Spotlight: Nepal rescue efforts highlight belief in community of human destiny

The international community has offered Nepal enormous emergency rescue services and aid over the past two weeks since a devastating quake ripped through the mountainous country on April 25, highlighting the great idea of "community of human destiny."

HUGE LOSSES OF LIFE AND PROPERTY

By Friday, according to official statistics, the 7.9-magnitude earthquake had killed about 8,000 people and injured more than 17,000 others. The quake also ruined hundreds of thousands of buildings in the country, causing heavy property damage worth billions of U.S. dollars.

Among over 400,000 buildings that collapsed in the quake, at least 14 historic structures were destroyed or severely damaged, with 12 on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The damaged buildings mostly lie in the worst-hit Kathmandu Valley, which includes seven locations of historic monuments and buildings: the Durbar Squares (meaning royal palace squares) of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, two Buddhist centers and two Hindu centers.

The massive quake flattened at least 90 percent of public squares, Buddhist stupas and Hindu temples in the valley, the state-run Nepal TV reported.

"I cannot express the sadness of loss in words. Various cultural heritages were destroyed, causing a great loss to civilization," said Bhesh Narayan Dahal, director general of the Department of Archeology in the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

"This devastating earthquake really has the extensive impact on the cultural heritages, particularly in the Kathmandu valley. The Kathmandu valley is composed of seven ancient relic groups, three durbar squares, namely Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square and the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. They have been all severely affected, some of those temples and historical buildings have been completely collapsed," Jing Feng, chief of Asia and the Pacific Section of World Heritage Center in UNESCO, told Xinhua.

The earthquake triggered many deep cracks in the soil at many sites. "As soon as the rainy season comes, water could flow into the heavily damaged Swayambhunath which is located on high ground and landslides may occur," UNESCO Representative to Nepal Christian Manhart said in an interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the quake also paralyzed most roads, hospitals and medical services in affected areas, leaving many wounded people unattended in hard-accessed mountains.

CHINA'S RESCUE EFFORTS AND AID PRAISED

Since the massive earthquake took place, China has dispatched five rescue, medical and epidemic prevention teams, and more than 1,000 military personnel and armed police to help Nepal with disaster relief, which is the biggest humanitarian mission the Chinese military has ever participated overseas. Some of them are still working in the worst-hit areas.

A 62-member China International Search & Rescue Team arrived in Nepal on the afternoon of April 26, one day after the earthquake. It became the first foreign team to save a survivor in the quake field. During their stay in Nepal, they rescued two survivors from the rubble, treated more than 2,700 victims, and cleared about 430 buildings.

China has also rushed to the country over 500 tonnes of relief supplies worth a total of 60 million yuan, or about 9.7 million U.S. dollars, pledging that it will offer more assistance to Nepal and help with reconstruction.

Meanwhile, the Chinese medical and aid teams, already permanently deployed in Nepal before the quake, and dozens of Chinese volunteer teams have extended timely and intensive rescue services and aid to the Nepalese people.

China's all-round aid and support for Nepal have won broad applause and respect from the international community, the Nepalese government and people.

Thanking China for its immediate help, Nepal ambassador to China Mahesh Kumar Maskey told media: "A friend in need is a friend indeed, and China is such a true friend of Nepal."

"In terms of public health support, I would like to thank China in this emergency for cooperation with the WHO and Nepal government," said Roderico Ofrin, the WHO's Emergency Health Response Manger in Nepal.

"I was buried under the rubble when my house caved in. I'm wounded in the leg. Many people in my village were killed but luckily I survived. The Chinese doctors take good care of me and give me lots of attention that I had never experienced before," said Ten Chhemle Karki, a 71-year-old Nepalese quake survivor.

"The Nepalese Army is grateful to the People's Republic of China and especially the People's Liberation Army who acted very promptly ... We got all sort of disaster aid including rescue, medical and anti-epidemic elements. We have moved to the rebuilding phase, and the PLA has rebuilt a 36 km road in our border. China is really a true friend of Nepal," said Nepal's Chief of the Army Staff Gaurav Rana.

DEMONSTRATION OF COMMUNITY OF HUMAN DESTINY

Together with Chinese colleagues, a lot of other foreign rescuers, including Poland's national fire brigade, Bangladeshi troops, Pakistani military servicemen, the Canadian Red Cross medical team as well as Indian and Danish rescuers have also provided great help and assistance to the Nepalese people.

During hard struggles for salvage and life-saving, the Chinese and other foreign rescue teams have worked together closely and made concerted aid efforts effectively, showing a high spirit of humanitarianism, solidarity and cooperation, and winning appreciation and praise from across the world.

China's aid efforts in the quake-hit Nepal are an important diplomatic practice of building a community of human destiny among neighboring countries, said Chinese ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai on Friday.

"Nepal and China are friendly neighbors who have consistently supported and helped each other, thus setting a good example for equal relations between countries," Wu said.

During their rescue operations, the Chinese teams have shown respect to the sovereignty, traditions and customs of Nepal, and have cooperated and coordinated well with their Nepalese and other foreign counterparts in relief efforts, demonstrating that they are highly disciplined and well-trained, he added.

The Chinese government and people responded immediately by lending a hand to support Nepal in overcoming the hard time and the post-quake reconstruction, showing that China and neighboring countries unite as a community of destiny, helping each other and sharing weal and woe, the ambassador stressed. Endi