Children's Day a grim reminder of parents' painful loss in quake
Nearly three weeks after the earthquake, parents who lost children in the collapse of the Juyuan High School are still coming to the site every day to burn paper money in tribute or simply to look at the ruins.
'Many students' parents come every day to have a look. It gives a little comfort,' said Zhang Xianqing, who lost his 14-year-old son.
The grief and anger hasn't abated, and the marking of Children's Day today will remind them of their loss. Parents from at least one of the schools affected have threatened protests, while others said they would gather on the holiday.
Despite a government pledge to investigate why thousands of school classrooms were destroyed by the earthquake, parents want fast justice as they accuse local officials of corruption and shoddy construction.
Three buildings of the Juyuan school collapsed like dominoes, witnesses said. On Friday, another body was found in the ruins, which are now dotted with funeral wreaths. 'We want an investigation and, if people are found responsible, they should be severely punished,' Mr Zhang said.
Representatives of the parents of more than 260 students killed have met education officials from Dujiangyan city , which administers the town, but have yet to receive a satisfactory answer, he said.
The government has reiterated a policy that parents who lose a child can have another, a relaxation of the 'one child' policy but, for most, it is too soon even to contemplate. 'We are still in shock,' he said.
There are indications officialdom is starting to act. On Thursday, the State Council ordered the inspection of all schools in the quake zone and said any repairs should be carried out as soon as possible. Dangerous schools were to be vacated.
A few days ago, an official of the China Earthquake Administration toured the site, tapping concrete with a hammer and examining pencil-thin reinforcement rods.
Two grieving mothers confronted him. 'Please understand that we tried. If there is a quality problem, the government will investigate,' said the official, who declined to give his name.
Lin Hao, who lost a daughter, cries as she shows the dirt still embedded under her fingernails. 'I dug her out myself. I heard her saying 'Mother, save me,'' she said. 'Officials are black-hearted.'
The parents of Juyuan aren't alone. In Hanwang town, a secondary school, mainly for children of employees of a Dongfang Auto subsidiary, crumbled and killed 230 students, a teacher said.
The parents of one student, Bian Nan, still have her pink mobile phone. Their daughter, 18, was preparing to take the university entrance examination and had plans to major in English. 'If they had rescued her within 24 hours, she would have lived,' her father said.
The Dongqi school was built in the 1970s and parents claim local officials had pledged to build a new school in 2006.
The civil affairs bureau has offered 5,000 yuan (HK$5,629) in compensation and the education bureau another 1,000 yuan. An insurance policy will pay 20,000 yuan. 'A life is worth 20,000 yuan. If they give me 200,000, I wouldn't trade it for my daughter,' her father said.
In nearby Mianzhu city, the education bureau has set up a bulletin board with photos of about 70 students from the school who haven't been identified. The bodies pictured are blackened and dusted with lime. The face of number 255 is frozen in a grimace of death.
Nearby, a mother of a dead student shouts at officials, claiming the remains weren't returned to her, but she is taken away by police. A banner reads: 'Return my son's ashes. Give me justice.'
