Three years after, they remember
Source: Xinhua |
May 13, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN elderly, white-haired couple squatted down, opened a bottle of liquor and poured it on the fire in front of the grave of their son.
"Your son is handsome and your daughter is beautiful. Please rest in peace and pray for them," 70-year-old Ma Shunde said between sobs as her husband looked on.
Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the massive earthquake that rocked Sichuan Province and neighboring Gansu and Shaanxi provinces in 2008, leaving more than 85,000 dead or missing.
The quake devastated the seat of Beichuan County in Sichuan, an area of just 3.3 square kilometers, leaving 20,000 dead or missing.
Thousands of people returned to mourn the dead yesterday.
Yuan Linqiong, a 48-year-old mother, came to burn paper money, clothes and cigarettes for her deceased son, a former soldier.
Never found
Though her son's body was never found, Yuan stood among the ruins and sensed that he was quite near. She spoke serenely about him and about her dreams of him that used to occur constantly, but had tapered off recently.
Shi Shaozhen came with her daughter-in-law to mourn her youngest son and granddaughter. She blotted her tears with a tissue.
"My granddaughter's birthday was May 30," she said. "If she were alive, she would be six this year."
In China, it is customary for family members to mourn the death of a loved one for three years. When those three years are over, though, it means that it is time to look ahead.
In the woods of Anren Township in Sayi County, there is a memorial for a 15-year-old girl who died.
The pink room barely measures 10 square meters, but contains a wealth of information about her. Hu Huishan was born on October 11, 1992 and died on May 12, 2008. She was cremated three days after her death. She loved literature and hoped to be a writer one day.
Ordinary lives
Following the quake, Hu's mother Liu Li sat by the ruins of Juyuan Middle School, where the girl had been studying when the quake hit. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Liu Jiakun, an architect in Chengdu City, was touched and decided to build a memorial.
"This memorial was built for all the ordinary lives," he said. Made of brick and cement, it is in the shape of a disaster relief tent.
Liu Li gave birth to another girl on September 27, 2009. She named the girl Hu Hui'en. "Hui means her elder sister, and En in Chinese means kindness," she said.
The Sichuan government said 5,335 school children died or went missing in the quake.
To comfort the mothers, the State Council drafted a new policy, helping those whose children were dead or disabled to have another baby.
According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, about one third of the bereaved mothers gave birth or got pregnant again in 2009. In 2010, more than half of the bereaved mothers had or were expecting to have another child.
"Your son is handsome and your daughter is beautiful. Please rest in peace and pray for them," 70-year-old Ma Shunde said between sobs as her husband looked on.
Yesterday marked the third anniversary of the massive earthquake that rocked Sichuan Province and neighboring Gansu and Shaanxi provinces in 2008, leaving more than 85,000 dead or missing.
The quake devastated the seat of Beichuan County in Sichuan, an area of just 3.3 square kilometers, leaving 20,000 dead or missing.
Thousands of people returned to mourn the dead yesterday.
Yuan Linqiong, a 48-year-old mother, came to burn paper money, clothes and cigarettes for her deceased son, a former soldier.
Never found
Though her son's body was never found, Yuan stood among the ruins and sensed that he was quite near. She spoke serenely about him and about her dreams of him that used to occur constantly, but had tapered off recently.
Shi Shaozhen came with her daughter-in-law to mourn her youngest son and granddaughter. She blotted her tears with a tissue.
"My granddaughter's birthday was May 30," she said. "If she were alive, she would be six this year."
In China, it is customary for family members to mourn the death of a loved one for three years. When those three years are over, though, it means that it is time to look ahead.
In the woods of Anren Township in Sayi County, there is a memorial for a 15-year-old girl who died.
The pink room barely measures 10 square meters, but contains a wealth of information about her. Hu Huishan was born on October 11, 1992 and died on May 12, 2008. She was cremated three days after her death. She loved literature and hoped to be a writer one day.
Ordinary lives
Following the quake, Hu's mother Liu Li sat by the ruins of Juyuan Middle School, where the girl had been studying when the quake hit. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Liu Jiakun, an architect in Chengdu City, was touched and decided to build a memorial.
"This memorial was built for all the ordinary lives," he said. Made of brick and cement, it is in the shape of a disaster relief tent.
Liu Li gave birth to another girl on September 27, 2009. She named the girl Hu Hui'en. "Hui means her elder sister, and En in Chinese means kindness," she said.
The Sichuan government said 5,335 school children died or went missing in the quake.
To comfort the mothers, the State Council drafted a new policy, helping those whose children were dead or disabled to have another baby.
According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, about one third of the bereaved mothers gave birth or got pregnant again in 2009. In 2010, more than half of the bereaved mothers had or were expecting to have another child.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
