Serving survivors in their own ways

From a TV news program we saw that a Russian rescuer roared at the camera because of strong light on a survivor who was just pulled out of the rubble.

Similar incidents are seen both on some news websites and TV programs.

A TV journalist tried to broadcast live just minutes before a surgeon operated on a seriously injured victim.

The doctor was angry, crying out "you have made me dirty".

Turning deaf to the doctor's cries, the journalist continued to ask the doctor about the patient's situation.

Didn't he know that he would cost the doctor's precious time to save the patient and that the doctor then had to sanitize again?

I was also greatly annoyed when some journalists insisted on interviewing extremely weak victims on a plane.

Having been buried for dozens or even more than 100 hours, those victims were so weak. I'm afraid they would get worse after struggling to answer the journalists.

Of course the journalists earned our respect for risking their lives to work at the frontline. However, they should take reality into consideration. Anyway, saving lives is more important than collecting news.

Renshengruxi

on blog.sina.com.cn

At about 10 o'clock on Tuesday night, I was awakened by loud noises outside.

Frightened at seeing people crowded on the streets, I rushed downstairs.

A rumor saying that a disastrous earthquake would strike our small county at midnight, all of us, old and young, were very anxious.

Given that the horrible Wenchuan earthquake that claimed thousands of lives, no one should be blamed for an irrational fear.

The earthquake illustrated how vulnerable mankind could be in front of the powerful and sometimes merciless nature.

However, our county's history has no record of any earthquake of magnitude 5 or above. Geographically, neither is our county located in any seismic zone.

In my view, the rumor producers should be punished for spreading panic among the public. They are ethically wrong to turn our county into chaos.

Meanwhile, local authorities have a responsibility to clarify the situation.

As everyone was anxiously waiting on the streets for a "forthcoming" calamity, the related local departments should have come out to keep the public in order instead of remaining silent.

Laoma

on blog.xinhuanet.com

We are so concerned about the rescue operation and we applaud for every miracle.

As helping hands are reached out to Sichuan from across China and the whole world, we should keep our minds calm because relief work may last a long time.

The authorities should dispatch geologists to research more on potential risks in that area and continue to provide aid to the earthquake victims.

As ordinary citizens, we can also ask what we can do more for them.

While people feel for orphans, the elder people who lost family members also need the same caring.

The small children killed by the earthquake have broken our hearts, but we should not forget the group of surviving students, who need psychological help and further financial support to go to school.

It took us nearly 10 years to rebuild Taiwan after it had been devastated by an earthquake in 1999. It might take the same long time for us to rebuild Wenchuan and other areas that were destroyed.

A marathon of love is ready to set off.

Fangyanxuan

on blog.xinhuanet.com

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(China Daily 05/23/2008 page9)