Almost a month after the event, many areas of China are still reeling from the May 12th earthquake. Measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, the earthquake claimed the lives of nearly 70,000 people. Wenchuan County, one of the most damaged parts of Sichuan Province continues to experience tremors. Daily life in Wenchuan is still highly chaotic with the Chinese police and military struggling to return some level of normalcy to the lives of the people there.
Simply getting into Wenchuan County is an arduous task in itself. Through a series of bus rides, one is able to get near the disaster area but many of the normal bus routes have been shut down. Private drivers must be hired for a small fee to access the most damaged areas of Wenchuan.
Driving through Sichuan Province reveals the massive landslides that have turned previously green mountainsides a shade of brown. These landslides have destroyed homes, villages, and an untold number of lives. Entire towns have been leveled by the earthquake forcing the local people into huge tent cities. Most people will never know disaster as the residents of Sichuan do.
It is now widely known that several of Sichuan Province's schools were built using inferior construction materials which created even more horrific events than the earthquake alone would have allowed. After taking advantage of those bus routes still in operation, I took a ride with a driver moving in the direction of one of these schools. Cramped in a small van with a dozen other people, we passed through military checkpoints, downed bridges, and collapsed buildings. I offered my seat to a Chinese soldier who would not allow me to trade him for his tiny stool in the van. Traveling down the dusty unpaved roads, we finally arrived at an elementary school devastated by the earthquake.
Walking through the entrance to the school, it is almost unbelievable to witness what the quake has done to Wenchuan. Looking up, a large group of Chinese soldiers are seen clearing rubble where buildings once stood. Inside a classroom, heaps of debris completely hide the floor that children recently walked on. Although the school's roof is almost entirely gone, writing about the Beijing Olympic Games still covers the chalkboard, the subject of the last lesson before chaos hit this classroom. Amidst all this devastation, the children still manage to smile as they play games in the schoolyard. They surround me just to say hello and use what English they know. A young girl in a wheelchair is pushed towards me by a friend so she can smile and ask, "How are you?" Scars can be seen on their faces and bodies, and many more scars of a different kind surely exist that cannot be seen. They run and play basketball, badminton, and jump rope next to the same tent in which only recently the bodies of injured children were laid out. Medical supplies are still scattered on the ground, although the bodies that once occupied this tent are gone.
Officials approach me to question my presence in the area. I am told not to take photos or conduct interviews, but am welcome to look around. I grab any opportunity to snap pictures when nobody is looking or when I think I can get away with it. While I try to study and photograph the area, the Chinese state run news organization CCTV begins filming me as much as the children.
Understanding that the people in Wenchuan need years to rebuild and many will know only heartache for years to come, I find solace in how China has come together for those affected by the earthquake. Teachers from all over China volunteered to work at this school in Wenchuan County while the recovery process begins. There are also volunteer relief workers from all over the world helping to clear the rubble from leveled buildings that cover so much of Sichuan Province. Monetary and other forms of aid have poured in from across China as well as from the international community. Most Chinese are more than satisfied with their government's response to the earthquake disaster and the effort they have put forth. This does not mean the Chinese will forget this event or the poor construction of their children's schools, but the country and the government are moving in the right direction to help get past this devastating event. Donations can be made to support the victims of the earthquake at www.WorldVision.org and www.RedCross.org.
Matt Loupee
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My name is Matt Loupee and I am going into my fourth year at the University of Dayton. In 2005, I was honored to be named a Bloomfield Township Police Department Distinguished Citizen and have written for the University of Dayton's Flyer News. I am majoring in journalism and am also working towards teacher licensure. I studied in Rome, Italy during the summer of 2007 and am currently interning with Detroit Public Television.
I am studying in Shanghai, China during the summer of 2008 and plan on taking a weekend to travel to Sichuan Province to cover the earthquake. I hope to shed light on the state of Sichuan's recovery process and the experiences that individuals have had there.
- Matt Loupee
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