Google China’s blog (in Chinese) mentions a Google search query log which dramatically shows the moment of silence and mourning on 2:28PM on May 19 for the victims of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan.
Apparently, even Google search queries fell off dramatically during that three-minute moment of silence where Chinese stopped everything they were doing to observe a moment of silence.
The graph says it all.
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In the 512 earthquake, a friend was fortunate enough to survive, walking out of the ruins alive and with a story. It was a story that surfaces in every disaster, a story so common, yet it touches us all while we go about our lives.
When the rescuers found her, she was already dead, crushed by the collapsed building. They could see her through the debris, on her knees with hands flat on the ground, holding up her body. It was almost as if she was bowing ceremoniously, but her body was misshapen, crushed by the building. Rescuers reached a hand in to check that she was dead, shouting and using a stick to lightly knock on the bricks, waiting for a reply or some sign of life from her that never came. When the group turned their attention towards the next pile of debris, the team leader suddenly rushed back, shouting, “Over here, hurry!” He once again stopped in front of her body, trying his best to reach a hand in to feel the ground sheltered by her torso, shouting, “There’s someone here, a child, still alive!”
The rescuers worked to move the debris carefully, finding her child sheltered beneath her torso. A baby, about four months old, wrapped in a red blanket with yellow flowers stitched on. Sheltered by his mother’s body, he was unscathed. They carried him out from the debris, sound asleep, his sleeping face warming the hearts of everyone at the scene in the face of death.
A doctor rushed over, undoing the blanket to check for signs of injury on the baby. He found a handphone stuffed under the blanket, and instinctively glanced at the screen. There was a message on the screen, “My darling, if you live through this, please remember that I love you.” Despite having seen death countless times, tears rolled down the doctor’s face. The handphone was passed around, evoking tears from everyone at the scene.
The young mother must have tried calling for help using the handphone, but in disasters of this scale, telecommunications often fail. She spent her last moments leaving a message for her beloved child.
Singing from Ruins of a Kindergarten: No Pain when I Sing
Beijing Evening News, May 15th
Just 100 meters from the building of Beichuan County Committee laid the most densely populated area of the county. Now it has become the site of the biggest ruin. Buildings have cracked during the strong quake and buried under a serious landslide.
Around 1pm yesterday (May 14th), rescuers found a little girl trapped in the ruin of a kindergarten. Since aftershocks were frequent, rescuers were worried that the ruins might collapse at any moment, greatly endangering the little girl’s life. “Hurry! Someone’s here!” In a short moment, a dozen rescuers have gathered around the spot. “Uncle, I’m not scared, please don’t worry.” During the rescue process, the girl tried to comfort the rescuers even as they were voicing encouragements to her. As the stones were slowly removed, the rescuers realized that the little girl’s legs were trapped and her lower body covered with blood. She was biting her own lips, obviously in agony.
“Two tigers, they run fast…” With only simple tools at hand, the rescue progressed very slowly, yet just at this moment when everyone was filled with anxiety, the girl blurted out this common children’s song. “I will feel no pain when I sing.” Finally, after being rescued from the debris that once was the kindergarten she attended, the girl told a rescuer that her name is Ren Siyu.
“Siyu!…” At 6pm, when it was turning dark, a couple was picking their way through the ruins in the rain, and their cries echoing in the valley. “Really? Thank you so much!” After knowing that their daughter had been rescued, they grasped the rescuer’s hand tightly and broke down in tears.
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“I feel no pain when I sing.” This reminded me of something from Churchill’s Memoir: When he was inspecting London after an air raid, he found a vibrant green plant in an air-raid shelter, and he said, because of this plant Britain will triumph, for their love for life outweighs all. (Commented by Xi Wang)
Pingback: Drop in Google China search volume for mourning on 19 May
May 15th, noon, an old man holding his begging bowl takes out 5 yuan from his pocket with a shaky hand, putting it in the donation box with, “for those effected by the quake…” What was thought to be a small episode in the process of donation was repeated. At 3PM the same day, the same man showed up once again. This time, he took out 100 yuan, stuffed it into the donation box.
For the past couple of days, people from all backgrounds in the city Nanjing have been donating for earthquake. Amongst them, is the love from the elderlies who beg for a living.
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Kinda nicely written actually. :)
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[...] The China Vortex runs the search log for Google China that dramatically shows the three minutes of silence China observed on May 19th in remembrance of those who died in the earthquake. It is, eerily, like the inverse of a seismograph. [...]
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