by Admin
Earthquake Diary
Eyewitness
Report through the Lens
8 February 2009
This is the most amazing eyewitness
account of a huge event that involves a natural disaster
occurred only once in every 3,000 years, according to
many Chinese scientists, or in every 10,000 years,
according to some overseas researchers. Through his
camera lens, the author, known as 新洋, an ordinary
young man with an extraordinary compassion living in the
province where the earthquake happened, recorded and
reported, and is still recording and reporting to this
very day, the horrific catastrophe and incredible human response. The
following are the images edited from some of his photos
and English translation of the related notes. The
original photos and Chinese text can be viewed in full at
"forum.xinhuanet.com/detail.jsp?id=54276745&pg=1".
13 May
2008 (the nest day of the 5.12 earthquake):
I just flew from Lhasa (拉萨) to Chengdu (成都, the capital city of Sichuan
Province) today and heard the news of yesterday's
deadly earthquake. Without taking a break, I
jumped into my car and hit the road towards Mianzhu (棉竹). When I
arrived here, I was told Premier Wen Jiabao had
already inspected the damage in this area and
just left for Beijing 30 minutes ago.
Large scale rescue operations are
yet to take place. At the moment, dead bodies
scatter along the roadsides, and survivors are
searching for loved ones through the wreckages.
"I fled home, but my dad has
been trapped inside," a girl cries.
"Please help me to find my dad!"
A small rescue team follows her
lead to look for her father.
Relief centres have been quickly
set up, but as refugees keep coming, several
families with up to a double people have to
squeeze into a single tent.
With communication services no
longer available and police are not in presence,
people have to inquire each tent to locate their
surviving family members and relatives.
14 May
2008 (the third day of the 5.12 earthquake):
It keeps raining. The survivors
urgently need clear water, food and medicine.
Premier Wen Jiabao has ordered the
army to send these vital items to the earthquake
zoon without any delay.
Private citizens also answer the call of
the Premier and flock to the disaster areas with donated goods.
15 May
2008 (the fourth day of the 5.12 earthquake):
At a village I see a woman sitting
among the wreckage weeping. "I lost
everything in my life; even the trousers I wear
are borrowed form others." But when I intend
to get off my vehicle to help her, she declines
my offer firmly. "Don't worry about me,
please go to Qingping," she urges. "The
entire rural district has been buried under
fallen earth."
On my way to Qingping I meet
another woman who holds my hand crying. "I
was working in the field with my in-laws, my
6-year old was sleeping at a kindergarten when
earthquake happened, and my child was buried
under wreckage.
In a village near Qingping, Old Li
shows me the wreckage of his neighbour's house
next to his, "Yesterday afternoon I dug out
the bodies of my old neighbour and his
daughter-in-law, and carried them on my back to a
grave and buried them properly." He smiles
wryly. "I'm older than him and we had made
an agreement that one day when I die he would
bury me. I didn't expect that in the end it would
be me to bury him."
Soon I spot some survivors fleeing
from Qingping. They spent days to negotiate
treacherous mountain terrain where the water in
shallow rivers flooded to reach their neck, and
stones kept falling onto their path.
Among the refugees there are Mr
Wang and his wife. "We just bought a new
television set, and marinated dozens of kilos of
pork meat, but we have to give up all of them.
Had we stayed in Qingping, we'll starve to death
for sure," says Old Wang.
2, The Rescue Efforts
3, The Tentative Recovery
4, The
Support
5, The Chinese Army
6, The Reflection
7, The Hope
8, The United Efforts
Prev: A Chinese
Man's Struggle (6)
Next:
Earthquake
Diary (2)
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