Feeling Sichuan, One Week Later

Yesterday at 2:28PM (1428 (0628 GMT) in the first of three days of national mourning a week after the earthquake struck south western Sichuan Province, there was a three-minute observance of silence. A nation of 1.3 billion people paused. I wish I could be there to experience some of this. Air-raid sirens and the horns of cars and buses sounded in memory of the dead. During these three days, flags are to fly at half-staff and public entertainment is canceled — it’s the first time China has declared a national mourning since Mao and Deng Xiaoping. Some people have commented at how remarkable it is that the government is honoring average citizens and not some great leader. This is a much softer and compassionate image of China isn’t it?

Together they also rallied great cries of rebuilding China, “Long live China.” Even, “Let’s Go Team China!” in light of the olympics. This was real national pride and unity if we’ve ever seen any. Regardless of what position or class they were in the streets of Chinese cities they cried out in unison. Some have started calling May 12 their 9-11. This of course has stirred up a bit of criticism from some but in regards to a national response to a tragic event regardless of the cause you can’t deny the emotional similarities.

We can witness regular Chinese mourning traditions such as the pervasive use of black and avoidance of red. Newspapers will be doing this on the front pages. I wonder if it’s happening here with the Chinese newspapers. No celebration or entertainment for at least a month I think. So radio stations and music programs will be suspended. This is a very interesting time for China especially for their media.

As a church in Philadelphia’s Chinatown we responded over the weekend as many other organizations had as well. Every corner in Chinatown had some group raising relief support and awareness for the earthquake. Our Cantonese congregation got right out there and did an amazing job after Sunday service and in the rain.

Here’s an article from Benjamin Chan (Area Director of East Asia and India International Ministries, ABCUSA),

“We love China. Please help our fellow people.” Chinese-American Christians spoke a loud voice in the Philadelphia Chinatown last Saturday and Sunday.The Elim Fellowship of the Christian Church and Center in Philadelphia conducted a two-days fund-raising campaign in Philadelphia Chinatown for the earthquake relief in China. They raised more than US$12,000. The money will be sent to the Amity Foundation via American Baptist International Ministries/ World Relief Office to support the relief effort.

Dr. Eugene Young, Chair of the Elim Fellowship who initiated the campaign, praised Elim members of how they mobilized their families and friends in the fund-raising “You are a role model for them.” Daisy Wong, an Elim member, reflected on the experience, “My whole family is involved, and there is no greater joy than serving God and helping the people who are in such a desperate situation.”

Alice Hau, another key player in the campaign was touched by the overwhelming support of the donors of different ethnical backgrounds, and said, “We are thankful that God uses us. The love in the donor’s heart shines across to the other side of the planet.” Another two members of the church who sent the first check shared their thought, “Sometimes we take everything for granted, especially our good health and all the blessing in our life while staying in our comfort zone but still complaining most of the time. Pray that we all treasure what we are given and give to help the needy with a heart of thanksgiving.”

Dr. Michelle Sun, another Elim member, shares a poem “Sky Howls” to tell the terrible situation of the earthquake affect areas, and yet shows the light when we extend help and love to the victims. (See the English of the poem below)

Rev. Leslie Leung, pastor of the Cantonese speaking congregation of the church supported the campaign, and encouraged the church members to continue the effort. “The need is great, and we welcome every dollar to bring hope to the earthquake victims.”

View pictures of the fund-raising campaign here.

Relief updates are posted in
1. Amity Foundation homepage (Chinese and English versions): www.amityfoundation.org.
2. International Ministries East Asia and India homepage: www.eacinet.org.
3. Judy Sutterlin (American Baptist personnel in Nanjing) homepage: http://www.sutterlinmpt.org/.
4. International Ministries homepage: www.internationalministries.org.

Sky Howls
Michelle Sun

Sky howls from the quake
Sichuan bleeds still
Scenic Sichuan bleeds still

Sichuan at shock bleeds still

Cuehe* has its waterway barred
Wenchuan* faces all collapsed homes

A town mourns with no next generation
School children with red scarves buried alive
Schools, villages, cities
All buried, fallen, sieged and dead
No more hate and strife

Look, dear ones breathed their last, still holding hands

Fingers interlocking tight at the loss of hope
Gripping tight, didn’t let go
Clutching tight, didn’t let go
Grayish black, ice-cold palms
Wouldn’t let go

Rubble mountain-high, in valleys and up the peaks
Yet a twilight of life’s there
Lost children in lonely tents wait for Mom and Dad
Amidst the chills the sun comes and cares
Devouring earth sends kindred love
Arms of strangers show up from afar, from all paths
Descend from the sky, come with winds, dart over
God of providence grabs you tight
From the arms of Death
Pulls you to Him

Feeling Beichuan, Day 5

Photo: Andy Wong/Associated Press

The relief effort has entered the most desperate phase now. Trapped survivors can only hold on so long. Beichuan is utterly gone being so close to the epicenter. There is no more Beichuan just mountains of rubble in what was once one of the world’s most beautiful valleys. The death toll is quickly climbing towards 50,000. The good news today is that the government has allowed international relief teams to enter into the disaster. [As Time Runs Out, Survivors Pulled From Quake Rubble, NYTimes]

What’s interesting is the government investigation on why so many schools were leveled by the quake. Neighboring buildings fared much better. It appears that those who built the schools used cheap materials. Go figure. China has long allowed short cuts like this for things going out but we can see that they’re paying the price for doing it within as well. What I find interesting is that even though there’s been mass destruction and loss of life they will probably execute those builders.

