Talking with a friend who had just returned from his visit to the Sichuan quake survivors as a volunteer, I asked him if the survivors were back on their feet. He said, "Not so soon!"

The three- to six-month period after a disaster is actually a high-risk time for the survivors. Since they are still emotionally unstable, the suicide rate among them is high. My friend explained that at first they were so focused on surviving that they had little time for anything else. But when the dust was settled, their pent-up emotions would begin to resurface. The absence of proper counselling could cause them to lose self-control and give up hope.

As a volunteer, my friend has met many survivors in their temporary settlement. They may appear to be normal, but if there is anything to jog their memory and remind them of the scary moments during the quake, or when they lost their loved ones, they would just break down completely. He once saw a woman survivor chatting amicably with her relatives. But at the sight of a little girl who burst out crying over missing her loved ones, the woman began to cry uncontrollably. As it turned out, her brother's son had lost his life in the quake.

The woman said that actually her brother’s family were not local residents. But her brother had asked her to take care of his son so that he could study at a local school. Who would have thought on the day of the earthquake, her nephew would be buried alive under the rubble. She just could not stop blaming herself for her nephew’s death, nor could she bring herself to face her brother. Fortunately she was willing to share her feelings with others. Otherwise, the blow would just be too much for her both mentally and psychologically.

The loss of their loved ones is a serious blow to the survivors. My friend said that the "mind re-engineering" had only just begun. As volunteers, they should be there for the survivors as their good listeners, and helped them through their misery. Such work is going to take at least a year.

"I want you to have your life back. This to me is the pledge of a lifetime." These are part of the lyrics of the disaster relief theme song. I believe helping the survivors to rebuild their homes takes time. But what is more important is for us to spend more time on their mind re-engineering. Let us hope that the people of Hong Kong will continue to support them both with money and in action, so that the survivors will soon walk out of the shadow of disaster.

By 心米也樂