We will not be defeated

Life is unpredictable as it is and when disaster strikes, it once again reminded us how helpless we can be at times. Not only do I feel helpless for the victims and families of the Sichuan earthquake, but also helpless myself for not being able to do more than just pledging a donation.

I stood on the 28th floor looking far out into the city of Tokyo, a place also troubled by risk of earthequakes. All the high and low buildings and lights released from their windows made the city skylight a unique one; neon signboards, headlights of cars caught in heavy traffic... the whole city was glowing brightly.



Imagine that within seconds, all these turn into rubbles and darkness befalls, when the land beneath is torn apart. Haruki Murakami wrote in one of his books published after the Kobe earthquake in 1995: "I had a nightmare that I was trapped in a refrigerator. I could see faint light seeping through the gaps and the air inside gets thinner and thinner until there was no more, until I could see no light...".

Maybe we will never know how it feels to be buried under rubbles, struggling with one's last breath to keep alive while hopes are vanishing.... but I am sure we can relate to the feeling of being trapped in a refrigerator and the air gets thinner and light slowly fade away. I saw video clips of lifeless bodies with twisted limbs being carried out from the rubbles... gosh how do I imagine the devastation at the scene of the disaster?

"Children died while napping in schools"; "British tourists escaped with helicopter"... how these 2 headline news read in contrast with each other. Life always seems to be harder on the weaker ones. Though it is hard to stay high-spirited in times like these, I believe the Chinese will prove to the world that they are no weak nation. Together, they will stand strong and surive this crisis.



As for me, though I don't share the same land, don't share the same nationality, I share the same blood and the same pain. Though there is little I can do, I will still do what I can. So will you.