Whole graduating classes gone.

Members from our community/congregations are crying out for our church to do something. We feel responsible to take the lead in Chinatown to respond to the relief work. This is our moment to be a community leader. Pray that we will respond well.

Official Toll in Myanmar Reaches Nearly 78,000. Things haven’t gotten better in Burma. Many say the conditions have worsened. British officials saying the total dead and missing could be more than 200,000. [BBC News]

Feeling Sichuan, Day2

Warning: Graphic Image

I feel the need to post this one picture, not for sensationalism but so that we may mourn with those who mourn. That our hearts may break. That we may try to pray. That we may turn to God in our powerlessness.
Sometimes I just need to know if my heart still works.

Rescuers carry the body of students found in the debris of a collapsed school building in Dujiangyan. Credit: Reuters

The Austrailian has a gallery of very graphic pictures showing the aftermath of the earthquake in China.

Links
Regularly Updated News: Shanghaiist
In the U.S., anxious Chinese immigrants follow news of quake

Feeling Sichuan

Over 8,500 feared dead. 10,000 injured.

The world has witnessed a lot of destruction and loss of life in the past few weeks on the other side of the world but unlike the response in Myanmar, China has been quick to provide leadership to the devastation. It appears that the army has a good record of mobilizing and getting people to safety. This has been declared a level 2 emergency [out of 4]. But hey no Olympic venues were damaged by the earthquake…

In reading the reports first thing this morning I guess my heart quickly responded to the news regarding the children buried under collapsed schools. There were pictures on some sites and that really disturbed me. Children are precious in any culture. Perhaps slightly different from the West however, Chinese culture may closely resonate with what we see in Scripture regarding children representing hope, income and reputation for a family. So for a family to lose a child as devastating as it is anywhere, in Eastern culture especially with a one-child policy economy the loss carries deep and wide results. Yesterday we celebrated mothers as a nation. May our hearts take shape and pour forth accordingly.

Links
Thousands dead in Chinese quake [BBC]
US Geological Survey
Quake kills thousands, traps hundreds [CNN]

Here’s a first hand account from a student in Sichuan University

Associated Press

Praying for Burma

Any number value assigned to loss of life is one too many. It is difficult to grasp how in one town 10,000 souls can be lost. The number currently stands at 22,000 lives lost and another 41,000 missing.
Pray. Give. Be informed. Be involved.

Andrew Kirkwood, Save the Children’s country director for Burma, said that responding to the devastation would be a major logistical feat, requiring boats, helicopters and trucks.
“There are seven townships in the southwest of the delta region in which we think 90 to 95% of homes have been wiped out,” he said.

“The problem is that no-one can get there. There are no roads in the region that are functional so access is primarily by boat, but many boats have been destroyed.”
“The main needs that we can estimate right now are for shelter, food, essential drugs, mosquito nets and water purification tablets.”

Download PDF, UN map showing worst-hit areas, based on satellite imagery [1.13MB]

Here are some of the major aid agencies working inside Burma
Intl. Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Oxfam
World Food Programme
Unicef
Save the Children
World Vision
International Rescue Committee
International Medical Corps

More Links
NYTimes Slideshow
The Aid Challenge

A Day of Remembrance: Virginia Tech One Year Later

April 16, 2008 is A Day of Remembrance
On this day, the Virginia Tech community reflects on the vibrant lives of the 32 students and faculty who were tragically taken from us a year ago. Through light, art, and music we pay tribute to each and every person we lost. [From the VT Remembrance Site]

Last April, the world’s attention focused on a campus community ripped to its very core with the grief and pain of a tragedy unparalleled in the history of American higher education. And what they observed was more powerful than they ever expected… they saw a campus filled with energetic students and talented faculty that displayed grace, poise and fortitude beyond all imagination — a community fueled by something we know as Hokie spirit. That spirit reaches deep and spreads beyond the campus throughout our 200,000 alumni, and indeed across the entire globe.Take time to remember the legacies, remember the dreams and remember the talent that our community has lost.

I hope you are inspired to work harder to honor the 32. Share you talents with the world for the 32. Achieve your dreams for the 32. Be more compassionate, friendly and thoughtful for the 32. Be better, for the 32.

In 2008, we remember the 32; we are thankful for the survivors; and we are proud we share together that incredible Hokie spirit.

Tom Tillar
Vice President for Alumni Relations

Schedule of Events

Linkback
Aint The Way It’s Supposed To Be - Engaging The Virginia Tech Tragedy [i]
Aint The Way It’s Supposed To Be - Engaging The Virginia Tech Tragedy [ii]

ain’t the way it’s supposed to be - in philly

This issue on the complexities of our increasing diversity has really taken hold of me these past few days.
Can you tell from my surge of posts?

