Chong Yiu-wo, 54, was very worried when his wife caught a train to a small town in the quake area to check whether her parents were still alive.
My mother-in-law and father-in-law, who are in their 70s, live in a small town near Mianyang . The town is only about 60km from Mianyang, one of the areas badly damaged by the devastating Sichuan earthquake. My wife and I could not believe what we saw when we watched television news. We just could not sleep for the first three days, as I could not establish contact with my mother-in-law and father-in-law. My wife bought a train ticket and went back home to visit her parents, as there was no way for us to find out if they were still alive or injured or if anything terrible had happened to them.
My wife felt very upset and decided to go to visit her parents instead of waiting for news in Hong Kong. It took her three days to get back home, as railways were damaged by the quake and trains had to take a longer route to Sichuan. I could not sleep after my wife boarded the train in Hong Kong, as I heard no news for three days. I could only relax a bit after getting a call from my wife telling me she was safe.
Fortunately, my mother-in-law and father-in-law are also safe and sound. They were not injured. But their house was demolished by the quake. They feel quite upset about that, as they had lived in that old house all their lives. I don't think they will move to a safer area and they still prefer living in the small town. Old people are very attached to where they have lived for so many years.
My wife's siblings all work in Zhejiang province and only my mother-in-law and father-in-law still live in Sichuan.
Since the town where they live is not badly damaged, no soldiers have been sent to the area yet. Many houses have been flattened there, but villagers know well that the government has already done a lot to help victims and many soldiers have worked very hard to help them. So, the villagers of the small town are not feeling upset or angry. They will just try to rebuild their homes themselves.
I feel very sad and heartbroken about what has happened to Sichuan. I go there with my wife every year for the Lunar New Year holiday.
