ChinainAfrica

Dearest Readers:

I have arrived at that point in the academic year in which life becomes a monotonous routine of living in libraries, consuming amounts of coffee that likely exceed those recommended by the Surgeon General, and falling asleep in random places; this, to compensate for not sleeping proper amounts in an actual bed. Yes, dearest Readers, examination season is upon us.

In preparation for my final examinations - at the end of which I hope to officially claim my MPhil - ChinainAfrica will be on ‘academic leave’ until after 11 June. Please excuse my absence and do join me again on the other side of things. 

Until then,

Several days ago I received the following letter from a friend of mine - a South African presently residing in Beijing. I cannot help but share it with you as it beautifully expresses much of my sentiments towards the present state of our world. Please, do read on…. 

Dear Friends,

I hope you’re all well.

Wow, isn’t this a crazy world! First the cyclone in Myanmar, and now the earthquake in China. I will be totally honest that when I first heard about the disaster in Myanmar, it felt like just another disaster in another far off country. Sitting here in Beijing, I just couldn’t relate. Even when the numbers of dead started rising, it was the stubborn political games of the military junta that got my bloody boiling more than the human catastrophe and countless individual tragedies. It seems like these major disasters only really affect us when they happen close to home, when people that we know are amongst the dead.

And then came the earthquake.

I felt a little wobble here in Beijing and was thrilled at the excitement of people evacuating buildings and waiting outside in the streets for aftershocks. My first earthquake! And then the reports started coming in. The first we heard was that 100 people had died in a village somewhere in South China - sorry but that happens almost every day around here. And so I went on with my daily chores like nothing had happened. Then slowly it dawned on us that this was a big one. Almost everyone in China seems to have family living in Sichuan province, where the quake struck. On campus, my fellow students were frantically trying to hear news from loved ones, but the lines were all down. A fellow South African student, David Daw, is living down there and is now sleeping outside in the rain as no-one is allowed back into the buildings.

Its also strange how we can let political anger or simple prejudice dominate the human catastrophe. Like my not feeling the Myanmar disaster, but fuming at the stubborn Myanmar leaders. And I suppose out there are many people in the world who are very pissed off at all things Chinese right now, considering all the emotions around China’s involvement in Sudan and Tibet, and the arrogance of China’s leaders in their reaction to recent criticisms and the Olympic Flame demonstrations. In South Africa, people are angry about what China is not doing to stop Mugabe. I am also very angry about these issues and looking for someone to blame. And I am angry about the South African government’s apparent lack of influence on Zimbabwe and Myanmar. But this earthquake reminds us that we cant be angry at others just because we disagree with their government’s policy decisions. I know a number of my friends who were getting very angry with me about just being in Beijing, as if me and all the billions of other Chinese support everything that the Chinese Government does. As if you in South Africa support everything our Government doesn’t do. We have to be careful who we lay the blame on.

Last week, I wanted to write a short note to ask you to support a fund-raising initiative for a NGO that helps educate poor Chinese migrant children about HIV/AIDS. But I didn’t get around to it because I made ‘other very important things’ to do first. I was hesitant to ask my friends to support me again, considering your more pressing concerns: inflation, interest rates, petrol price, economy not looking so good, share portfolio taking a dive, food prices, plenty better causes closer to home, people with HIV/AIDS in SA needing more help then the Chinese patients, China causing trouble in Sudan/Zimbabwe/Tibet etc., if China can host the Olympics in such extravagance then it doesn’t need my help in looking after its own people,
too many Chinese anyway, they eat dogs, Chinese goods are crap quality. And some of your probably have more radical issues with supporting anything Chinese right now. I understand all these concerns 100% and so I also totally understand if you think this is a great cause but you are not in a position to help out this time. But now after the earthquake, I just felt so crippled by helplessness and ashamed at by blasé first impressions of another random disaster in South China that I feel that I need to write this long letter.

We are trying to raise some support and awareness by running the Great Wall Marathon on Saturday, 17 May. All 42.2km, 3700 odd steps, and SEVEN hours (the time it took for last year’s battle with the wall). The NGO is called Prevention Through Education (PTE). PTE is a nonprofit organisation working on the development of HIV/AIDS education programs for Chinese migrant schools. As China causes go, it’s a great one - you would be surprised by the disaster facing the world if the authorities here continue denying the coming HIV/AIDS crisis in China. For more info on HIV/AIDS in China and how to support us, please visit: www.pte-china.org/marathon/. Thanks.

As a friend said yesterday: we can’t do much about preventing earthquakes, but perhaps we can do something about preventing HIV/AIDS deaths by teaching children about the issues when their government is proudly in denial about the problem. This probably rings bells in South Africa as well. 

Please don’t feel obliged to donate anything to PTE. While it’s a great cause, if this letter spurs you to get involved in raising support for Myanmar or China’s earthquake victims or a worthy cause closer to home, then that is great as well. After this earthquake hit home, I realized that I was originally going to run this marathon for my own selfish ego - so that I could later show-off that I finished a really tough marathon on the Great Wall of China. This earthquake disaster has now reminded me that, even though I am not in South China helping to save people from the rubble, perhaps I can indirectly help to prevent another disaster.

And just for the record, we ran the Great Wall Marathon last year with a big South African flag so that everyone who raced and watched on TV now knows what a beautiful flag South Africa has. PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICA! See the pic attached. www.great-wall-marathon.com/

Let’s hope they can save more people from the rubble, and that the survivors in Myanmar get help soon. And. And. And. Sometimes this world is great and sometimes its pretty awful.