Gansu Earthquake: Efforts underway to restore badly damaged village Chenjia
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A week after the earthquake in northwest China's Gansu Province, government and volunteer groups are helping to restore the badly hit village of Chenjia. Lu Sirui speaks to some of the locals impacted by the devastation, and discovers how they are rebuilding their lives. 

LU SIRUI, Chenjia, Jishishan County, Gansu Province "Chenjia Village is one of the worst hit region in Jishishan County. The earthquake caught people off-guard during the midnight of Dec. 18th, and has tear down or even flattened the houses of the 2000 residents here."

Adobe houses are common in the villages of Northeastern China. But the memory of the earthquake that struck here is still fresh in Ma Gahu's mind. The happy memories he shared with his family are now replaced with flashbacks from that horrible night.

MA GAHU, Villager, Chenjia Village "I was so scared."

"I carried my grandson and put him here. And then I came back to get my wife who'd already fallen because things had collapsed onto her."

Ma Heimai is hardly able to recognize his home. The door to his bedroom can no longer be opened. And the electricity to his home remains cut off. On the night of the earthquake Heimai and his family had to climb through a window to escape into the darkness, among them a 40-day old baby and an 80-year-old woman.

Locals say 95-percent of the residents in Chenjia Village are Muslims. Their mosque has been badly damaged, so daily prayers have moved to a parking lot in front of the building, despite the freezing minus 10-degrees Celsius.

SUN YONGHUA, Accountant, Mosque of Chenjia Village "The mosque was built in 2002, and renovated in 2007. It was supposed to last longer. It's too cold to pray outside and it will be too hot in the summer. The damage to the mosque has really disrupted our life. We hope the government helps us to rebuild it soon."

22 people died on the night of the earthquake. All of them have been dug out from the rubble by the bare hands of their neighbors, and given a proper burial.

The Imam of the village cried throughout recent prayers. From the perspective of his religion, he says tears and an aching heart will make Allah protect them and their homeland.

SHE HU SAI NI, Imam, Mosque of Chenjia Village "The effect of the disaster is too big for people here. So I pray for the peace of these people, the peace of my country, and that of the world. We're all human beings even though we have different religions and faiths. When others suffer, we feel pain. When we suffer, others come to help us, too. The government has especially helped a lot after the earthquake. They've done a lot of work."

The village is currently filled with rescue teams from across China. Government and volunteer groups have flooded here to help relocate villagers and rebuild their lives. There's still a long way to go before things return to normal, but at least the locals know they are not alone.

Lu Sirui, CGTN, Jishishan County, Gansu Province. 

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