Chengdu Diary

I have always been a big fan of NPR Public Radio. They are doing a wonderful job once again this time. The reporting is honest, open minded, and caring.

"All Things Considered" hosts Robert Siegel and Melissa Block are in Sichuan Province covering the massive earthquake. They continue to report on the aftermath and recovery efforts. The hosts were in Chengdu with producers Andrea Hsu and Art Silverman when the quake struck. They were preparing for a special week of China coverage that had been planned for next week. Follow this blog for regular updates."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/

I shouldn't have read the May 14th's entry - Dujiangyan Parents' Search for Child, especially shouldn't have listened to the audio clip. I was hoping I could get through a day finally without tears.

One comment said,

Thank you, Melissa, for giving this tragedy a face, name, and story. It makes it much more difficult for those of us on the other side of the world to block it out and act as though it doesn't affect us. My thoughts and prayers are with you and everyone striving to cope with this catastrophe.

Sent by Meg | 1:29 PM ET | 05-14-2008

I've learned my lesson. I admit I have been very selfish. I didn't care as much for the tragedy in Burma. The pain and suffering was just too far away to be real. Now it cannot be more real because it is physically hurting me. Some of you might not understand why I am so emotional over this. It is hard to explain. Chinese call each other Tongbao (同胞), which literally means 'people who share the same uterus, which simply means brothers and sisters. Chinese also call brothers and sisters 手足, 'arms and legs'. I cannot stop crying and screaming because my legs are broken and my arms are bleeding. Every Chinese is family no matter where they are, in China, Hong Kong or Taiwan, or whatever nationality they hold. Family members fight sometimes, and that's what happens when you have a huge family. Chinese culture is very different comparing to some western ones for example ancient Greek. Chinese had had the definition of 'country' long before we had the definition of government. Government comes and goes and so does political and religious difference. Our philosophy has always been 'family first' and 'blood is thicker than water'. That's what has gotten us through 5000 harsh years. It is really shining through in the face of disasters.

Please learn from my lesson. Please don't wait until it happens to your family to give a damn. The new pair of shoes or new phone can wait. Please lend a helping hand now because their lives depend it.