Citizens and tourists mourn during a silent tribute in Tian'anmen square in central Beijing, capital of China, May 19, 2008. China began on May 19 a three-day mourning for the victims of the 8.0-magnitude quake hitting southwest and northwest China on May 12. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, May 21 -- Like precious white flowers of mourning, tales of overwhelming valor and sacrifice are sprouting from the Sichuan earthquake rubble. They are twining around our hearts and binding us together as a nation.

    In this time of unbearable grief, groups of young Chinese are doing their bit to deliver to the world stories of Sichuan earthquake heroism, writes Yao Minji.

    Millions of Chinese have wept since the massive earthquake hit Sichuan Province at 2:28pm 10 days ago. We have grieved for the dead and been touched by the living. We have been left in awe of the strength of survivors and moved by the efforts of rescuers who keep fighting to save one just more life.

    And we have mourned for all the fathers, mothers and teachers who sacrificed themselves to save children.

    Public security officer Li Guolin saved more than 30 lives at Beichuan Middle School where his 15-year-old son Li Wangziguo was a student. But his son had stopped breathing forever when he was finally found last Wednesday.

    A young mother was found dead, kneeling but holding her off the ground. Sheltered beneath her torso, rescuers found her 4-month-old baby - alive.

    A text message was found on the woman's cell phone wrapped in the baby's blanket: "My dear baby, if you can survive, do remember that I loved you."

    Thousands of such touching stories have appeared in Chinese newspapers, online forums and personal blogs in the past week. And now, groups of bilingual Chinese youth, many of them overseas students and young workers, have been inspired to share with the world these stories of the indomitable human spirit.

    "It is understandable that foreign media don't have as much coverage on the earthquake as Chinese media do, but such stories are worth passing on to everyone, regardless of their nationalities, races or religions," says Lynn Wang, a Beijing native studying in Canada.

    Touched by stories on various online forums, Wang felt helpless on the other side of the ocean. So, in addition to making a donation to the Red Cross earthquake relief fund, she has begun translating and posting many stories and photos on her school's forum as well as her own blog.

    She has also asked friends to help her translate and forward more stories on commonly visited English Websites such as Facebook and Xanga. She wants to show her foreign friends "how respectable and touching normal Chinese are - both survivors and rescuers. We are correcting all the misunderstandings from the past with these actions."

    "I know that people might doubt some of those stories posted on Chinese forums, which is understandable. So I noted that stories were translated from personal postings on Chinese forums.

    "At this point, I'm willing to and choose to trust in people. I want to believe and I'm proud that such heartbreaking and poignant incidents have been recorded."

    Wang is just one among hundreds of young Chinese doing the same thing. Many have translated and posted stories on their blogs, others have volunteered to form more organized teams to post stories on more widely read Websites.

    One of the most organized groups are volunteers from www.sichuan-earthquake.org. The group was formed by Chinese volunteers from all over the world shortly after someone proposed the idea in a post titled: "Let the World be Touched by China."

    The organizer says in the post that she wanted more people know about the earthquake aftermath "beyond the death toll and financial damage." She felt many of her foreign friends were only seeing "lifeless" numbers.

    In order for foreign friends to grasp the magnitude of the quake, and to understand more about the tragedy, the post asked for assistance in searching for, translating and posting moving stories on commonly visited forums as well as the readers' comments sections on foreign media sites, such as CNN and BBC.　

    The post was met with many rapid responses and the volunteers were soon separated into three teams. The first searching for stories online, the second translating and polishing the stories and the third posting them on the Internet.

    Similar to Wang, the volunteers with distinct time gaps have translated many minor stories not published by the mass media.

    By last Sunday night, more than 20 volunteers had translated more than 30 stories into English, French and Japanese. On Monday, they launched their Website where all translated stories are now posted.

    The simple Website might look plain at first glance, but all stories are chosen and translated with the sincerest of intentions.

    As of late yesterday, more than 3,200 visitors had viewed more than 46 translated articles and poems on the Website.

    On the site the volunteers say: "We hope you respond in some way. It may be humanitarian aid, or letting your friends and family know about these stories, or simply by just appreciating loved ones and letting them know you care."

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)

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