Report 1: June 2, 2008, Monday
First Days in China
This is the seventh time I have been to China in the last four years, and already at the Shanghai airport the changes are striking. Army and healthcare personnel are in transit throughout the airport and the city, and many of the earthquake victims are being transported to major hospitals here. The ever-present media is very different too. Flat-screen video is everywhere in China’s major cities – in elevators, in cabs, on hotel lobby walls – not to mention the usual TVs in even the smallest stores and hotels. In place of the typical array of slick ads and TV shows, there is a stream of footage dedicated to the earthquake recovery efforts. Troops and emergency officials are shown recovering a young boy here, carrying an elderly lady there, digging through rubble, sitting exhausted, crying. A flip of the channel in my hotel room changes nothing – same thing on most channels. The nation is transfixed on what happened in Sichuan and, it seems to me, is mobilized and united in a way I could not have imagined. It seems that people everywhere are keeping up with the news, and there are more volunteers wanting to help than there is place to put them in Chengdu.
The second noticeable change is the daily array of benefit concerts and events advertised on TV and on posters throughout the city. Many of China’s most famous musicians, actors, and sports figures are donating their time to raise money for the earthquake victims one way or another. The outpouring of heartfelt emotion is striking, and I find that many of the photos showing the suffering of victims and rescuers alike move me to tears. There are songs and poems being written on behalf of those who have been lost, and one of them in particular is heart-rending. It was written anonymously and has spread rapidly across the nation (including a poorly-translated English version). The poem is entitled “Please Hold Onto Mother’s Hand,” included at the end of this posting.
I attempted a better translation with the help of a friend in Shanghai – Ms. Xiaohui Ma, who is one of China’s best-known musicians and a virtuoso on the erhu, a kind of two-stringed violin. She volunteered to do a benefit concert at one of the major churches in Shanghai, and invited me to participate by reading my translation of the poem in English after she read it in Chinese as a way to close the concert. The church was packed to overflowing for the weeknight concert. Ms. Ma was joined by other musicians, and the audience loved every minute of it. They responded vigorously to the pastor’s entreaties to contribute to the earthquake survivors, and seemed eager to do something – anything – to help those who are so hurting in Sichuan. The concert ended with a time of responsive prayer in which everyone gladly participated.
It seems to me that this crisis has drawn the Chinese together in a new way, with an increased outpouring of compassion for those who are suffering and with a growing self-awareness that suggests this is a people coming of age. As far as I can tell, no efforts are being spared – including inviting foreigners such as myself to come offer whatever small help we may be able to bring.
Following is the translated poem, which has been spreading rapidly in China and providing a source of comfort to so many who are suffering loss and grief.
Benefit concert poster.
The concert
was packed and raised significant funds for
earthquake survivors. |
PLEASE HOLD ONTO MOTHER’S HAND, MY CHILD
Anonymous – for the children lost in China’s 2008 earthquake |
Come, my child, hold onto Mother’s hand quickly,
The road to Paradise is too dark.
Your Mother is afraid for you to go ahead alone,
Hold my hand quickly,
Let your Mother show the way.
I am afraid, Mama – Paradise road is too dark,
I cannot see your hand.
When the walls collapsed, the sun went dark;
I will never again see your gentle eyes.
Go ahead now, my child,
The road ahead of you will not be too sad.
You will not have to read so many textbooks;
You will not have to do so much homework.
But you must always remember your Mother and Father’s faces,
So we may live together forever in the next life.
Mama, do not worry,
The road to Paradise is crowded now.
There are many classmates and friends,
And we all say, “please, don’t cry”.
We go to our Mother’s Mother;
Here every child has a Mama.
In the days without me
Please give your love to other children.
Mama, Mama, please don’t cry;
Tears cannot light the road ahead.
Let us be on our way.
I will always remember your face.
I will always remember Father’s face.
In the next life we will be together again
I promise.
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