here with my wife and listen to the radio.”
In Chengdu a slight drizzle coats thousands of people who have taken to the streets and open public spaces, rather than spend the night in their apartments. The city, mercifully spared the destruction that has ravaged areas further north, has resumed bus transportation around the city. Restaurants and supermarkets are open and phone lines are more or less open.
It is the day after the largest earthquake in more than 30 years reduced vast areas of northwestern Sichuan Province to rubble, killing at least 11,000 people, with more reported missing or buried under rubble. More than 500,000 buildings have collapsed, according to state television, and coal, oil and chemical plants have been ordered to halt production following the disastrous collapse of two ammonia plants in Shifang, which buried more than 900 people, killing at least 90.
In Chengdu, hundreds of cars line up around gas stations, waiting to receive their ration of 100RMB worth of gas – about 30 liters based on current prices.
“There is no more gasoline being delivered for the time being,” said Wang Bo, a custodian at the PetroChina gas station on Yong Feng Road in south Chengdu. “Only official vehicles can fill up, all others are allotted only 100RMB worth.”
Many of the vehicles are actually waiting out the shocks and tremors which have continued into the morning and afternoon following yesterday’s 7.9 earthquake that leveled buildings in the counties and municipalities of Wenchuan, Beichuan. Mianyang, Deyang and Dujiangyan.
“We are not getting any reliable information from the government,” said Mr. Liu, a local resident standing next to his car on the south side of the city. “We were told to leave our apartments because there will be another quake sometime before six o’clock. I don’t dare go back home, so my family and I will wait here.”
Earlier today, an aftershock measuring 6.5 rocked Wenjiang, just 30 minutes outside of Chengdu. The tremors and shocks from that quake had the city's residents jittery all day -- the atmosphere became ripe for rumors. Nobody is sure where the rumors began, but almost all apartment complexes in the city have been emptied of people. Residents are forced to wait in their cars, under umbrellas and tents or in teahouses across the city listening to the radio and waiting for the tremors to stop.
Wang Xiao Qing and her niece Li Ya Juan spent last night in a tent on the Second Ring Road in Chengdu. They plan on staying outside and sleeping in an open space tonight, as well. Ms. Wang’s sister, the mother or Miss Li, is a Mianyang, Pingwu native and they have heard nothing from that area since the earthquake hit.
“We were told by the apartment authorities to stay out of our homes today, because a big earthquake will hit again this afternoon, sometime before six,” said Ms Wang. “I have heard nothing from my sister – I am worried, but not worried at the same time. I just wish we had reliable information, it is hard to know what is really going on.”
The State Council organized a live press conference this afternoon, giving the exact number of official dead – 11,922 – and expressing thanks for the offers of international assistance from around the world.
“We welcome aid in the form of materials and money from the international community,” said a State Council spokesman. “But we cannot allow foreign relief teams to enter China at this time, as our own teams have not yet managed to reach the worst-affected sites.”
Chengdu’s International Shuangliu airport re-opened this morning at 8am to allow relief teams from around China to get into the area. Rail lines across the country have been damaged by the earthquake, including one gasoline-filled freight train which was derailed in Gansu, subsequently bursting into flame. According to Xinhua, 149 cargo trains have been delayed or blocked on their way to Chengdu.
In a lighthearted moment, a slight tremor this afternoon sent the entire staff of the luxury hotpot restaurant, Huang Cheng Lao Ma, scattering into the street. Young women in uniform were giggling uncontrollably and holding each other. The last one to walk out was the manager, a large, heavy-set man who sauntered out of the restaurants doors to applause from his staff out on the street.
Local officials have stressed that the worst is over and that only small tremors will be felt from here on out, but residents of Chengdu are not convinced. Few are returning to their homes and most are taking their safety in their own hands by stocking up on water, flour and peanuts.
“I am spending the day in San Sheng Xiang (a flower manufacturing base 20 minutes southeast of the city) with water and cigarettes,” said Ran Wei. “I don’t know if there will be another big one and neither does anyone else.”
Local radio stations report that caravans of volunteers are heading north to Dujiangyan with water, tents and supplies, but these reports could not be independently confirmed. Tents and umbrellas were being passed out at elementary schools around the city to small children, the elderly and handicapped and local TV also asked for concerned locals to take care of each other and to seek out the elderly and weak to help them with water and shelter.
“The last time we felt anything like this was back in 1976 when an earthquake hit Songpan,” said elderly resident Xu Qing Guo. “This one is more horrible, because the tremors keep coming and we don’t know when it will all end. Al I can do is sit out here with my wife and listen to the radio.”
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
"Even if there is only a sliver of hope ..."
