May 18, 2008

A Note From A Friend Of A Friend

I correspond with another blogger, "Global Gal"
who lives in China, but is currently in the U.S.
visiting her family.
She had posted this note about a friend in China:


I have finally heard from my friend Ivy,
who lives just outside the capital city of Chengdu.
Fortunately, she and her family are safe,
although they’ve been forced to relocate their home
outdoors out of fear of the frequent small earthquakes
and aftershocks hitting the province.
She was at work when the big quake struck,
on the 7th floor of an office tower.
The shaking nearly threw her from the window,
but she was able to make it out
and home to be with her parents and dog.

The quake has not left her untouched, however. In her words:

These days, when I listened to the radio,
and watched the tv programmes, I shall cry.
There are lots of people that I know,
they were buried in the buildings,
till now we still can’t find them,
we don’t know whether they are still alive.
Sometimes, I even feel that I am still in a nightmare,
but the sound of helicopters as well as the ambulance
always remind me all these are true.

This is the biggest disaster
since our China is set up.
The number of the dead people
announced by our government is not true,
the real one is much much bigger than that.
You can’t imagine, when you walk in a city,
all you can smell is the dead body,
the dirty water,
the chemicals from the factory,
when you walk around,
you can find dead body everywhere…

thinking of this, i shall cry.

I am posting her words here
because they are so honest,
true and heartbreaking.
We all shall cry.
From the other side of the world,
all I can do is send out positive thoughts
and hope for miracles in the ongoing rescue efforts.
My thoughts are with you, Ivy and I am so sad for China today.


All I can do is pray
for hope
for China.
M