by Bob Chen
We live in Shenzhen.
Yesterday, when my mom was in a taxi home, she heard the driver muttering, “I have stopped my work for the entire 2 last days.”
“Why so?” curiously asking.
After a while of silence, he sighed: “I have been riveted by the TV, watching closely what was happening in Sichuan about the earthquake, not feeling like to budge at all…”
Listening to my mom tell about a common cab driver in a coastal city thousands of miles away from the epicenter, nevertheless pouring all his attention to another part of the country, I understand why the quake this time should be called a trauma of the whole China ——no matter where one is, what one does, he/she has been in these days mentally and even physically, a lot of them, connected to where people have been suffering the most.
Thrilled, panicked, confused, poor at utterance, then bursting into an emotional crack, finally into deep pathos, this mental process might have stricken a great many of the 1.3 billion Chinese in these days, regardless of the remoteness of their being from the epicenter.
At this point, all Chinese are all the same. That’s why shortly after the quake, a saying emerged on hundreds of net forums, websites, and text messages:
At this moment, we are all Sichuaners.
Survival stories————————————-School came to be where funerals happened.
Shattered schools formed the most agonizing pictures in this earthquake. Their easy collapses took thousands of innocent children away. The authority has promised to check who should be responsible for these shoddy constructions.
Precious young lives were buried by such a low quality, but also a lot got saved, primarily, by their teachers.
Among those names tied to the crisis and unforgotten by China, teachers’ take up a notable place. They brought hope to children.
This girl teacher is only 20. In the school in Shifang where she worked, she ran time after time into the 3-story teaching building to save the best she could. While at the last time she got buried forever. 13 students were saved by her.
In Shifang as well, a reporter from Chongqing recorded how a girl got her life saved by a teacher.
王周明是å年轻教师,是50多åå¦ç”Ÿçš„ç主任。地震å‘生时,他指挥å¦ç”Ÿåˆ†ä¸¤è·¯,从教室的å‰ã€åŽé—¨é€ƒç”Ÿã€‚房屋垮塌的一瞬间,他一个ç®æ¥å†²ä¸Šå‰åŽ»,把还没跑出教室的一å女生推出教室。这时,ä¸€æ ¹ç²—å¤§çš„æ¨ªæ¢æ‰“在他头上,他的头盖骨被击碎……
Wang Zhouming is a young teacher, who takes charge of 50 students. When the tremor occurred, he led the students to escape from 2 ways, the front and back door separately. Exactly at the time when the house crumbling to dust, he rushed to a girl and pushed her away, hit dead by a crossbeam on the head himself.
At the same school, another teacher protected 3 girls with her own body.
Moreover, in a middle school at Deyang, Hanwan town(德阳,汉汪镇), a rescue crew described what he saw on the relic:
我们å‘现他的时候,他åŒè‡‚å¼ å¼€ç€è¶´åœ¨è¯¾æ¡Œä¸Šï¼Œèº«ä¸‹è¿˜æ»æ»åœ°æŠ¤ç€4个å¦ç”Ÿï¼Œ4个å¦ç”Ÿéƒ½æ´»äº†ï¼”
When we found him (a teacher), he stretched his arms lying on the desk, with 4 students protected under his body. They are all alive, except the teacher.
In a report from China-army net, a journalist told what he witnessed at a kindergarten in Beichuan county, where so far over 8000 have been killed.
很快,这个å«æˆæ€ç¾½çš„女å©ä¹Ÿæ•‘出æ¥äº†ã€‚æ¤åˆ»ï¼Œæˆ˜å£«è¢«çœ¼å‰çš„场景惊呆了——在å©å身边,竟紧紧地围ç€3个雕åƒèˆ¬å‡å›ºä½å¥³è€å¸ˆã€‚显然,她们在生命最åŽçš„时刻,用自己的躯体ä¿æŠ¤ä½äº†å©å……
…..Very soon, the girl named Cheng-siyu was rescued. But the soldiers were then stunned at the scene——right around the kid 3 statue-like female teachers were embosoming her. Obviously, they protected the kid at the last moment of their life.
Beichuan (北å·ï¼‰county, a devastated town, a dead place, fell down in the quake waves. Troops spent quite a few hours before they managed to enter the town due to the landslide and broken roads.
