From May 10 to May 12, tearful grievers burned incense around the debris of schools and homes and along the river, and left flowers and gifts for their deceased families and friends.
A Beichuan schoolteacher told The Epoch Times that although the government said Wenchuan was the epicenter of the quake, most of Beichuan County was leveled to the ground, and almost every Beichuan survivor has lost family members in the quake. “Many are still unable to recover from the loss of family,” he said.
Ms. Liao, who lost five family members, told The Epoch Times since the quake she has been feeling scared when alone or at night.
Many Survivors Still Not Housed
According to the Chinese regime’s official estimates, the magnitude 8.0 quake on May 12, 2008 killed nearly 70,000, a large percentage of them school children.
While still struggling with the disaster trauma, survivors said the government’s meager aid and the suppression of rights activists have made things worse for them. And contrary to official reports, many survivors have not yet been housed.
Sang Jun, whose child was buried under a collapsed school building, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that he has received no help from the government. “I’m still living in my mother’s house,” he said. “I have not received any benefits from authorities, because they are all corrupt officials.”
Sang said, before the three-year anniversary the local government force-evicted survivors who were still living in government-built temporary shacks in order to cover up the fact that many who lost their homes have not yet been housed.
“If you didn’t move out, they’d cut your power and water supplies, or demolish the shacks by force,” Sang told RFA.
Mr Zhang, another survivor, told RFA that the government’s housing aid was just enough to cover one fifth of home construction costs, and most survivors could not afford the government’s high interest loans.
For most families in this underdeveloped region, rebuilding costs are a huge burden. Hong Kong post-disaster assistance volunteers working in Sichuan found many young girls aged 12 to 17 from quake survivor families have chosen prostitution in order to help their families repay debts acquired for home building. And a third of all young children cannot afford to go to school, according to a May 12 World Journal report.
The Chinese regime says it has spent $123-billion on rebuilding efforts, and claims that 95 percent of planned construction projects are completed. But quake victims told New York-based New Tang Dynasty TV (NTD) that the situation is not like what local state-media has reported, and aid money is hard for ordinary people to come by.
“You hear officials say that victims are all settled, and state-media reports saying how good the situation is now. Is it good? There are those who have been settled nicely. They’re the relatives of officials, or those with connections. That’s all,” one quake victim told NTD.
Read More...Children who Died when the School Collapse
For the parents of the thousands of children who died in school collapses, more tormenting than financial difficulties is the government’s suppression of their efforts to seek truth and justice for their children’s deaths.
Official statistics say that 5,335 students have died in the quake. Parents have been petitioning for thorough investigations into shoddy school constructions, but have been met with threats and arrests.
At least 14 activists have been imprisoned or arrested for making public inquiries into the quality of school construction. The latest victim is acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei who organized volunteer investigations and collected and posted details of student victims on the Internet.
Liu Yuting, whose son was killed in the collapsed Beichuan Middle School, told RFA she has given up hope in getting justice after three years’ petitioning.
“A child’s death means a lifetime of pain. I wanted to seek justice, but now I don’t have that thought anymore,” Liu said. “Those who dared to speak out have all been ‘fixed.’ Now I don’t want to say anything anymore, and I don’t want to endanger people who helped us appeal.”
Several parents of children who died in the earthquake The Epoch Times had interviewed in the past have been unreachable since May 10. The parents have been forbidden to leave home during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Sichuan between May 7 and May 9, one parent’s relative told The Epoch Times.
Parents who used to petition were put under tighter surveillance during Wen’s visit. Some were arrested, harassed or required to leave the region, according to a May 12 Ming Pao report.
Party Propaganda
China’s communist party mouthpiece, Xinhua, however, spewed party propaganda, glorifying the communist regime’s monumental miracle achievements.
“The relief and rebuilding after the Wenchuan earthquake has been a miracle in human history, and another historical monument of the success of the Chinese communist party and Chinese government in leading all ethnic groups in the country to continuously improve and succeed at all costs,” a March 18 Xinhua report said.
Official news photos about the third anniversary of the quake typically depict officials surrounded by grateful survivors, and people in the affected area celebrating their good new life.
In response to this, writer Xu Hui tweeted, “The Third Anniversary: We are visiting graves, and they are dancing.”
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