by
multipletext.com
Earthquake
Diary (3)
The Tentative Recovery
14 February 2009
This
is the most amazing eyewitness account of a huge event.
Through his camera lens, the author known as 新洋, 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:
1, Eyewitness Report through the Lens
2, The Rescue Efforts
16 May
2008 (the 4rd day of the 5.12 earthquake):
Four days after being hit hard by the
deadly earthquake, many cities, towns and villages began
to take tentative steps towards recovery
Streets are cleaned
Roads are repaired
Some residents returned to home
damaged in the earthquake collecting household
items.
A practical guy just retrieved a
quilt from his home questions the wisdom of his
neighbour who makes recovering the audio
equipment the first priority of his salvage
operation.
This elderly man has recovered a
little coal stove from family storage for unused
items, but no one questions his wisdom because
the gas supply is no longer available and this is
the only way that would allow his family to keep
enjoying the delicious Sichuan cuisine.
This pregnant wife prepares her
favourite dishes on the street, not for a cooking
show, but daily family meal.
16 May
2008 (the 4rd day of the 5.12 earthquake):
Two brothers share a motorbike
with a box of instant doodles on the rack.
Following is a brief conversation between the
author of the post 新洋 and one of the brothers:
The Author: Where did you travel
from?
The brother in white: Xinjiang.
The author: How did you travel by?
The brother in white: After arrived Chengdu, I
used whatever method of transportation I could
find.
The author: How is the situation
with your family?
The brother in white: No idea at all.
The author: What have you brought for
your family?
The brother in white: I bought a box of
instant noodles down the highway.
The author: Is your home far away
from here?
The brother in white: Not too far, once we come
to the end of the road, we only need to cross a
couple of mountains on foot, and I'll do it with
the noodle box on my shoulder.
18 May
2008 (the 6rd day of the 5.12 earthquake):
Along the highway, ambulances,
police cars, military trucks and emergency buses
cut through the traffic from time to time. All
vehicles just silently give way to let them pass;
when encountering traffic jams, no one presses
horn to express impatience.
When highway patrolling police
shout "landslide!", everybody jumps off
the vehicle to seek cover.
The wife of the silver car
hesitates, worrying if the family vehicle would
be damaged; her husband yells at her,
"What's more important? Our lives or our
car?"
After the terrifying landslide is
over, police call everyone to drive the car away
this dangerous zoon without delay, yet the owners
of the silver car are still too spellbound to do
anything, so a policeman has to volunteer himself
as their temporary chauffeur.
Along the streets, I see many kids
holding high banners and cardboard with messages
expressing their gratitude to the rescue workers
and all others who offer support for them to go
through the disasters.
Power has returned, patrol station
reopened, mobile service resumed and in some
areas water supply is also recovered.
However, people have to live in
tents as small quakes occur frequently. When the
wind and rain set in, many tents are ripped and
damaged, exposing the residents to the chilly
natural elements.
Time again, I'm moved when talking
to these quake victims - they exhibit their
appreciation of the difficulties in managing the
crisis of this scale. But they do need help and
support, and need them urgently!
4, The Support
5, The Chinese Army
6, The Reflection
7, The Hope
8, The United Efforts
The original photos and Chinese text can
be viewed in full at
"forum.xinhuanet.com/detail.jsp?id=54276745&pg=1".
Prev: Tibetan Prison
Langzisha
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Earthquake
Diary (4)
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