The Sichuan earthquake is the biggest disaster for the world’s children in seven years, an international charity organisation said yesterday, as the overall death toll jumped above 51 000, with 29 000 more still missing.
Save the Children said three million babies, infants and teenagers were among the worst affected by the magnitude eight quake that struck the south-western Chinese province on May 12. More than 10 000 were killed when their schools collapsed or were buried beneath landslides and at least 4 727 others were orphaned. Millions more have lost their family’s home or been unable to go to school.
”Three million children have been forced to leave their homes, many of who have been separated from their parents and carers,” said Wyndham James, China country director for Save the Children. ”We worry that with the efficiency of the government’s rescue operation the public may not recognise the sheer scale and long-term effects of the disaster.”
The charity, which has raised its appeal from $1-million to $5-million, said the impact on children was the worst since the Gujarat earthquake of 2001.
Amid a national outpouring of grief and sympathy in China, many people have offered to adopt quake orphans. Ji Li, an academic at Wuhan University, filled in an online application to become a foster parent on a discussion forum. ”I hadn’t thought about adopting a child before,” she said, after filling out her details, ”but maybe I can help someone.”
She and other volunteer foster parents expect to wait at least a month for an answer. The government has urged patience, saying it must first check whether children have surviving relatives — a difficult process, given the devastation and disruption of communications. ”Only when the government is sure of their identities and that they have no relatives will they be put up for adoption,” Li Bo, deputy chief at the ministry of civil affairs, told domestic reporters.
In the short term the government’s priority is shelter for the homeless.
”We need more than 3,3-million tents,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang, renewing an international appeal from the Chinese government. He added that 400 000 tents had already been delivered to desperate quake victims.
With three days of mourning over and no discoveries of survivors for more than 24 hours, the focus is switching to reconstruction. The government has earmarked 70-billion yuan for the operation, which will start with the erection of a million temporary houses for refugees.
In the longer term the worst-hit towns, such as Beichuan, will be rebuilt from scratch in a new, safer location. – guardian.co.uk Â