A section of the temporary housing area between Hanwang and Wudu, Sichuan Province, on May 9. [China.org.cn]

Much of the earthquake's scarring has healed since last May. Victims living in the temporary housing developments have rediscovered their optimism and they are eager to build a better tomorrow. Nevertheless, they have concerns.

On the afternoon of May 9, it drizzled as it had done for several days. As a result, paths became muddy in the world's largest temporary housing development, which shelters about 60,000 earthquake victims from Hanwang and its neighboring town Wudu, about 100 kilometers from Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

Before the light rainfall, many people were outdoors, some doing daily chores, some gathering for conversation. Kids played outside with dogs frisking around them.

In this large area of white boarded houses with blue roofs stretching for several miles, people were very keen to talk. They would invite you into their houses, which usually have a television set, items of furniture, and cooking facilities. They spoke openly, calmly, and articulately about their life-on-a-thread stories and their family losses. A year after the deadly earthquake claimed thousands of lives in Sichuan, these victims have rediscovered their optimism, and they strongly believe in a better tomorrow. Gratitude was regularly expressed towards the government and those who had helped them. They were satisfied with what they had now and energetic in moving on.

The residents believed that their living conditions would greatly improve in the future. A man named Li Chuanfu, pointing at a nearby school, said that it was great to see children had schools to go to after the devastating earthquake. Based on the limited resources available, the schools were adequate.

But it was also easy to see that they had concerns. Many said that they had no idea when they would move to permanent homes. As far as they were aware, construction of these permanent homes had not yet started. With so many people congregating in one area, and a rudimentary drainage system, hygiene has become a problem.

Mr. Li also pointed out the unequal treatment his family had received in house rebuilding subsidies. As a family of six, including a pair of infant twins, they would receive 22,000 yuan (about US$3,225) in subsidies whereas some family of three would get 26,000 yuan (about US$3,812). This sizable gap resulted from the locations where the collapsed houses stood, Mr. Li explained. With a bigger family, Mr. Li's wife said they ought to receive bigger subsidies. Asked how he was going to manage to have his house rebuilt in three years, as he had originally hoped, with such meager subsidies, Mr. Li expressed his faith in himself as well as society, saying that he would do his best with his two hands and accept help from others. He believed that the rebuilding could be achieved.

Mr. Li is a good example of the unquenchable optimism apparent in the housing development. Much of the earthquake's scarring has healed since last May. With positive attitudes and optimism in action, there will surely be a better tomorrow for the earthquake area and its victims.

Residents chatting in the temporary housing area between Hanwang and Wudu, Sichuan Province, on May 9. [China.org.cn]

Earthquake victim Li Chuanfu, is interviewed in front of his collapsed house in Hanwang, Sichuan Province, on May 9. [China.org.cn]

(China.org.cn May 11, 2009)