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's speech is looped on TV and radio and seems to have an effect. One line that inspired was:
"Even if there is only a sliver of hope, we will increase our efforts 100-fold to save those people"
Rumors are out now about the water. Water is turned off in Chengdu and in many of the hard hit areas farther north they are calling for people to deliver water to them in any way possible. Other than sporadic water -- Chengdu is basically back to normal. As if nothing ever happened.
A lot of Chinese are getting very angry and are quick to blame shoddy construction, corruption and inefficiency for the number of deaths. Everyone is asking why there were so many schools destroyed, but that is a natural reaction.
From what I have gathered over the past few days through combing the media and being interviewed by the BBC -- the Western media has a vested interest in controversy and the Chinese government is a convenient target. Any breath of corruption and the Guardian is all over it.
It is hard to say what the truth may be. I think it is very possible that the construction firm who gained the contract to build schools in Dujiangyan and Deyang skimped on materials and quality. But so did every other construction firm in the country on every single project they are involved in. China is in the midst of a commercial revolution -- selling out and making profit is glorious.
So on one hand, perhaps some of the deaths could have been avoided. But who is truly to blame? And can anyone have predicted an earthquake?
I think for Americans it is easy to compare with Hurricane Katrina -- the slow response to prior warnings and the even slower response to the destruction of New Orleans. From what I and many of my friends have seen here, the Chinese are doing a much better job of pulling together as one to help people injured, buried or displaced by the earthquake than the US Government did for the people of New Orleans. The NYT, here, on the same issue.
There are no reports of looting, prices are fixed and there are no reports of people taking advantage (yet) of a shortage of supplies and locals are eager to head north with water and/or give blood.
What happens to the construction firms and their government sponsors later? ... well the Chinese have a saying for that:
Qiu Hou Suan Zhang
"We'll get the numbers straight after the harvest ..."
"Even if there is only a sliver of hope, we will increase our efforts 100-fold to save those people"
Rumors are out now about the water. Water is turned off in Chengdu and in many of the hard hit areas farther north they are calling for people to deliver water to them in any way possible. Other than sporadic water -- Chengdu is basically back to normal. As if nothing ever happened.
A lot of Chinese are getting very angry and are quick to blame shoddy construction, corruption and inefficiency for the number of deaths. Everyone is asking why there were so many schools destroyed, but that is a natural reaction.
From what I have gathered over the past few days through combing the media and being interviewed by the BBC -- the Western media has a vested interest in controversy and the Chinese government is a convenient target. Any breath of corruption and the Guardian is all over it.
It is hard to say what the truth may be. I think it is very possible that the construction firm who gained the contract to build schools in Dujiangyan and Deyang skimped on materials and quality. But so did every other construction firm in the country on every single project they are involved in. China is in the midst of a commercial revolution -- selling out and making profit is glorious.
So on one hand, perhaps some of the deaths could have been avoided. But who is truly to blame? And can anyone have predicted an earthquake?
I think for Americans it is easy to compare with Hurricane Katrina -- the slow response to prior warnings and the even slower response to the destruction of New Orleans. From what I and many of my friends have seen here, the Chinese are doing a much better job of pulling together as one to help people injured, buried or displaced by the earthquake than the US Government did for the people of New Orleans. The NYT, here, on the same issue.
There are no reports of looting, prices are fixed and there are no reports of people taking advantage (yet) of a shortage of supplies and locals are eager to head north with water and/or give blood.
What happens to the construction firms and their government sponsors later? ... well the Chinese have a saying for that:
Qiu Hou Suan Zhang
"We'll get the numbers straight after the harvest ..."
Monday, May 12, 2008
A shaky night
There is a tremor going on as i write -- has been shaking my building for the past three minutes. still shaking. had tremors all night and all morning and the news has been getting worse every hour. Chengdu seems ot be ok for now, but north of here it is real bad. Chinese Prime Minister is in Dujiangyan overseeing rescue efforts -- they have yet to reach the epicenter counties. There are military police or PLA approaching on foot.
the death toll has risen to 10,000 and its climbing. man this last tremor is still shaking ... at 8:30am -- began at 8:25. SOme experts expect deaths of up to 50,000.
Its raining outside and most people are either huddled in tents in open spaces or have already returned home. The tension is pretty high. After every tremor I can hear women outside exclaiming.
I am in my underwear chillin. If Buddha strikes again from his mountain retreat near Tibet, I'll roll to heaven in my Calvin Kleins hehehe
1:26pm: The Day After -- sure feels like a day after to me. it is very quiet outside. It rained all evening and the temperature dropped. I am going out with a camera and a pen to see whats going on. I know lots of my friends camped out last night at sichuan university. people were camped put all night everywhere actually. wonder how they did in the rain. Otherwise Chengdu is really calm.
the death toll has risen to 10,000 and its climbing. man this last tremor is still shaking ... at 8:30am -- began at 8:25. SOme experts expect deaths of up to 50,000.
Its raining outside and most people are either huddled in tents in open spaces or have already returned home. The tension is pretty high. After every tremor I can hear women outside exclaiming.
