‘Is any survivor here this child’s family member?’
2am, 13 May. A medical team member in Dujiangyan, “Is any survivor here this child’s family member?”
I don’t know your name
but I know you are your parents’ baby
I don’t know your age
But I know you and my child are the same age
I don’t know whether your parents are still among us
But I know you are safe in the arms of this unfamiliar Aunt
I don’t know if you’re fast asleep, or in a coma
but I know you’ve just suffered a hellish trauma
Perhaps in your dreams you are remembering your mum’s kisses so dear
Perhaps in your coma you are stroking your daddy’s beard
Perhaps you have not woken from the shock yet
Perhaps you have remained among the memory before the Quake still
Perhaps you’re still waiting for your Mum and Dad to come back
Perhaps you are waiting for when you need no more ‘perhaps’
‘Is any survivor here this child’s family member?’
This is an anxious call of searching
This is an eruption of suppressed sorrow
This is a desperate cry of a grief-stricken heart
This is a faint hope among the immense suffering
‘Is any survivor here this child’s family member?’
This call is an earthquake shaking my soul
Ripping apart every parent’s heart
Child, I beg you to wake up soon
You still have many people who care for you
We are waiting for you to come back safe
We willl see to that a bright future will come apace
Child, I beg you to wake up soon
You are Sichuan’s child
You are China’s child
You are our child, everyone of us
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