Chinese eatery in Mexico quake city feeds survivors

World
Europe

There have been many stories of selflessness and heroism since the devastating earthquake that hit Mexico last Thursday – and not all the principal characters are locals.

A Chinese restaurant in Juchitan, one of the Oaxaca State cities worst hit by the quake, has defied terrible conditions to supply rescue workers and residents with food, and has even vacated its lobby for victims to pass the nights.

About one third of the houses in Juchitan, some 200 kilometers from the epicenter, have been left uninhabitable. Many media reports on the quake included pictures of Juchitan’s 19th-century city hall partly reduced to rubble.

The main hospital was so devastated that staff members evacuated patients to an empty lot, and the city has suffered power and water supply cuts in the days that followed.

Amid all this, Chinese restaurant Panda reached out to help.

Pan Haixia and her family in front of their Panda Chinese restaurant. /Xinhua Photo

The business belongs to the family of Pan Haixia, from Jiangmen city in China’s Guangdong Province. They moved to Juchitan seven years ago.

Pan, 41, is still suffering from the shock of the earthquake. She and her husband were about to go to bed when it happened. They rushed to wake up their daughter to flee from home together.

“We didn’t have time to grab our cell phones and weren’t even fully dressed,” Pan recalled.

The first morning after the earthquake, Pan was cleaning up the mess in the restaurant when she noticed rescue workers rushing through the devastation outside. She immediately started to prepare 50 packed lunches for them, even though the electricity supply to her kitchen was fitful.

Pan told reporters the dishes that she has been preparing since are all local people’s favorites. “We wanted to give what we could, even if it was just a little,” she said.

Member of the "Topos" (Moles) specialized rescue team search for survivors in Juchitan, Mexico, on September 9, 2017. /AFP Photo

The third day after the natural disaster, Pan’s meal delivery plan was scuppered when power lines to the city were completely severed. However, she turned to offer water and drinks to homeless people and neighbors instead.

Next day, when the water and electricity supply was recovered in Pan’s home, she went back to business providing locals with essential living goods as aftershocks brought more misery.

Panda is the only Chinese restaurant in Juchitan, whose population is less than 100,000.

Many locals told reporters that what the area lacked most was food and water, and Panda has helped address this issue.

View of the Juchitan town hall building partially collapsed following the earthquake. /AFP Photo

The restaurant’s efforts followed Juchitan Mayor Gloria Sanchez proclaiming after the quake that “it is time for folks to unite together to cope with disasters”.

At least 98 people died in the Mexico earthquake.

12970km