As laborers in Taiwan celebrated the Labor Day holiday yesterday, about 100 victims of last year's 921 earthquake gathered at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei to air their grievances over the loss of loved ones and appeal to the new government to keep its promise of assistance.
"We hope the new government will learn from the mistakes made by the old government, realize its promise of political and social reforms, and offer substantial assistance to the survivors to help them get back on their feet as soon as possible," said Chen Hui-tze (陳惠澤), chairman of the 921 Earthquake Victims Alliance.
Yesterday's march, dubbed the "worship of deceased workers," marked the second of its kind staged by the Alliance. About 100 relatives of victims from Taichung, Nantou, Miaoli, and Taipei regions started the march at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and then proceeded to the nearby KMT headquarters, where they chanted and sang in remembrance of the deceased.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
They also made an announcement reminding the new government of its pledge to survivors.
"The purpose of the worship is not only to grieve over the deceased, but also to give the survivors a chance to learn from the tragedy and to help them entertain new hopes for their future," Chen said.
On Dec. 29, 1999 -- exactly 100 days after the earthquake -- nearly 1,000 members of the alliance staged their first demonstration in the Po-Ai district to protest against what they said was the continued suffering for 100 days since the tragedy struck.
In the leadup to the March 18 presidential election, nearly 2,000 victims of the 921 earthquake marched across Taipei city to appeal to the three major presidential candidates.
Lee Yuan-chih (李元基), a campaign official for Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), accepted a petition and promised the group that if elected, Chen would strive to carry out the five demands made by the group.
The demands are: the government should work as a claim-settling agent; it should take up the burden of victims' housing loans; it should help claim indemnity from building developers; civilian relief should be used solely for reconstruction, not for political reasons; and quake-related judicial cases should be taken to trial immediately.
Now, over seven months after the earthquake, victims said their lives have not gotten any better. Wei Chun-ling (
"Our residence was on the 12th floor of the 14-story building, which was the only one in the complex that collapsed during the quake. Twelve other residents were not so lucky," she said.
After the earthquake, Wei said she, with her husband and three children, stayed in a tent for half a month and later rented an apartment for two months. They have been living in a 100-household prefabricated housing complex since December.
Even though the accommodation was free, she said life continues to be hard because Wei's husband lost his job when his company was shut down after the earthquake.
"It's tough to feed five people with my NT$25,000 monthly salary," she said.
Thirty-five-year-old Hsu Su-fen (
Hsu said that inspections showed that the contractor jerry-built the building, but neither the contractor nor the government has offered any compensation.
"We're very disappointed with them," she said. "It's been seven months and I still don't see anything substantial done for us."
For the time being, Hsu, now seven months' pregnant, and her family, are living with their in-laws. Although they could probably get by with both of their incomes, Hsu said uncertainty about the future is something that really upsets them.
"We don't know when we'll be able to move back to our own house and we worry that we may lose our jobs at anytime," she said.
Chen Su-chin (
"I still have a hard time going back to the house to pick up my stuff, and I feel sick to my stomach whenever I see anything related to the disaster," she said.
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