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China quake survivors return to classes
2008-05-22
China's national anthem struck up and 200 young students bellowed along inside a huge tent at a camp for homeless earthquake survivors. "Classmates, this is our school," the teacher said after the music abruptly cut off. "Each one of us must study hard and turn difficulty into strength." A chorus of "Hao!" -- or "Yes!" -- followed from the students. Children went back to school Wednesday in improvised classrooms across China's disaster zone, providing a touch of normal life amid grief and dislocation from last week's quake. With a death toll expected to exceed 50,000 and some 5 million homeless seeking shelter, the resumption of classes also allowed authorities to portray the return of some semblance of order. Children were among the most prominent victims of the quake, which struck at 2:28 p.m. May 12 as classes were in session across Sichuan province. Schools were especially hard hit. Officials say almost 7,000 classrooms collapsed, some allegedly due to shoddy construction, underscoring the problem of chronic underfunding for China's education system, especially in small towns. The deaths of so many children triggered the first flashes of public anger from the disaster, and Beijing officials were quick to promise an investigation of building standards. Anyone found to be responsible for putting students in danger would be severely punished, they vowed. School supplies are scant. At a sprawling camp in Mianyang, students had no desks or books. Wei Wuyi, a fourth grader in Mianyang, said she dropped everything when she fled her school in Qushan during the quake, and she fretted Wednesday over a lost book bag. "I like art and math class, so I hope we can have those again soon," said Wei, adding the teacher had been "especially gentle" with the new students. With millions of refugees living in the open as authorities struggle to find tents for them, temporary classrooms are among the first structures being built in a landscape blighted by vast piles of rubble. Cities of government-issue, blue-colored tents are coming to dot the Sichuan plain and are filling with survivors who have climbed down from their former mountain homes, uncertain of when, if ever, they'll be able to return. "I don't know how long we'll be here, but I hope we are here the shortest time possible," said Gao Luwei, a 9-year-old from Dujiangyan. Many of the children in her class in a camp at the Qingyang sports center in the provincial capital of Chengdu are her friends. Striving to make things feel normal, officials made an effort to keep children from the same schools together. The return to school marks an important step in restoring continuity to children's lives, said Zhu Jiang, a Chengdu government official who is helping manage a camp housing about 1,000 displaced people. "The most important thing is to return some semblance of normalcy to the kids' lives," Zhu said. "We don't want them to feel like they're refugees, but like they've simply moved to another place for a sort of extended holiday." The school at Qingyang consists of a single classroom each for primary, middle school and high school students. Teachers are a mix of new and old, with college students and other volunteers helping out. Students had only composition books for note-taking. In Mianyang, the school consists of two cavernous white tents pitched on the basketball and badminton courts of a sports center. About 1,500 students are listed on a roll for the upper school. Only 1,000 are enrolled for all six years of the primary grades up to age 13 -- a sign that the death toll was higher among younger children, many of whom were napping when the quake struck. Other schools have been set up in converted retirement homes and community centers. Third-year high school students have been moved elsewhere to allow them to prepare for college entrance exams this month. Amid the uncertainty, distractions are plentiful. The camp is noisy with shouted conversations and announcements on the public address system. Conversations dwelled on the quake and its aftermath, what happened to their schools, how they escaped and how many of their classmates were killed. After roll call and the national anthem, students had a music lesson, singing along and making hand gestures to the words of a children's tune popular across China, "In my heart, there is a sun." "It is different from our school but the teacher is very nice. We don't have homework now so we can play," said Li Hong, 10, who hiked to the camp with her parents and younger sister from the town of Qushan, where more than 8,600 of the 13,000 residents were killed. Her father, Li Wei, said it was important to get the schools going quickly. "It's best that they have something to do while the adults try to figure things out. They need to keep their lives stable," he said. To help the children deal with emotional trauma, a counseling center has been set up beside an outdoor lending library, where children can talk with a mental health specialist and express themselves through drawing and painting. A sign posted at the center offers help on dealing with tumultuous feelings. "Speak of your needs and feelings and encourage others," it said, listing mental health advice. "Don't hide your feelings ... or be in an anxious hurry. Give yourself time," it said.
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