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Dumpling Sister's Thoughts
10.28.2007 Evacuation (Chinese Version)
I come across
an article from CNN, "what to save from a fire?" inspired
from the California wild fire. Naturally I am curious so I
click to the link to read it. The person who writes it is a
reporter who often writes about disaster events, so he has
interviewed several Katrina victims, and some say they
packed their grandfather's military uniform, some packed a
nice bottle of wine, and some packed PS2. According to the
article, one should pack a portable TV. That makes sense
since news would be readily available and it serves to kill
time. If it were me, I would definitely pack cash. But
really, if there was only ten minutes to pack, who would
really know what to include and what to leave behind? The
final suggestion from the article is to update the must-pack
list annually and suggested that it could be an interesting
exercise to the self.
When the police offer knocks on the front door and says there is only ten minutes to evacuate and leave home, that emotional stress, that hasty footsteps, with the children sounding asleep and the elderly not so sharp in moving, in less than a quarter of an hour, how would one react?
How to evacuate? I am grateful that is something has never come up in my life. I think of how many wars and how many evacuation stories behind those wars. I also think of how many dark nights and how many hungry ones as a result of those wars.
I often hear my grandma tells us stories about how during her younger years, she had to evacuate with others to the safety underground hole. The time was when Taiwan was fighting against the Japanese and she would rush to find the children. She is not a good story teller, so often it would end here. However, I still remember the look on her face when she finishes her sentence, the look that includes scare, and the silence that crosses time and yields in long sighs.
People are still here, the war has ended, with how many evacuees who never return home?
Until now, the
(new) war is still going on, how many times the history has
repeated itself with bitterness for the mankind?
Maybe one day I will think about what to pack when in a time
to evacuate, but more importantly, I am grateful for this is
only hypothetical for me, only thankful.
I remember reading an article earlier the day about the
firefighters involved in rescuing the California wild fire
are mostly exhausted, some on average have not slept in
forty hours and some got interviewed said they are not sure
when they can get a rest. A time like this is tough on the
refugees, but it is even so on the rescuers, which is marked
by their hard-earned respect from others.