Blog entries

• Previous |
• Next |
• All

• Before you judge....
  ( 繁 | 简 )

  Friday, May 23, 2008 2:14PM / Standard Entry / Members only
  184 comments

  
  It is very easy in this difficult time of sadness to produce angry, self-righteous assumptions about what other people are and aren't doing to help in the earthquake relief. I think instead of wasting time and energy assuming that people aren't doing anything, maybe that energy should be focused on looking for other ways to help. Let's be constructive in this time of disaster instead of counter productive. I also must remind you that this blog is but a tiny tiny sliver of what I am doing in my life. Rest assured I am doing my part to help.
  I have been in China since the 13th of May. Although I was far from the quake's epicenter(Beijing and Xian) I can see that the whole nation has come together to support those affected and I was deeply moved. I am so proud that the nation has come together in this time of adversity to fight to help their fellow man. For three days at 2:28pm, we observed three minutes of respect for the victims. Normally I would say "observed a moment of silence", but it was anything but that. For three minutes all cars and people stopped but horns and sirens were blasting throughout, maybe in an effort to give hope to those still trapped and let them know they are not alone. I won't be telling you to donate money because you all should have already done that already. You shouldn't need a "star" telling you to help your fellow man, the images of destruction that you all must have seen in the news should have already pushed you to help. 
  I am personally frustrated because I have been trying to find a way to help, other than by just donating money. I'm still looking into ways for me to actually go into Sichuan and help and by help I mean go in to doing real relief work. So far all my inquiries have been unfruitful. Organizations like the Red Cross and UNICEF have told me it's still too dangerous to allow me to go. I understand it's a liability to have celebrities in these danger zones but it is so frustrating to want to help and be turned away. I also don't want to do superficial help either. I have good building skills and know how to use some heavy machinery so I know I won't be one of those celebrity volunteers that needs to be looked after. It's difficult because I do not have an organization to help get me in there like Jet or Jackie but it looks like the solution will be to join their team to help. Again if anyone knows of any other organizations accepting able bodied volunteers please let me know.
  The healing process will be very long. It is not something that can be taken care of with just one donation or a few days of attention. The victims can and will be scared for life, rebuilding efforts will take years. It is important that effects of this tragedy be vigilantly monitored and most importantly not forgotten.