How a journalist described such a flattened place is here
记者摸ç€å·¨çŸ³,踩ç€æ³¥æ³ž,手脚并用,好久æ‰èƒ½ä¸‹åˆ°å‡ å米深的县城。当记者进入ç¾åŽçš„å·åŒ—县城时,实在ä¸æ•¢ç›¸ä¿¡çœ¼å‰çš„惨状:æ•´ä¸ªåŽ¿åŸŽå†…çš„æ¥¼æˆ¿å‡ ä¹Žæ— ä¸€å®Œæ•´,大部分被夷为平地ã€ä¸€ç‰‡ç‹¼è—‰,å‡ å¤„åºŸå¢Ÿè¿˜å†’ç€æµ“浓的黑烟。抗震救æ´çš„车队ã€äººç¾¤ä¸æ—¶æŽ 过。
而更令人æ惧的是,æ¯ä¸€å¤„å †ç§¯å¦‚å±±çš„åºŸå¢Ÿä¸‹,都å¯èƒ½åŸ‹ç€å—困的群众。æ®äº†è§£,这个拥有1万多人å£çš„å°åŸŽ,ç›®å‰ç¡®åˆ‡è¯å®žæˆåŠŸé€ƒç”Ÿçš„ä»…4000余人。
I followed huge rocks and creeped upon mud with my hands and legs, taking hours trying to down to the county meters below. I could hardly believe what was exposed in front of me: not a single house is intact, most of them flattened, all the mess, and a few relics still smoking. Trucks and rescuers rowed past.
A more grisly fact is that under every huge debris there could be trapped people. As far as I know, only 4000 of the total 10000 here have survived.
The town witnessed numerous touching, saddening moments.
In the first days the town is hardly accessible, because the roads had not yet been repaired.
Thus little rescue was available. But even before the first soldier managed to rush in, 7 teachers had led 72 students to fight a way out, along a winding path in the mountains to the world outside. They marched for 6 hours, during which they had to avoid all the falling rocks and periodic aftershocks, and pouring rain.
The thirst for survival drove many to risk all the adversity to struggle a way out. A couple went further than the teachers and students aforementioned. After collecting some money from their shattered house, the couple spent 30 hours trudging through 6 mountains and running to the world outside.
The brother, Zhang-jiwan, carried his 3-year-old sister on the back, and rushed out of Beichuan County. They had spent 12 hours before the reporter took the picture and helped them to Mainyang. Their parents were migrant workers, not at home. Their grandparents were too old to walk fast. The boy thus took the responsibility like a man.
Over 1 thousand victims have escaped from their hometown, Beichuan, on feet through the mountains, under falling rocks and rain, to find the new hope of life.
Also in Beichuan.
So many flesh monuments have explained what human nature is.
A personal note of a journalist writes:
在县城一处倒塌的房å‰ï¼Œä¸€é¢å¹³ç§»äº†å››äº”米的墙å£æ»æ»åœ°åŽ‹åœ¨ä¸¤ä¸ªå¤§äººèº«ä¸Šï¼Œå¤§äººèº«ä¸‹åˆæŠ¤ç€ä¸€ä½å°å¥³ å©ã€‚人们纷纷谈论,将å©å护在身下的肯定是å°å¥³å©çš„家长,å±éš¾å…³å¤´.
In a collapsed house in the county, a shifting wall tightly pressed upon two adults, with one little girl lying under them. People talked over, that it must be the parents that protected their child at the crisis.
People sacrificed more or less for their life.
Yue-yue, a girl whose primary school of totally 500 children was destroyed by a landslide, got buried for 3 days. Her left leg was pressed under the relic, unable to be moved out. The rescuers had to make the tough decision to amputate the leg.
Chen, the doctor, heard Yue-yue imploring: pleaseï¼Just don’t cut off my leg.”
20 minutes, after the necessary surgery, she was pulled out. And Yue-yue asked,” Am I the bravest?”
Chen couldn’t help but covered his eyes……
But her schoolmate Fan-quanyan was not so lucky. After 60 hours being trapped under the relic, she was saved. But shortly after 10 minutes, not even before the crowd could take time to celebrate, her breath ceased.
A tall and strong soldier kneeled down by her, saying,” sorry, I am so sorry…..”
People found the pictures from a blog of Mr. Tang, a teacher there. After the quake, though thousands of anxious netizens were waiting for this blogger, the blog was not updated. People came to moan that the kids were never more, only their smiling preserved. The middle school had 1200 students buried in this tremor.
But finally, reporters from South Metropolis Daily found the teacher, and the great news is, all the kids on the pictures were safe! Their building narrowly escaped the disaster.
