Fri, Oct 01, 1999 page2

• `It's a heartbreaking place'

  LIFE NEAR THE EPICENTER Chungliao township may never be the same after the 921 earthquake. Some have vowed to rebuild their home town, but others have said the memories of the tragedy will be too powerful

  • By Oliver Lin / STAFF REPORTER IN NANTOU COUNTY
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  "Our roots are here, and we'll definitely come back," said Ms Hsieh as she and her family removed closets, desks, chairs and pictures from their flattened home in Chungliao.

  But for now, she and her family have decided to pack what is left of their belongings and move to a relative's home in Miaoli.

  Ten days after the 921 quake, residents of this hardest-hit area in Nantou County are beginning to pick up the pieces.

  

  A child sits on a swing yesterday in a playground near the refugee center in Chungliao township's Yungping village.

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  The Hsieh's home collapsed when the second floor crushed their first floor flat. It lies opposite an equally ruined primary school on Chungliao's leveled main street.

  Many residents like the Hsiehs, however, are standing resolute in the face of catastrophe.

  Hsieh, who is in her early 20s, was working away from home when the quake hit.

  Her mother, who was sleeping on the second floor when the tremors began, narrowly escaped being crushed by a toppling brick wall in her bedroom.

  Too shocked to move or answer her neighbors' calls, she was saved when her neighbor Chung Jen-yi (鍾仁儀) ventured into the house and led her out.

  Although the Hsiehs will live with their relatives for the meantime, Chungliao, for them, is still home.

  "If we are allowed by the government to rebuild our house here, we'll certainly do that," said Mrs. Hsieh, who repeatedly thanked Chung for saving her life and helping her overcome her shock.

  Some were less fortunate than the Hsiehs, but they held the same hope of rebuilding their houses.

  At the entrance of the town-ship, a pair of brothers surnamed Chung sat in front of two refrigerator boxes.

  Inside the boxes were the bodies of their parents.

  The Chungs' father was killed in the first quake, which shattered their brick house. Their mother died later in hospital.

  The Chung brothers both work in Taichung and were spared from the deadly tremor.

  "We have jobs in other places and we won't live here on a regular basis," the older Chung said.

  "But when we have loans from the government for reconstruction, we will rebuild our house and come back to live here when we're not working."

  "This is our home town after all," he said. "Our relatives and friends are still here."

  "We will come back in our spare time to take care of our parent's fruit garden," the younger Chung said.

  Many young residents may leave forever now that their parents are gone, said the older Chung.

  "It will be very difficult for the township to recover from the quake," he said.

  Mr Chang is living proof.

  Early yesterday morning he was at the county morgue keeping vigil for his father who was buried when his house collapsed. Chang, who works in Taipei as a contractor for interior decorators, said he is very reluctant to live in the place where his father and so many others have died.

  "It's a heartbreaking place," he said.

  But his brothers who are farmers in Chungliao will go on living there. The land which they rely on for a living is unmovable, he said.
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