Spending most of my time in Philly’s Chinatown I get to see and hear a lot go down. There are things that I see and hear that keep me on the defensive, ready to pounce at any given moment. My fists stay clenched. Our faith community is only beginning to heal from the senseless shooting of one of our members that I posted about a month ago [ain't the way it's supposed to be in Philly one and two]

Recently there was a shooting in Lawncrest (Northeast Philadelphia) that killed a Chinese man, Jiaxing Lu(49), in his family grocery store. Again two young White teens. What disturbed me today was a article that highlighted some of the complexities of race that were mentioned in previous posts.
Sadly, the Lu family has given up on the city of Philadelphia - they’re moving to New York. Is it going to be any better? It doesn’t seem like they enjoyed being in their neighborhood I imagine. They are hurt and upset understandably. I don’t blame them. Would you?
But reading this article can you sense the tensions?

Like some other residents, she expressed some discomfort with Lu Jiaxing, saying she thought he viewed black people with suspicion. Other residents, though, said Lu made a point of knowing his customers so well that he knew what each typically bought at the store.

“About two months ago, when it got dark at about 6 or 7 p.m., he started closing down and selling food through a slot,” Brown said. “I did have a problem with that. But he did seem to be a decent man. Once, I lost my … card in his ATM and he went out of his way to get it back for me the next day.”

Another neighborhood resident, Edward Molizone, 74, touched on the suspicion that often exists between black residents and Asian merchants.

“A lot of blacks don’t go to the Chinese store because they feel the Chinese think they steal from them,” he said. “I don’t have a complex about that.”

But Molizone said that he was disturbed when he heard that Lu’s wife dismantled a makeshift memorial to her husband created by neighborhood residents.

“I was hurt this morning when she took all the teddy bears and put them in the trash,” he said.

Please don’t give up on Philly.

Read the full philly.com article here
Read also
The Multiracial Divide Without Easy Answers
Interracial Relationships: UK “Asians” more likely intolerant and racist
The Asian Invasion and other minorities fast becoming the majority

aint the way it’s supposed to be - in philly [ii]

i’m still processing my feelings about this whole event, the senseless act of violence that had taken the life of a member of our community, a friend, a brother, a father. i’ve been thinking about the impact it has on our church community. the latest news is that a suspect has been arraigned. he’s one of ten young boys being identified.

how do we make sense of it all?

was it a hate crime? what makes it a hate crime? what about all the other witnesses? how do you help heal a community? how do you help heal a family? what’s my role in all this?

all in the same breath this week, my 10mo. old nephew was in the ER with a 105 degree fever. my boy hosive requested prayer for his 8yr old nephew who was in a tragic accident that broke his spine in several places. by week’s end, that young soul passed on.

these kids whatever their motivation was probably never suspected that they would be identified as murderers after that night. a fleeting moment would change their lives, our lives from here on out. foolishness.

this morning i attended the funeral for mr. Kwok Wai-Ho. amongst the many family members i saw many friends from childhood. they probably did not recognize me. it’s been almost 15 years. i’ve filled out according to one friend i was able to reconnect with. it was not the most appropriate time or place to play catch up.

i preach tomorrow morning. i had planned on preaching from ecclesiastes weeks before.
who would have known that it would be the most appropriate book for such a time as this? God.
that’s the point i guess.
everything is just - hebel
this is a silent alarm.

here’s some new news links for updated stories: msnbc, foxphilly
read how a community blog forum responds - phillyblog

aint the way it’s supposed to be - if only

i wish all the violence/robberies/thefts/injustice would end like this: link

last week an attempted robbery in DC ended in a group hug.
wha?

i don’t know if i would have the cool nerve to suggest to the robber with a gun pointed to my daughter’s head to sit down with my family and have a glass of wine. in view of the flight or flight response theory, i don’t think i have much of the flight response in me or at least it’s very slow…
i’m more like bruce banner [the incredible hulk] -
“you won’t like me when i’m angry.”

i guess change in this world needs to begin with me.
lord help us. . .

aint the way it’s supposed to be - in philly [updated]

there are disruptions in life all the time. then there are disruptions that slows your life down to where you question it. as a pastor sometimes you hear news that make your nostrils narrow. notice the physical presence of air going in. out. you swallow hard and become acutely aware of everything around you.
things aint supposed to be like this.

a week ago, a member of our church, Kwok Wai-ho, took a walk outside his home in his neighborhood where he was attacked by a group of young people. his head struck the ground leaving severe hemorrhaging. he’s been in a coma since the attack. an hour ago, i received word that his condition is terminal. i’m angry. sad. frustrated.
please pray for the family and our church community. pray for philadelphia. pray for the peace of the city
link to the nbc report

[update] the investigation now becomes a homicide case

as of today the homicide total in philly is 222
links to articles related to violence in philadelphia

• interactive map of homicides in philly 2007: nbc | philadelphia inquirer
• my previous post on fear and the city
• the philadelphia inquirer tracking the violence from 2004-2007