Emerge From Chinese Quake Horror

¶ … emerge from Chinese quake horror

The trauma of the recent Chinese earthquake never seems to end. The earthquake has reportedly killed more than sixty-eight thousand people, with a further twenty-thousand still missing. (Starving quake survivors saved 16 days on)

There are new reports each day about the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that affected the China's Sichuan Province last month. These reports of the suffering of the Chinese people have also been exacerbated by recent aftershocks and tremors that have increased the damage and fear among the population. However, at the same time a number of hopeful and positive reports of incidents and experiences have also been reported from the area.

One of the most bizarre and uplifting is the story of the couple who were getting married at the time of the earthquake. They claim that the devastation and shock of the earthquake have in fact drawn them closer together. (Quake couple's story revealed) While taking the wedding photographs outside a mountain seminary chapel, the proceedings were cut short by the earthquake. The bride and groom took refuge in a car and were unhurt; however the entire village was cut off from the surrounding area. In a later interview the couple stated that "...their love for each other has grown even stronger since the quake. They now want to bring forward the date of their wedding banquet - and to choose another location to complete their wedding album. (Quake couple's story revealed)

There are many other inspiring stories of rescues and efforts by residents to help those buried in the rubble. A recent report describes both the horror and the hope of the situation when a young woman was buried in the rubble with her four-month-old child and her mother-in-law. Both the mother and mother-in-law died but the child survived as a result of being shielded by the two bodies. (Bobseine)

Numerous sources describe the enormous international response and aid from various international agencies and organizations, such as the Mississauga-based World Vision Canada, which has been active in the region. (Rosella) the president and CEO of Mississauga-based World Vision Canada, Dave Toycen, who has spent some time in the region, summarizes the situation of the earthquake victims. "Everything is in ruins. People are living in tents. They've been eating nothing but noodles for the past couple of weeks...That is going to be their future for the next 16-18 months" (Rosella).

Among the reports of the devastation, horror and destruction of these events are also stories of optimism and encouragement. The recent rescue of more than forty survivors from a village is only one of the many positive stories that have emerged in recent weeks. The earthquake caused a landslide which cut of the inhabitants of the village from the outside world. The people of this remote village were isolated for sixteen days without food except for small amounts of rice and herbs before being rescued by military helicopter. (Starving quake survivors saved 16 days on)

2. Approval of cloned meat raises consent and concern

The issue of cloning and its impact on human health has once again hit the news with the tacit acceptance of meat from cloned animals for human consumption. There has been a clear preliminary acceptance of meat from cloned animals by the authorities. Stephen Sundlof, director of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, recently said that,

After reviewing additional data and the public comments in the intervening year since the release of our draft documents on cloning, we conclude that meat and milk from cattle, swine, and goat clones are as safe as the food we eat every day.

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The FDA report stated that, "Extensive evaluation of the available data has not identified any subtle hazards that might indicate food-consumption risks in healthy clones of cattle, swine, or goats..." And that the edible products that were produces from cloned animals were "... comparable with products from sexually-derived animals" (FDA OKs meat, milk from most cloned animals). In spite of this positive view of safety of cloned foodstuff there was a qualification to these results in that the FDA also admitted that more research was necessary to conclusively determine the safety of meat and milk from cloned sheep. (FDA OKs meat, milk from most cloned animals).