Remebering the lost generation

**Slingblade** · 05-19-2008, 08:29 AM

It is a terrible and horrific tragedy that has befallen China. Most may know that Chinese law only allows families to have one child. With that said. The earthquake that struck the central part of that country has razed an entire generation.

The example I found most disturbing, a family with a kindergarten age daughter had left for holiday. They left there daughter in the charge of her grandmother. When the earthquake hit the school that the girl was in simply fell directly into the basement class rooms where all the kindergarten kids were. This family will never see there child again nor there mother.

Put yourself in the position of these parents. I know that i hugged my two kids a lot this morning after that story aired.

I am unaware of any relief efforts by the U.S. other than possibly the Red Cross but if you find one please help out in any way you can.

BTW this is not intended to dismiss the equally unimaginable tragedy in Burma. Where not only have entire families have been lost, but entire villages are simply wiped out and we will probably never be able to account for all the dead.

debkeversole · 05-19-2008, 08:48 AM

my thoughts and prayers are with all the family's ...i cannot even imagine their heartbreak
thank you for posting this

**Strapped-4-Cache** · 05-19-2008, 09:10 AM

We adopted from one of the poorest areas in China (Liuzhi, Liu Pan Shui, Guizhou, just a little north and east of the epicenter), and we were surprised when we visited tha area of the questionable stability of some of the buildings in the outlying areas. The cities were better, but even in the more built-up areas we'd see buildings that made us wonder how safe they could be.

We're grateful that we got our daughter out of there before this happened. We've often wondered what happened to her parents and to those of the other adoptive children that came home with other families on that trip. We'll probably never know, but we had thought that a natural disaster may have occurred considering the number of healthy children (mostly girls, of course) that were all roughly the same age. We hope to return some day, but the quake will forever change some of the areas we visited.

I admit, though, that the Karst landscapes were beautiful.

- Mark (S-4-C)

**ouch** · 05-19-2008, 10:15 AM

I'm glad their society isn't as closed as it was back in 1976, when they had a horrifc quake.

**Aevum** · 05-19-2008, 10:17 AM

not lets see if the chinese deal with this better then the US delt with katrina,

**blade08** · 05-20-2008, 11:08 AM

I am really serious when I say cancel the Olympics and invest every penny to rescue and rebuild that part of China.

**ateace** · 05-20-2008, 12:26 PM

China and Myanmar are certainly reasons for us to count our blessings.

**steppenwolph** · 05-20-2008, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by debkeversole

my thoughts and prayers are with all the family's ...i cannot even imagine their heartbreak
thank you for posting this

+1. My daughter sits on my lap as I type this. My mind won't let me imagine her loss, and so many children were lost.

**chop-chop** · 05-20-2008, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by blade08

I am really serious when I say cancel the Olympics and invest every penny to rescue and rebuild that part of China.

Indeed, that is/was a great tragedy... heartfelt by all!

Hopefully, with the amount of revenue that an event like the Olympics brings to the countries, cities, and states where they take place will provide China with an opportunity to use the profits gained to do exactly that... rebuild.

Ciao,
chop-chop

**_JP_** · 05-20-2008, 08:32 PM

While the number of deaths is staggering, the real story has not begun to unfold yet. And that is the 5 million that are now left homeless by a single earthquake. How can any country handle that?

**spinyeel** · 05-21-2008, 01:06 AM

I wouldn't want to be a construction manager involved in some of the shoddy buildings that collapsed during this tragic event.

**thunderball** · 05-21-2008, 02:13 AM

Pretty awful stuff...on the news everyday here in Japan. It is somewhat encouraging however to see Japan really helping China out, especially considering how 'strained' China-Japan relations have always been. Earthquakes strike a certain chord here in Japan (especially after the big Kobe quake) and there have been lots of donation spots set up around Osaka anyway. People are people....