In Sichuan 2 years on, tears still flow
Source: Xinhua |
May 12, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
GENTLY patting her 6-month-old son's back yesterday, Zhang Hongying whispered: "Mommy will take you to the cemetery tomorrow so your big sister can see you."
Today marks the second anniversary of the magnitude-8.0 quake that hit southwest China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008, and left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.
Zhang's 10-year-old daughter, then her only child, was one of the victims.
For weeks after her daughter was killed in the massive quake in Hongse Village of Dujiangyan City, the 39-year-old mother held her daughter's photo all day long and cried uncontrollably.
"We can build new houses and find new jobs, but when my only child was gone, I lost hope in life. It felt hollow inside," said Zhang.
After grieving for weeks, she started to want a new baby, as the government relaxed the one-child policy for the disaster area.
The quake claimed the lives of 5,335 schoolchildren, according to Sichuan government data.
Bereaved mothers received free services, including counseling, health checks and delivery procedures organized by the Sichuan Provincial Population and Family Planning Commission.
Fifteen months after she buried her daughter, Zhang became a mother again.
Her family was filled with joy when her son was born. A new life was created to take the place of the one taken away.
She took out her daughter's pictures, put away after the quake, and placed them back in the girl's old bedroom.
For thousands of couples who lost their children, the delight of each birth tempered the pain of their loss.
Still, things are not rosy for all. Many bereaved mothers are older than 35, making conception more difficult.
In Dujiangyan, a city 48 kilometers west of the provincial capital Chengdu hit hard by the quake, about 85 percent of bereaved mothers who wanted to have a new baby were older than 35 years, and 65 percent of them were older than 40, said Chen Zhixi, vice director of the city's family planning bureau.
The local government provided free assisted-reproduction technology to help these women get pregnant.
Sadly, the age problem resulted in a larger-than-normal rate of miscarriages.
The quake also orphaned more than 630 children in the flattened town of Beichuan.
Jia Xiaoli, 11, lost her parents and witnessed the destruction of Beichuan.
Only 12 Beichuan orphans were adopted. The rest of them are either in welfare homes or with relatives.
More than 200, including Jia, live in Ankang Jiayuan - the county's largest welfare house for quake orphans.
It is in Shuangliu County near Chengdu and has nearly 100 tutors to take care of the children. Some of them graduated from art school, and can also teach the kids singing, dancing and drawing. One tutor usually takes care of six to eight children.
Jia lives with three other girls about her age in a 20-square-meter dormitory. She attends neighboring Tanghu Primary School, a new campus built for children in Ankang Jiayuan.
Every child at the home receives a monthly allowance of 510 yuan (US$75) until they turn 18, according to Qiu Lin, deputy head of the facility.
Although Jia is bright and happy, she is still reluctant to talk about her parents.
Today marks the second anniversary of the magnitude-8.0 quake that hit southwest China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008, and left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.
Zhang's 10-year-old daughter, then her only child, was one of the victims.
For weeks after her daughter was killed in the massive quake in Hongse Village of Dujiangyan City, the 39-year-old mother held her daughter's photo all day long and cried uncontrollably.
"We can build new houses and find new jobs, but when my only child was gone, I lost hope in life. It felt hollow inside," said Zhang.
After grieving for weeks, she started to want a new baby, as the government relaxed the one-child policy for the disaster area.
The quake claimed the lives of 5,335 schoolchildren, according to Sichuan government data.
Bereaved mothers received free services, including counseling, health checks and delivery procedures organized by the Sichuan Provincial Population and Family Planning Commission.
Fifteen months after she buried her daughter, Zhang became a mother again.
Her family was filled with joy when her son was born. A new life was created to take the place of the one taken away.
She took out her daughter's pictures, put away after the quake, and placed them back in the girl's old bedroom.
For thousands of couples who lost their children, the delight of each birth tempered the pain of their loss.
Still, things are not rosy for all. Many bereaved mothers are older than 35, making conception more difficult.
In Dujiangyan, a city 48 kilometers west of the provincial capital Chengdu hit hard by the quake, about 85 percent of bereaved mothers who wanted to have a new baby were older than 35 years, and 65 percent of them were older than 40, said Chen Zhixi, vice director of the city's family planning bureau.
The local government provided free assisted-reproduction technology to help these women get pregnant.
Sadly, the age problem resulted in a larger-than-normal rate of miscarriages.
The quake also orphaned more than 630 children in the flattened town of Beichuan.
Jia Xiaoli, 11, lost her parents and witnessed the destruction of Beichuan.
Only 12 Beichuan orphans were adopted. The rest of them are either in welfare homes or with relatives.
More than 200, including Jia, live in Ankang Jiayuan - the county's largest welfare house for quake orphans.
It is in Shuangliu County near Chengdu and has nearly 100 tutors to take care of the children. Some of them graduated from art school, and can also teach the kids singing, dancing and drawing. One tutor usually takes care of six to eight children.
Jia lives with three other girls about her age in a 20-square-meter dormitory. She attends neighboring Tanghu Primary School, a new campus built for children in Ankang Jiayuan.
Every child at the home receives a monthly allowance of 510 yuan (US$75) until they turn 18, according to Qiu Lin, deputy head of the facility.
Although Jia is bright and happy, she is still reluctant to talk about her parents.
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