Sichuan Quake Relief (SQR)

汶川地震半年祭—时间难平伤痕

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-11/12/content_10344946.htm

2008年11月12日 新华网

Half year has past, the great pain, however, is still in their memory.

PART 1: TIAN HE Primary School (MIAN ZHU City), Uncle Peng can only smile before those kids’ eyes.

Jan. 11, on the playground, some children are talking about their interesting news with an elderly gentleman. “What did the kind people send to you this time?” the man asked. “Books!”, “Computers!”, “School uniforms!” Children always seem so excited.

Peng is the vice president of the Education Office of the local government.  He lost 11 relatives in the violent quake. During the past 6 months, meeting these children has been a rare opportunity to smile.

“Until our schools have been successfully reconstructed and are back to normal operation, I will not shave,” said Peng once, and he is keeping to his promise. Working day after day, stepping into the most seriously hit area, Peng never stopped doing his duty. Three days after the quake, when he had the time to search for his family members, he began to find that they have all gone. “I became a 40 year-old orphan in just 80 seconds; who can believe that?”

In those busy days, he didn’t have time to think about himself. He says he is happy that schools are being rebuilt and that construction is on schedule. But actually, Peng began to feel fairly sad and lonely since he now has more time on his own now.

绵竹天河小学：孩子面前才笑的“彭大爷”

1月11日，绵竹市天河小学，板房教室前的操场上，孩子们围着一位中年人唧唧喳喳。“援建的叔叔阿姨给我们送来了什么？”中年人问。“文具！”“电脑！”“校服！”孩子们七嘴八舌。“我们要好好学习，将来报答他们……”

中年人是绵竹市教育局副局长彭波。这个坚强的北川汉子，地震中失去了11位亲人，半年来，只有在孩子们面前，才露出难得的笑容。

“抗震不结束，我不剃胡子。”几个月来，满脸络腮胡子的彭波风尘仆仆，走遍绵竹灾区每一所中小学校，原先的“彭小伙”变成了“彭大爷”。父母是退休教师，地震3天后，局党委勒令他回家找寻亲人时，北川县城已经面目全非。“短短80秒钟，我成了一个40岁的孤儿。”

过去繁重的工作让他没有太多时间悲伤。但是看着一所所学校恢复正常秩序，我很欣慰，我刮掉了胡子。但他坦言，现在工作量的减少，反而那些多余的时间让他常常陷入悲伤。(记者 李维娜 魏 贺摄影报道)

Part 2：Students and teachers from JU YUAN Middle School are searching for their bright future despite their unforgettable sorrows

To the 15 year-old girl Liu Miao, it is a wound never to heal since she thought her survival was at the cost of the lives of her schoolmate under her feet.  When the quake happened, she was running with other students, but she can still remember the moment she jumped over a girl who had fallen down.

“I don’t even know her name, but it is a girl, I’m sure.” She said sadly and mentioned that the girl may be her best friend, who was also buried in the ruins.

We can all understand her first choice in the emergency, but she cannot stop blaming herself ever since then. Only a few seconds after she ran out, the entire building collapsed. 283 of her schoolmates have left, of which 14 were her classmates.

One week after the quake, students restarted their school studies and are now in the pre-fabricated classrooms. “We all know that study must continue, so that our kids have to put their hearts into studying immediately. However, the truth is they have not completely recovered from the great pain of the disaster”, said the teacher Yue Congfu. Many of the students can’t concentrate on their textbooks after such a short time, since it is not an easy thing for them to put their grief to one side. Some kids even felt extremely nervous during countless relatively minor aftershocks.

Teachers have tried many different ways to solve this problem with varying results. A psychological consultant called Chan Ting, together with the consultant group from West China Hospital, is operating their ‘mental construction’ program here in JU YUAN Middle School during the past 6 months, and they have decided to hold this program until two years later.

“You can find many of them who stay silently in the behind of the classroom and do not play with others” Chan Ting said. According to the hospital’s report, 200 out of the total 1500 survival kids in this school now have some kind of psychological disorder, which may “Fortunately, they are young enough to learn how to reconstruct their sense of security and confidence from our counseling courses. We are sure they can have a much better mental condition soon. ”

When talking about the future, YU MIAO, the girl who is good at English, also has clear thoughts — she wants to become a diplomat someday. This September, she will enter high school. As the top student in her class, she said, “I am not only chasing my own dream but also fight for my dear friends who don’t have the chance”.
[SQR's approx. translation from Chinese to English]

聚源中学师生在伤痛中迎接希望

新华网都江堰１１月１１日电（记者姬少亭　吴陈　刘海）对于１５岁的余苗来说，跨过摔倒同学的头顶，从地震逃生的那一幕还不断在眼前浮现，在心里隐隐作痛。

“我没办法摆脱负罪感，我应该救她的。”余苗说，“我连她是谁都不知道，只知道是个女孩。”这个正在都江堰的聚源中学上初中的小女孩喃喃地说，那也许就是她最好的朋友——因为她也没有能够逃出来。   但谁都知道生死交错的一刻，她根本来不及做选择。“那个时候，所有东西都在晃，砖头和玻璃往下掉，大家往外冲——我来不及想。”她刚刚跑出教室没多久，整栋教学楼就在她身后轰然倒塌。“５·１２”地震夺去了学校２８３名学生的生命，其中包括１４名余苗的同班同学。

震后一星期，这所学校在帐篷中复课了，新学期又搬进了由河北省政府和一名唐山籍商人援建的板房教室中上课。“因为学业非常紧张，学生们必须全心投入到功课里面去，但他们还没能从伤痛中恢复过来。”岳崇福说。 许多孩子完全没有心思学习，还沉浸在失去老师和同学的痛苦回忆里。而且余震时他们都非常害怕，坐立不安。“５·１２”地震后，这个地区曾先后发生数千次大小余震。

校方尝试了很多办法让孩子们走出阴影。    四川大学华西医院的心理咨询师陈婷就是其中一位志愿者。她和她的团队已经为聚源中学提供了半年心理辅导，并计划将该帮助持续到两年之后，直至经历地震的孩子们从这所初中毕业。

“我们曾看到好多孩子搬个小板凳坐在教室外面，看着别的孩子发呆，也不参与玩耍，就是硬生生挨到上课。”陈婷说.华西医院的调查问卷显示，在聚源中学的１５００名学生中间，有超过２００名患有“创伤后应激障碍”—一种灾后心理障碍，主要表现为恐惧、抑郁、失眠、注意力下降等，严重的会造成肠胃系统或心血管系统紊乱。“幸运的是，这些孩子年龄较小，比较容易接受心理辅助的干预。我们可以看到他们有明显好转。”她说。

对于未来，余苗也有自己的想法。这个英语很好的女孩，希望将来能当一名外交官。今年９月，她就要升入高中。作为全班成绩最好的学生，“我不仅仅是为了自己而奋斗。我希望我能实现我们大家的梦想。”她说。(记者 雷 声 肖潘潘 魏 贺摄影报道)