Rescue & Aid

30,000 radios are making life calmer in quake-hit area

By Zhang Jin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-22 08:01

30,000 radios are making life calmer in quake-hit area

YUSHU, Qinghai -- Sitting amid a crowd of quake-ravaged people at the Horse Racing Ground, Karma Nyinpo was busy fiddling with the radio on Tuesday.

He could not understand the English dials on the radio, but the 24-year-old refused to give up pressing every button on the machine, while his wife sat beside him, watching anxiously.

Suddenly, the radio hit the right frequency. "It's speaking!" Karma exclaimed, as the scattered crowd drew closer and started to actively listen to the Tibetan news broadcast.

Radio signals became available a day after the deadly earthquake hit Yushu county of Northwest China's Qinghai province on April 14.

But for Karma and several others, who have taken shelter at the Horse Racing Ground in western Yushu, Tuesday was the first time they heard of the quake they had recently witnessed.

With shelter and food guaranteed, survivors are now eager to get information about the quake.

"I have a lot of questions. How many people have been killed? How long will we have to live in tents?" Tsering Lhakyi, 48, asks.

"I wouldn't feel so afraid if someone would answer these questions," she said, adding: "Finally, we have the radio to give us news."

So far, 30,000 radios offered by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television have been transported to Yushu to help update the locals on the situation.

Volunteers, including some monks, are also distributing newspapers on the streets.

On Gesaer Square, where tens of hundreds of survivors have found shelter, four TV sets are broadcasting news - three in Chinese and one in the local Tibetan language.

Five hundred TV sets have been installed at temporary shelters and another 500 were sent to Yushu on Wednesday, said Gao Dawei, vice-director of Qinghai administration of radio, film and TV.

Medical workers are distributing brochures to locals at Yushu Stadium, which is also sheltering hundreds of quake victims.

"At least 20,000 brochures about ways to maintain personal hygiene, both in Chinese and Tibetan, have been handed out," said Wang Xiaoqing, vice-director of the health department of Qinghai.

The risk of a marmot plague, which can be fatal, is on the rise, Wang said.

However, some rescuers said language barriers and the high illiteracy rates in the region is hampering the flow of information.

"Many survivors don't read and don't have any knowledge of the marmot plague," said Ye Zheng, a medical worker.

"Handing out brochures is just the beginning of our work here. We have to start by giving them the basic knowledge of health and hygiene."