22 Aug, 2008
Beijing teens give quake survivors warm embrace
Posted by: admin In: Around Beijing| News
By Stephanie Himango, NBC News Producer
“It’s the first time for us to come to Beijing!” exclaimed sixteen-year-old Su Man Ye, eyes smiling through her tiny glasses.
Petite and energetic, she appeared younger than her years.
“Today we met so many new friends! People are so nice to us!”
Her exuberance was infectious, and defied comprehension when you learned a little bit about her past.
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| Stephanie Himango / NBC News |
| Fifteen-year-old Ding Yi Ru, left, of Beijing, and her new friend from Sichuan province, sixteen-year-old Su Man Ye, right, pose for a photo at the Summer Palace. |
Man Ye traveled to Beijing during the Olympic Games with 49 other teens from Sichuan Province for a week-long camp sponsored by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games (BOCOG). For many of the children, including Man Ye, this trip was their first time on a plane, their first time to the capital, their first time away from home.
That home is a place the world came to know in May when a devastating earthquake killed nearly 70,000 people and injured hundreds of thousands more.
For Man Ye, home is no longer the place she once knew. As a young girl, she lost her parents, and had been living with her grandmother. But in the aftermath of the earthquake, she lost her grandmother, too. Now she is looked after by a variety of teachers and distant relatives.
…(read more)
