Pulse of a Nation

[tracking the disaster and rescue]
"There was an earthquake" she said, "I'm feeling dizzy." We were talking on the MSN. She's in Northern China.

We joked about it.

Only to be shocked by the headline on New York Times when I woke up the next morning. CNN, BBC news, Washington post, I began to check on all kinds of English language news. The numbers of casualties were all over the place. But the information was sporadic. Before long, clutchfans, a bbs I visit regularly, has a thread running about the updates. Someone then pointed me to Shanghaiist. Shanghaiist? Is that even a correct word? I've always thought people from Shanghai were called Shanghainese. Or was that Shanghainite? But the folks there did a really good job of updating the situation in the confusing hours until..until they were too dead tired to do so.

Numbers continued to rise. Hundreds, thousands, 7000, close to 10,000, more than 20,000...Numbers were cold, it numbed you after a while. The early pictures and videos though, many of which were taken by ordinary people in the affected region, helped putting on a human face.

I could then understand why 24 hour cable news could have markets. Trying to find out the fate of people could be addictive. My appetite for coverage couldn't be satisfied by the English-language news no more. I began to search out Chinese sources.

[Finest moments]
Chinese websites responded very quickly. The culture of bbs came in handy also. Citizen reporters on sites delivered painful details or heartwarming stories to supplement the reporting from official media, which was very open and responsive this time.

I wandered to baidu postbar and tianya, the usually raucous places. People were mostly discussing the news and how to help. Some set up online vigils to pray for the victims. Still, some were arguing vehemently, but mostly because they were so stressed by the tragedy and were thinking out loud how to better. What happened in Sichuan grabbed everybody's mind.

BY this time, Shanghaiist had relayed the news that Red Cross China opened a call for donation. But the website was down when I tried to get on. It was overwhelmed by millions of people trying to get there. Thankfully it went back up later, for a while. (I later learned you can directly donate through Red Cross Hong Kong also. )

（On Tianya, the age-old Chinese attitude toward the riches were on display also, as many people hold donating in proportion to their ability as the moral responsibility of the new riches.)

The calamity was sickening. The outpouring of support was touching. The blood banks all over the country were filled in a day after the call for blood drive. There were these rescuers who walked 90 kms on foot overnight in order to reach the epicenter. There was that 13 year old boy who dig 4 hours by hand to save his classmates. There was these student who was trapped inside the collapsed structure, encouraging each other and singing under the debris to keep the hope of life. Every passing of ambulances brought loud cheers because that meant another life was saved.

My co-blogger helped packed her friend's truck with food and supplies. Her friends was to drive all the way down to the disaster area and volunteer there.

So I leave myself with this question: can we actually find encouragement and solace during such natural disaster? I believe we can. Cuddling together, Chinese people show they are strong and resilient in face of calamity. They show they care for one another, as a nation, more than ever. They show they are capable. The rescue and relief effort, like any human endeavor, is not going to be perfect, and grief will forever be etched in our heart. But this is also China's finest moment, and can potentially be the defining moment, as a modern nation.

some quotes:

All I want to say is: your livelihood are from people; so you decide (what to do). --PM Wenjiabao to rescuers and soldiers about to begin effort

Please, I'm begging you, let me go to save another, I can save one more.
-- A firefighter upon being ordered to temporary withdraw during the after-shock

Please spare my legs (from amputation), I will need them to take care of my parents when I grow up -- A rescued pupil before going to the surgery

I was very cold and hungry. I had to keep on reading to relieve my fear
-- A rescued school girl describing her 40 hours in debris with her book and flashlight

There is no Beichuan county any more
-- A member of Red Cross assessment team

Related Content of This Rocking Post