This is a tear-rendering story and also a paean of the friendship between China and Israel.
Recently, this reporter met two Israeli officials in Chengdu, capital of quake-ravaged Sichuan province, while covering rescue and relief missions in quake-hit areas. Israel's ambassador to China, Amos Nadai, and press officer for the Israeli embassy in Beijing, Guy Kivetz, told me a story about how two Israeli exchange students were found stranded in rubble and had successfully escaped from death.
Trapped in danger
Guy Kivetz said that immediately following the massive earthquake that shattered Southwest China on May 12, the Israeli embassy in China launched a contingency plan. There was still no word from 15 Israelis in China, among whom the two Israeli exchange students aroused the most concern from the embassy, as the two girls were traveling close to the epicenter when the quake struck.
Anat Bilu (L2), Ma'ayan Segev (L3), Jiang Wei (R3) and Jiang's uncle (R2)Ma'ayan Segev and Anat Bilu, in their 20s, were studying Chinese medicine in Chengdu through an exchange program with Israel's Reidman College of Complementary Medicine. They intended to visit some nearby tourist attractions before finishing their 3-month program in Sichuan. When they were on a sightseeing tour to Longxi-Hongkou National Nature Reserve near Dujiangyan – one of the hardest-hit areas in Sichuan's massive earthquake – the disaster suddenly descended upon them and they had since been reported missing.
Due to the lack of communication, both their relatives at home and the Israeli embassy in China completely lost track of them. For two days during the aftermath of the devastating quake, the embassy had no information about the students' whereabouts, Kivetz said, and they had to seek help from a Sichuan businessman, Zhang Guozhi, who has been dealing with Israeli businesses for years. Meanwhile, a rescue team sent by the Israeli embassy in China flew to Chengdu on the first flight resumed after the quake. Upon their arrival at Chengdu airport, they were informed that the two girls, only slightly injured, had been found and sent back to Chengdu with the help of Mr. Zhang, his colleagues and two other Israeli overseas students.
Segev and Bilu, after being rescued, recalled that "we were having lunch at a local inn at 2:28pm when it happened. We were so relaxed that we kicked off our shoes and enjoyed a nice meal. All of a sudden, we felt the earth shaking. When we realized what was happening, which could have been a few seconds later, we began to run. Then, the house suddenly collapsed and we were knocked down and trapped under debris."
Kind help from the local peopleAnat Bilu described to the rescue team what followed after they were buried beneath rubble, saying she was moved to tears by the risk locals took to dig up the two foreign girls from the debris, and went through great trouble to find their belongings in the rubble.
A young man tore up his shirt to bandage and support Segev's injured jaw. One of Bilu's hands had been slightly injured by a crashing object. "The local peasant farmers took care of us even if their own houses had been flattened and had almost nothing left. They let us sleep in their makeshift tents for the night; offered us their limited supplies of food and drinking water; and constantly consoled us. It was with their help that we made it through those two incredibly difficult days," said Bilu.
She continued: "On May 14, two days after we were rescued by the local farmers, we trekked through the damaged areas to Dujiangyan. We heard that the only road to the city had been blocked by landslides; and we were worried about our injuries, which could worsen with time and a lack of timely medical care.
We started our long and arduous journey to Dujiangyan City. A young man named Jiang Wei and his uncle supported Ma'ayan on her arms along the way for six hours before we came across Mr. Zhang's colleagues and two of our classmates, who had retraced the route we came by to locate us. We could not have made it without the help of those friendly and helpful Chinese people we met en route.'
The two girls received immediate medical attention upon arrival at the Huaxi Hospital in Chengdu. The hospital authorities decided to carry out a conservative and time-consuming therapy for Segev in an effort to minimize the effects of injuries on the young girl's face. The operation on her jaw, as a result, lasted 6 hours and the result proved satisfactory.
Ma'ayan Segev and Anat Bilu were discharged and returned home on May 17 and 18 respectively. However, whatever they had experienced in the Sichuan quake will remain vivid in their memories; and they said that they will always cherish the warmth they felt in disaster. They will always be grateful to the generous help offered by the local Chinese while fighting disaster.
Rise to fameThe wide media coverage of the two girls who narrowly escaped death in the powerful, 8.0-magnitude earthquake has made them legendary figures throughout Israel. As the press officer, Guy Kivetz was bombarded with interviews when the story was aired. As a result, he has become a major public figure in the country, the ambassador Amos Nadai said, half-jokingly.
The story of ordinary Chinese offering help to the foreign girls trapped in danger, even amidst personal hardships and in a life-or-death struggle against disaster, greatly impressed the Israeli public; and the great compassion displayed by the Chinese people in deadly calamities is much admired in Israel. Many Israelis have offered to make donations to China's affected population; and the Israeli government has vowed to make more contributions to the relief work and reconstruction program in the disaster-stricken areas, said the ambassador.
By People's Daily Reporter Chen Yiming
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