Rescue & Aid

Language no barrier for volunteers

By Hu Yongqi (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-26 07:07

Urgyen (left) and his classmate volunteer at a temporary clinic as translators to help Han medical staff treat Tibetans injured in the Yushu earthquake. HUO YAN/ CHINA DAILY

Actions speak louder than words for medics in the disaster zone.

Hu Yongqi in Yushu reports

Walking through the aisles of the large medical station in Yushu county, 14-year-old Urgyen stopped beside the bed of one male patient and asked: "What seems to be the trouble?"

The ethnic Tibetan boy, who was wearing a dirty brown jacket, listened patiently to the man for a few seconds then turned to the tall Han doctor next to him and announced: "His back hurts."

Urgyen has spent a lot of time in the temporary clinic since the earthquake that shook his native Yushu county almost two weeks ago.

As one of many youngsters helping to translate for Han medical staff, he has even begun to develop a fairly professional bedside manner.

Most children in Qinghai province receive bilingual education, which has proved a vital asset in this time of crisis.

Most of the emergency relief and rescue workers have arrived from other regions and cannot speak Tibetan, while the majority of residents in the remote mountainous regions cannot speak putonghua.

Although not fluent, Urgyen's language services have proved invaluable to doctors treating the survivors.

The primary school student, whose sun-tanned face is covered with scratches from when his home began to collapse around him on April 14, was sent to help out at the clinic by his mother. She suffered an injured wrist in the disaster.

At a vast resettlement site in Yushu county where 10,000 have been temporarily relocated to, China Daily reporters saw at least 50 child translators helping relief workers. Many begin at 8 am and work through until the late afternoon and early evening.

No one organizes them and the work is purely voluntary, said officials.

"We just want to help," said Dorje Tashi, a third-grade student from a nearby primary school.

"It's our tradition to help each other," added Tenpa (most Tibetans go by only one name), a medical official in neighboring Madoi county, who said Yushu has always been quick to help other areas in times of trouble.

"We have suffered many blizzards and each time people in Yushu have sent food and clothes.

"We are always grateful to them and hopefully we proved that by being the first rescue team to arrive in the region after the earthquake."

The Madoi medical team arrived just hours after the violent 7.1-magnitude tremor hit Yushu.

"All the best doctors in our county have arrived," said Tenpa. In two weeks, they have treated at least 1,800 people, while the county has donated more than 400,000 yuan ($58,000) toward the ongoing relief effort.

The biggest fear in the disaster zone is of a breakout of flu or measles, he said. "Keeping things clean in the shelter is very hard. Even hand washing is rare because of the lack of water. Our team is spraying disinfectant and we hope that will work."

Meng Fanxing, a 37-year-old doctor helping to treat survivors in Yushu, said he has never seen such devastation during his 18-year career.

"There is heavy trauma everywhere. We try to help those with mild injuries on the spot but we've had to send at least 40 patients in serious condition to hospitals outside the disaster zone," he said.

After driving for 13 hours with his medical team to reach the temporary resettlement camp, Tian Jiancan said he immediately found a 40-year-old who had broken ribs and a punctured lung after being trapped in a toppled house.

The injuries were so severe, Tian had to perform surgery on the man in his emergency medical van.

"If we had been one hour later, he would probably be dead," said the director of a hospital near Yushu. "It's good to see him out of danger now."

Tian's medical team has since treated more than 3,200 people, including a 15-day-old baby with an upper respiratory tract infection and a 105-year-old man.

The Yushu shelter is on a piece of bare land where strong winds lift up clouds of dust and sand.

Tian's team pitched 12 tents in a U-shaped formation to withstand the wind, with patients protected in the center.

One patient getting treatment was Ngachen, 42, who received fluid infusion for pneumonia. He said that although most doctors cannot speak Tibetan, they have shown they care through their actions.

Peng Yining contributed to this story.

(China Daily 04/26/2010 page4)