Ten years ago today, a two-minute long earthquake turned into hell on earth for many Taiwanese.
One hundred and thirty four children lost both their parents; the youngest was not even one year old. The Child Welfare League Foundation said that 10 years after the disaster, almost 60 percent of those children are now independent and living on their own.
Foundation president Wang Yu-min (王毓敏) said that 40 percent of the children are still in school and that three are in graduate school. Thirty-two percent have found jobs; three are teachers, one is a nurse.
Feng Yen (馮燕), chairman of the Child Welfare League Foundation, said that just like Typhoon Morakot, which hit Taiwan early last month, the 921 Earthquake created tremendous tragedy and chaos, but Taiwan managed to show its vitality and ability to rise again.
Rebuilt areas in central and southern Taiwan now show a new face, Feng said.
The 134 children who struggled in the wake of the 921 Earthquake without their parents are the precious gifts of 96 families — new sprouts growing out of the rubble, tender but strong, she said.
Among the surviving children was Lee Chin-te (李進德), who was only 17 years old back then.
He was living in a dormitory near National Nantou Senior High School in Nantou City. After the quake, he knew in his heart that his old house in Jhongliao Township (中寮), Nantou County, was in great danger.
At daybreak, a friend of his mother came to his dormitory.
The ride home was particularly long that day. While it usually took one hour from downtown Nantou to Jhongliao, as most roads and bridges were destroyed by the earthquake, they had to use detours and even changed vehicles.
“I rushed to my completely collapsed home at dawn and immediately saw my younger brother sitting by the debris. His face and thighs were still bleeding,” Lee said.
“‘Where is mom?’ I asked. [My brother] stood up and followed me to our mother’s bedroom and we started to remove all the dirt and stones and steel bars with our hands, in complete silence. We found our mother eventually — but it was too late to say goodbye,” Lee said.
Over the years, Lee and his younger brother, Lee Chun-wei (李俊緯), had a tacit agreement not to talk about the quake. When the two chatted about it recently, they were surprised how brave they were. The older Lee said that after this experience, they would never be apart.
Lee Chin-te became interested in special education and completed his higher education in six years, thanks to a sponsorship by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families.
After graduating from college, he became a teacher in special education at Pate Junior High School in Taoyuan County and was responsible for the “transition class,” which helps school dropouts develop relationships. The next year, he also began to sponsor children from disadvantaged households.
“Entering the field of special education is actually self-therapy, an attempt to make up for the incomplete love in my childhood,” he said.
Sometimes he would talk about the disaster with his students, prompting some to ask: “Teacher, are you still sad now?”
I feel increasingly better and I am capable of loving again, he replied.
“When my mom was alive, I seldom celebrated Mother’s Day with her. After she left, I often told her that I missed her dearly in my heart,” he said.
Another survivor, nicknamed Xiao Wen (小汶), said she wanted to share her experience with those who suffered similar hardship, including survivors of Morakot.
“Safety is a true blessing, so cheer up! Disasters will make you grow,” said Xiao Wen, who lost her right foot in the earthquake.
On the night the quake hit, the girl — a fifth-grader at the time — lived in Dali Township (大里), Taichung County. After the concrete building they lived in collapsed, she and her second-oldest sister were trapped for more than 10 hours.
In terrible pain, at one point the two sisters decided to end their lives by using broken glass. The scar can still be seen on her wrist.
In intensive care for almost a year, the 11-year-old remained terrified of aftershocks and learned that her parents, eldest sister and younger brother were all gone.
For a long time Xiao Wen could not stand her prosthesis. However, after some water therapy last year, she changed her mind about the artificial limb that helped her walk for all these years.
“Without it, how could I be walking?” she said.
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