I am in my underwear chillin. If Buddha strikes again from his mountain retreat near Tibet, I'll roll to heaven in my Calvin Kleins hehehe
1:26pm: The Day After -- sure feels like a day after to me. it is very quiet outside. It rained all evening and the temperature dropped. I am going out with a camera and a pen to see whats going on. I know lots of my friends camped out last night at sichuan university. people were camped put all night everywhere actually. wonder how they did in the rain. Otherwise Chengdu is really calm.
No Sleep tonight
Well now that i feel i have done my part cross-referencing links and straining at Chinese characters its time to write lil something for my people. Its gonna be scary tonight for sure.. there was a tremor just now at 939pm and it last till 942. it wasn't strong but if any of you have ever been in an earth quake the overwhelming feeling is helplessness and a fear of monstrous, cataclysmic forces.
I am spending the evening in the city, although my home is in the countryside ...
some media have contacted me and i wrote something up earlier today. but what i wrote is irrelevant now that thousands are dead. we'll see how the night goes. my friend Himmler from the 19thstep was in Dujiangyan when the quake hit. I hope he is all good. Have not been able to get through to him.
11:09pm: tremors continue into the night and i am with my Buddha and friends Hakim and Rachel. She hits up the tarot cards for luck and Hakim is chillin. No word from Himmler or my roommate Oliver. Phone lines are still down ...
11:29pm: more tremors, making me a little dizzy and nauseous ... rail lines across the nation are facing problems -- from Harbin all the way down to Kunming, making any efforts more difficult ... chemical companies and electricity plants have been hit as well.
1:57am: just had a 4.5 tremor. it keeps you dizzy. i was just interviewed by the BBC -- they might get at me again about things. There is not much for me to say that is new, just re-hashing and adding on to stuff that i pick up in the news. the news has started to trickle in from china, but the outside world is now waking up and reacting. the death toll is now at 9600+ and Himmler's phone is off. i am sure his ass is alright. if not: i get yer toys punk!
I am spending the evening in the city, although my home is in the countryside ...
some media have contacted me and i wrote something up earlier today. but what i wrote is irrelevant now that thousands are dead. we'll see how the night goes. my friend Himmler from the 19thstep was in Dujiangyan when the quake hit. I hope he is all good. Have not been able to get through to him.
11:09pm: tremors continue into the night and i am with my Buddha and friends Hakim and Rachel. She hits up the tarot cards for luck and Hakim is chillin. No word from Himmler or my roommate Oliver. Phone lines are still down ...
11:29pm: more tremors, making me a little dizzy and nauseous ... rail lines across the nation are facing problems -- from Harbin all the way down to Kunming, making any efforts more difficult ... chemical companies and electricity plants have been hit as well.
1:57am: just had a 4.5 tremor. it keeps you dizzy. i was just interviewed by the BBC -- they might get at me again about things. There is not much for me to say that is new, just re-hashing and adding on to stuff that i pick up in the news. the news has started to trickle in from china, but the outside world is now waking up and reacting. the death toll is now at 9600+ and Himmler's phone is off. i am sure his ass is alright. if not: i get yer toys punk!
updates on Chengdu earthquake: its getting worse
Thousands dead and injured in Beichuan county -- the TV is not reporting any of this, getting it off of Xinhua news. All media is locked into the "central brain" local TV is reporting on the "man in the street" and constant quotes on how people felt, where they ran too ...
Update: Here is the Chinese Sina News site where i am getting all of my news ... if you cannot read Chinese, then take a morbid look at the numbers and video. Dujiangyan has 50 confirmed deaths ... mostly children.
www.shanghaiist.com has English updates on the spot.
More bad news via shanghaiist and sina.com.
Power stations have been knocked out. i am going to chill for now and read the news. there is nothing much i can add anymore. peace out everybody.
Update: Here is the Chinese Sina News site where i am getting all of my news ... if you cannot read Chinese, then take a morbid look at the numbers and video. Dujiangyan has 50 confirmed deaths ... mostly children.
www.shanghaiist.com has English updates on the spot.
More bad news via shanghaiist and sina.com.
Power stations have been knocked out. i am going to chill for now and read the news. there is nothing much i can add anymore. peace out everybody.
updates on Chengdu earthquake: Deyang has at least five schools collapse
The schools are taking a hit across the northern part of Sichuan. Deyang is 45 minutes NE of Chengdu, Dujiangyan is 45minutes NW ..
PArty Secretary's statement is playing every two minutes on the news
PArty Secretary's statement is playing every two minutes on the news
chengdu earthquake gets worse
Dujiangyan has been hit with tragedy. 900 schoolchildren are believed to be buried under their schoolhouse when it collapsed. DJY is 56km north of chengdu, making it less than 50km from the epicenter.
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