Witnessing the Century-Old Disaster: A Chronicle of China's International Disaster Relief Team

Author: Zhao Yahu / Zhai Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: A book that records the most severe Southeast Asian tsunami in human history on December 26, 2004. The authors are Zhao Yahu and Zhai Wei, two journalists from the People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency. They were among the earliest journalists to arrive in Banda Aceh. In the book, they document the events they experienced and witnessed during their 13 nights in Banda Aceh. The book also takes the rescue efforts of the China International Rescue Team in the disaster-stricken country as a starting point to the various difficulties faced by the survivors after the disaster. In addition to over 100,000 words, the book is accompanied by more than 200 photos taken at the disaster site, most of which were captured by the two journalists during the rescue operations. "Natural disasters like the Indonesian tsunami may be unavoidable, but we hope this book will make people reflect on how to prevent disasters from causing catastrophic damage," Zhai Wei, one of the authors, explained the motivation behind writing the book. The two young authors used passionate words and vivid images to authentically show readers the cruelty of natural disasters, revealing the shining light of human nature in the face of such disasters, and the love and hope brought to the survivors by the China International Rescue Team. A disaster of the century! On December 26, 2004, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami mercilessly struck humanity. It was a disaster that humanity will never forget. It was an indelible memory. That day, over 200,000 lives were mercilessly swept away by the waves. That day, the world was shaken. This century-old disaster also gave rise to a century-old international large-scale rescue effort. As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, this disaster "required an unprecedented global response—it was a race against time." This large-scale rescue effort reflects the indomitable spirit of human unity and mutual assistance in overcoming difficulties, and the shining light of humanitarianism. China was one of the fastest countries to send a rescue team to the disaster-stricken area. China quickly sent an international rescue team to Indonesia, a disaster assessment team and a national health rescue team to Sri Lanka, medical teams and DNA identification experts to Thailand, and recommended four disease control experts to the World Health Organization to participate in the expert team. Using their pens and cameras, Zhao Yahu and Zhai Wei, the two young journalists, have established a monument for this human disaster with this book, leaving us eternal reflection. And every time humanity reflects on nature, it triggers new progress within itself.