 Rebuilding lives together
By Zhang Haizhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-25 07:44
Huang Fumei woke up in tears yesterday morning from a recurring nightmare about her son, who died in the May 12 quake in Sichuan province. But Huang had no time to dwell on the past. She wiped off the tears and headed for her small shop in Beichuan town's middle school, which had collapsed in the 8.0-magnitude quake. Huang's makeshift photo shop consisted of a table set with A4-paper-sized photos of the area before and after the quake, for sale to visitors commemorating the disaster and remembering those who died in it. The stall lay meters away from the rubble of the school building, sealed off for safety reasons.
"I started my small business here because it was where my son died. I want to stay with him, every day," said Huang, 40. Beichuan - the country's only Qiang ethnic autonomous county - was leveled by the earthquake and the government deemed it too dangerous to rebuild there. More than 10,000 people, about half of the total local population, died. The town's middle school collapsed under the weight of a giant rockslide, swallowing Huang's son, 15-year-old Wang Shuangshuang, and hundreds of other children. In total, nearly 70,000 people are confirmed dead and another 18,000 are still missing in the massive quake that was felt in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. "This year is truly the most tragic. We know we are the lucky ones, to still be alive," Huang said.
It was a sentiment felt by many in the region, even as they rebuild their lives and face the challenges of a new year just round the corner. About 35km south of Beichuan, a new site for the county seat was already decided earlier this month. Construction is scheduled to start in February, said Chen Xingchun, secretary of the county's Communist Party committee. The first phase of the construction includes roads, government headquarters, public welfare facilities and housing. Work is estimated to cost nearly 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion). About 77 percent of Beichuan's 220,000 displaced residents, including Huang Fumei's family, will be able to live in the Anchang River valley. Huang said she looked forward to the new Beichuan. "I hope it will be even more beautiful than it used to be," she said. "My family has lived in the mountains here for centuries," she said. "You cannot imagine how much I love it." Quake-hit Beichuan has now become a major tourist spot in Sichuan. People from home and abroad have come to see for themselves how powerful the deadly quake was. As such, the Beichuan Middle School is a must-see for them. The tourist arrivals have also offered local quake survivors a chance to earn some money. Most of the businesses are run by her neighbors, Huang said. They all live next to the destroyed school. Most have children, brothers, or sisters buried beneath the rubble. All need money to carry on with their lives, Huang said. Before the quake, Huang could earn about 4,000 yuan a year planting vegetables. Her husband, who worked as a migrant worker in Guangdong, could bring back home at least 10,000 yuan a year, she said. But what makes her neighbors envy her the most was her clever children, Huang said, referring to Wang Shuangshuang and his 19-year-old sister, Wang Dandan, who escaped injury from Beichuan Middle School and now studies in a university. "Both of them were among the top students in their classes," Huang said. She now appreciates how those at home and abroad are helping with quake victims. After the quake, 18 provinces set up individual counseling sessions for victims in 18 severely devastated counties and cities in Sichuan. Nearly 1,000 helpers from Shandong province alone are now in Beichuan. They brought food, drink and a whole set of reconstruction plans. Repairing roads and building homes, they continue to bring hope for people like Huang. The country has also welcomed help from abroad in rebuilding efforts. On Dec 15, Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, said his organization would offered a $510 million loan for Sichuan's reconstruction after visiting Beichuan. Most important for Huang is how she found hope with her daughter Dandan being accepted by the Mianyang-based Southwest China University of Technology in August. Huang's husband left home to find a job in a nearby reconstruction site, making 50 yuan a day. "We need far too much for reconstruction," Huang said, noting they also received compensation for their son's death, about 72,000 yuan. The family got another 4,500 yuan from the government as subsidies. "But that is far from enough," Huang said. She has to think about repairing their houses, mending broken furniture, and her daughter's tuition fees - 6,500 yuan a year. The family has about 70,000 yuan left in savings, she said. Huang has also decided not to live on government subsidies, which is why she started selling photos 15 days ago. She plans to go to Mianyang to find a more stable job next year. "But I cannot anticipate how difficult it will be. I only sold vegetables at a local market before starting to sell the photos," she said. "And I heard the whole economy is in some kind of financial crisis now," she said. With numerous enterprises going bust throughout the country amid the global economic crisis, about 300,000 local migrant workers have already returned Sichuan, media reported. While most Beichuan victims have yet to walk out of the shadow of the disaster, some said the quake has also brought them hope. Zhou Yonghua, who is Huang's neighbor, is one such determined quake victim. Zhou's son was also buried underneath the rubble. Luckily, he was saved three days later after the quake hit. Zhou said she was feeling like her son had "grew up over one night" through the disaster. "He once told me he would take care of his classmate and best friend's mother when he became old," Zhou said. Her son's his best friend died on May 12. Just like Huang, Zhou sells photos in front of the collapsed Beichuan Middle School. She said she does not have many chances to see her son, as he now studies in the school's temporary site in Mianyang. For now, many believe Beichuan quake survivors such as Huang and Zhou can look forward to more opportunities with rebuilding going forward. "We have been through so many hardships these few months," Huang said. "I have to hold on. The earthquake was a huge disaster. We survived that. No matter how hard, I will hold on to the very last minute. I hope the new year brings a new start." (China Daily 12/25/2008 page6) |
