May 20, 2008

Courage In The Aftershocks

Posted by Suemedha Sood at 6:29AM

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Thousands of people slept in the streets yesterday in and around Chengdu, China as panic spread due to reports of another powerful aftershock by state media. The reports turned out to be false, and state news tried to get the word out as quickly as possible to calm frightened families.

At the same time, young people filled Tianfu Square, standing together in solidarity for their country and their loved ones lost in the quake. Yesterday marked the first in a three-day period of mourning.

"Go China! Sichuan! Stand up! Be strong!" they shouted, NPR's Andrea Hsu reports. They gathered together to chant, sing, light candles and honor victims of the natural disaster. Their strength is nothing short of inspiring.

NPR's All Things Considered has been keeping a Chengdu Diary of the Sichuan province in the aftermath of the massive earthquake which has killed as many as 70,000 people. As many as 40,000 are still missing.

That Diary has captured touching stories of survival, especially among young people.

Melissa Block spoke with two young friends, both 15, who managed to make it out alive. They were at school when the quake hit. Huang Zhihui was in history class, and his teacher told everyone to run. Zhihui ran down the staircase. He made it out of the building, to the playground, as he heard the building collapse behind him.

Juyuan Middle School was destroyed, and hundreds of Zhihui's schoolmates were killed, crushed by the wreckage.

Zhihui's friend, Wei Bo, didn't run when his politics class felt the ground shake. Their teacher said to be calm and stay in their chairs. The building came crashing down on the class. Wei Bo managed to escape from the debris. He also pulled out another student who was buried. But most of his classmates and his teacher died.

It's not always clear what to do in such a situation -- duck and cover? evacuate? stay put? stay away from staircases? or just run?

The most touching part of these stories from NPR's Chengdu Diary is the courage that only comes with strength in such a crisis. A mother dying to save her baby. Parents searching for their missing child. Villages desperate for water and food. A farmer pleading for feed for his pigs. And friends, families, and strangers standing together and strong -- helping each other get through it all.

Read or listen to NPR's reports on the crisis here.