How many more survival stories should I account to record so deep a cut on China but so strong a will of Chinese for survival? It’ll never be sufficient.
What could have supported those victims’ will of survival after being buried under the relic for tens of hours, in a confined space, without sustenance, without a slight voice from outside, and without any light?It might be just a bottle of Coke.
The boy, Xue-Xiao, 17, was finally rescued out after 80 hours stranded. His first words are: “I want a Coke…”
“Sure, soon!” rescuers answered.
“And cool Coke.” He added.
The boy was hotly discussed on the internet, the footage recording the scene by CCTV widely circulated. Some thought Coke should really pay him for the advertisement, and some questioned the boy was too addicted. But most people just thought he was so optimistic and innocent.
But those chiding the boy of saying so trivial a thing should be regretting. The boy’s right hand and leg were all necrotic, soon being amputated. He could no longer take up a coke with his habitual hand.
Another man, after being trapped for 129 hours, got saved. And 2 hours later, he passed away. The tough-minded life passed away at the very last moment.
The story of a mom should be proper to end this article. (A rough translation)
抢救人员å‘现她的时候,她已ç»æ»äº†ï¼Œæ˜¯è¢«åž®å¡Œä¸‹æ¥çš„房å压æ»çš„,é€è¿‡é‚£ä¸€å †åºŸå¢Ÿçš„çš„é—´éš™å¯ä»¥çœ‹åˆ°å¥¹æ»äº¡çš„姿势,åŒè†è·ªç€ï¼Œæ•´ä¸ªä¸Šèº«å‘å‰åŒåŒç€ï¼ŒåŒæ‰‹æ‰¶ç€åœ° 支撑ç€èº«ä½“,有些象å¤äººè¡Œè·ªæ‹œç¤¼ï¼Œåªæ˜¯èº«ä½“被压的å˜å½¢äº†ï¼Œçœ‹ä¸ŠåŽ»æœ‰äº›è¯¡å¼‚。救æ´äººå‘˜ä»ŽåºŸå¢Ÿçš„空隙伸手进去确认了她已ç»æ»äº¡ï¼Œåˆåœ¨å†²ç€åºŸå¢Ÿå–Šäº†å‡ å£°ï¼Œç”¨æ’¬æ£ åœ¨åœ¨ç –å¤´ä¸Šæ•²äº†å‡ ä¸‹ï¼Œé‡Œé¢æ²¡æœ‰ä»»ä½•å›žåº”
She was found dead under the collapsed house, kneeling down, creeping and leaning forward, both hands on the ground holding her body…..
ç»è¿‡ä¸€ç•ªåŠªåŠ›ï¼Œäººä»¬å°å¿ƒçš„把挡ç€å¥¹çš„废墟清ç†å¼€ï¼Œåœ¨å¥¹çš„身体下é¢èººç€å¥¹çš„å©å,包在一个红色带黄花的å°è¢«å里,大概有3ã€4ä¸ªæœˆå¤§ï¼Œå› ä¸ºæ¯äº²èº«ä½“庇护ç€ï¼Œä»–毫å‘未伤,抱出æ¥çš„时候,他还安é™çš„ç¡ç€ï¼Œä»–熟ç¡çš„脸让所有在场的人感到很温暖。
Suddenly, people found a 3-4 month baby under her body, wrapped in a red-yellow quilt. Because of the mother’s protecting, he remained unhurt. He was sleeping so peacefully, making all the people around warm.
éšè¡Œçš„医生过æ¥è§£å¼€è¢«å准备åšäº›æ£€æŸ¥ï¼Œå‘现有一部手机塞在被å里,医生下æ„识的看了下手机å±å¹•ï¼Œå‘现å±å¹•ä¸Šæ˜¯ä¸€æ¡å·²ç»å†™å¥½çš„çŸä¿¡“亲爱的å®è´ï¼Œå¦‚æžœä½ èƒ½æ´»ç€ï¼Œä¸€å®šè¦è®°ä½æˆ‘çˆ±ä½ ”,看惯了生离æ»åˆ«çš„医生å´åœ¨è¿™ä¸€åˆ»è½æ³ªäº†ï¼Œæ‰‹æœºä¼ 递ç€ï¼Œæ¯ä¸ªçœ‹åˆ°çŸä¿¡çš„人都è½æ³ªäº†ã€‚
When the doctors were examining the kid, a cell phone was found inside the quilt. An already written text message appeared on the screen.
“Dear baby, if you are alive, please remember I love you.”
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