Surviving the earthquake
26 June 2008
By Derek Liran from Chengdu Gay Care Organisation, China
Chengdu Gay Care Organisation (CGCO) is a partner of the Alliance in China providing outreach prevention and support to people living with HIV. On 12 May CGCO office staff were going about their daily routines in Chengdu, south-west China, when they were hit by the impact of the worst earthquake to strike China in years.
Derek Liran works at CGCO. He kept a diary of events as they unfolded and the organisation’s response to the disaster.
12 May
“At 2:28pm the earth began shaking. Everything in sight was shaking and tumbling. Huge clouds of dust rose from the ground, making all the buildings look like they’d caught on fire. Ceramic tiles broke from the walls and sprinkled into the streets. Lamp posts and power lines started shaking like willow trees in a windstorm. People in skyscrapers went into mass panic. Some were tossed into the air by the floors beneath them. Everyone was running about in a panic trying to get out of the buildings. Screams filled the street, joined by the noise of things breaking and falling on the ground.
“20 minutes earlier it had been a normal day at CGCO office with staff going about their daily routines. Little did they imagine then that their lives would be forever altered.
“3 minutes. 3 seemingly never-ending minutes. Eventually the crumbling and tumbling slowly stopped.
“Panicking crowds were everywhere. Talking, gesticulating, crying and sobbing. People trying to find loved ones. An aftershock hits at 3:00pm causing further panic.”
“As the aftershocks subsides. Staff member Kang Kai returns to the office. Bookshelf doors are open, documents and files scattered everywhere. Ceramic tiles on the bathroom walls had broken loose and were all over the floor. Kang Kai gathered his laptop and a few valuables and left the office.
“Down the street, mosaics from building walls are strewn about. Many walls bear big cracks. The steps to a pedestrian overpass - gone.”
It was not till midnight that all the members of CGCO staff and volunteers confirmed they were safe.
13 May
CGCO returned to work as soon as the authorities gave their permission.
“Kang Kai and Jay went to a Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) spot in a local hospital in the afternoon to provide counselling support for the crowd.
“There was still no power in the care centre office building so we decided to do what we did at the very beginning when the organisation initially formed, we started working at Wang Xiao Dong’s home. An emergency meeting was held to discuss the potential problems faced by our people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) and any possible solutions.
“It was decided that the PHAs living in and around the epicentre are facing a higher health risk than other people affected by the disaster because of injuries, lack of food and water and deteriorating hygiene, which means a higher risk of conditional infections. They also risked having their medication supply completely cut off, if it wasn’t cut off already.
“Some of our PHAs were already living in poverty to begin with. This catastrophe certainly added more weight to their burdens. It was unanimously decided that CGCO was to emphasize providing help to PHAs.”
14 May
“Our office building re-opened. A request was made for volunteers with psychological counselling experience. Many of our volunteers have been involved in psychological counselling for a long time. We had huge numbers of volunteers offering their services. We submitted the list to the authorities and they will be called on as soon as needed.”
15 May
“There have been several thousand aftershocks recorded. The ones that could actually be felt by us happened several times an hour. Everybody’s nerves and senses were pretty much wrecked. Even when the earth was not shaking we were feeling as if the world was spinning around us.
“We called a meeting to schedule our projects in the following weeks. Some of the not-so-crucial tasks were postponed. We decided to collaborate with the most popular gay nightclub to throw a charity event to raise money for PHAs in the hard-hit areas. Volunteers joined the relief teams, others delivered necessities to the hard-hit areas.”
16 May
“Close to 60 gay organisations and care units nationwide have joined the fundraising efforts for people living in the quake hit areas. CGCO and Rhythm Nightclub started planning the event, designing flyers and posters and organising the timing and format of the event.
“More than 200 orphans from the epicentre have just been taken in by the Sichuan Civil Administration Department. A request came in for volunteer psychological counsellors and we immediately passed the news on to our volunteers.
“So, 100 hours into the massive earthquake we are still here. We are alive and working. One of the things that has encouraged us most in this major catastrophe, is that our people as well as our government have demonstrated not just their courage but also their sense of rationality and order in the well-organised rescue and relief efforts.
“Our most heart-felt condolences go to our brothers and sisters, parents and children who lost their lives in the massive earthquake. May they all rest in peace in heaven.”
Estimates report 87,000 people were killed or missing after the earthquake on 12 May 2008.
