13 :: Heartquake
As you’ve probably heard, there was a massive earthquake in the heart of China yesterday. It hit a pretty densely-populated part of Sichuan Province, collapsing tons of buildings, burying tens of thousands, and leaving at least 12,000 people dead (that number is steadily rising). From what I hear, many of the roads going into these towns are wiped out … and evacuation/aid efforts by helicopters have failed because of extreme weather. Thousands of people are buried … and the 50,000+ troops that have been deployed have had a lot of trouble just getting there.
Here’s where the earthquake was is in relation to Loudi, my home last year:
I have a couple of friends who are teaching, studying, or living in Sichuan. And I traveled there a couple of times last year, one time specifically to Wenchuan (it was described by our guide as the “Hong Kong for the Aba area”, the most prosperous county around). And when I read articles like this, I can’t help but think of my students in Loudi, packed into poorly-constructed six-story concrete buildings like sardines.
Last night I went to an emergency prayer meeting at the Cincinnati Chinese Church … several of the people there have family members in the affected area who they cannot yet contact. It was quite powerful for me … because I couldn’t understand the Mandarin they were using to lift their cares and concerns to the Lord, their emotions were totally amplified in my heart. So sobering.
Please pray for these people, both inside and outside of China, as they physically toil to rescue victims, as they struggle to reconnect with family members, and as they turn their hearts to Something Bigger. Pray for strength and wisdom for Melody, a Chinese friend in an underground house church in the area, and for Rick, a close friend who’s studying in Chengdu.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:49 am EST
As soon as I heard about it I thought of you and how close you were living to the area affected by the quake. It just breaks my heart to think of it and to watch the clips of rescue workers.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:53 pm EST
Chinese bloggers seem to be going a little nuts in the wake of the quake, talking abut migrating butterflies, drained ponds, an invasion of toads, and various other conspiracy theories (some involving the Olympics). Just check out this Times Online article for more. Strange.
But every person within China who I’ve talked to so far is just devastated, feeling the ripples much more deeply than I ever felt about 9/11 or similar incidents. It makes me want to be there.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:14 pm EST
I’m wishing I were there too…
May 13th, 2008 at 2:32 pm EST
Wierd. A friend from work is in China on business (Suzhou area) and hadn’t heard about the earthquake until I emailed him the story. The media over there must be really controlled…
May 13th, 2008 at 2:59 pm EST
Here’s an update from Rick at 10:43am:
And HP, here’s a great article about China’s improved responsiveness and public relations in the wake of disasters.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:18 pm EST
HP - From what I’ve heard, the coverage has been 24/7 across China.
The only way your friend in Suzhou would not know about this huge tragedy is if he is just not paying attention.
Even China’s English language media outlets have been covering this event from the minutes following the quake.
That doesn’t mean the media is not ‘controlled’ - it just means your friend is probably not the type of guy you want to talk to when discussing ‘current’ events.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:46 pm EST
I asked my friend again, just for kicks. He said at first there was no news about it at all, compared to all the reports in the western media. (He said he first heard it from me, a day after it happened, and he was in HONG KONG at the time, which seems incredulous to me.) But now he says there is a lot of news about it, but it seems to really emphasize how great the government and President Hu is doing in the response. He says they are not sugar coating the fact that a lot of people died (the numbers the Chinese media is publishing are the same as the international/US media), there’s just a different nationalistic “tilt” in their media regarding the government’s response compared to the western media outlets he has access to on his western Blackberry connection. (Then again, who’s to say the “western media” isn’t whats “tilted” and the Chinese media is straight up…)
May 15th, 2008 at 9:47 pm EST
This is sobering.
May 20th, 2008 at 2:55 pm EST
I can’t imagine the pain of all these parents.