Earthquake

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As you know, a devastating earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province, China on Monday May 12. The death toll has already climbed over 50,000 and injury and homelessness are catastrophic. Flooding now is immanent and the problems are mounting. The human cost is staggering. Although Beijing is far from the disaster site the whole country is caught up in the tragedies and mobilizing to help.

The atmosphere here is much like after 9/11- everyone in mourning and mobilizing to do what must be done. On the one week anniversary of the quake there was a 3 minute "moment of silence" with traffic and train and bicyling all stopped all over the country at the 2:28 time. All theaters and entertainment ceased for three days of national mourning and The telethon-like coverage has been constant and very emotional. This has included stories of tragic losses and heroic rescues. We see the military clearing the roads and dropping supplies, and what appear to be ordinary citizens helping pull people out of the rubble, clothe, feed and comfort them. A young girl calls from within her concrete prison, "I always knew you would come and save me." Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao call out encouragement to children and express determination to save everyone and rebuild everything. Those who have donated wear red heart stickers to show their solidarity. There's a lot of beautiful singing and patriotic fervor. Fundraising efforts included an interview with a beggar who had donated 100 yuan! Private Chinese donations have already raised more than $500 million. That kind of citizen-generated public spirit, and the citizen and press inquiries into why school buildings, but not government buildings, collapsed, is a new phenomenon here. The centralized government does seem to be dealing effectively with the worst tragedy in a generation. It has been an amazing time to be here.

Our group will be making a contribution to the earthquake relief fund. We will present it at our farewell dinner next Monday night, the 26th. No pressure, but if you would like to help by contributing to this VERY WORTHY CAUSE, just send me an email telling me you're pledging $20 or $30 or whatever, and I will add that amount to our contribution and you can mail me a check at home or at school or I will collect after May 30 when I'm home.

In spite of all this life and school goes on and there is lots of farewell activity happening. See you soon!

Diane

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