Financial crisis Earthquake relief measures implemented after the Wenchuan earthquake Employment situation in hometown (district and county)

The Wenchuan earthquake has become history. The first phase of earthquake relief, which focused on saving lives, has passed, and the second phase, which is rebuilding homes, has begun. Here, it is helpful to learn from the post-disaster reconstruction experience of other countries and regions around the world.

Rebuild or build another one?

Post-disaster reconstruction requires a lot of financial and material resources. From an economic point of view, reconstruction should aim at achieving maximum benefits with minimum costs and minimum risks. Then, comparison and evaluation between reconstruction and new construction are particularly necessary.

On December 26, 2003, a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.6 occurred in the ancient Iranian city of Bam. The earthquake almost completely destroyed the ancient city and killed more than 40,000 people. After the earthquake, Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a speech on the ruins of a square in Bam and swore that "we must restore the style of the ancient city of Bam." The then President of Iran, Khatami, also gave a speech and said: "From now on, we need to face life again and join hands to rebuild this area destroyed by the earthquake."

However, international research institutions Through evaluation and analysis, it was concluded that the cost of rebuilding the city would be much higher than the cost of building a new city. The conclusion was that rebuilding was not as good as building a new city. However, due to religious, historical and other reasons, the Iranian government hesitated again and again, and finally chose the original site reconstruction plan, although the "funds required for reconstruction are difficult to estimate." Subsequently, the World Bank provided a large number of loans and the international community also provided a large amount of support. However, due to the high cost of the reconstruction plan and the lack of reconstruction funds, the reconstruction plan progressed slowly. Until now, there are still many temporary and simple houses built after the disaster in use in the urban area of ??Bam, and some are even used as clinics and shops; there are still many unfinished buildings in the urban area; local prices are too high and the unemployment rate is high The restoration of health facilities is slow; the damaged Bam Castle, a world-class cultural monument, has not yet been properly restored. Had Iran chosen a much lower-cost alternative, the outcome might have been much better.

Therefore, the basic principle or overall idea of ??coordinating post-disaster reconstruction work with people first is to respect the laws of nature and social and economic laws, and coordinate production, life and ecological construction. It can be understood from the following four aspects: first, the selection of population settlements must respect the laws of nature; second, the standards of construction should be in accordance with the requirements of administrative divisions; third, the resettlement of residents in disaster areas must take into account ecological vulnerability; fourth, production and life Ecological vulnerability must be taken into consideration.

In addition, post-earthquake reconstruction must emphasize that the earthquake-resistant functions of houses should be prioritized in the construction of all infrastructure. Since 1996, the Japanese government has revised the "Building Standards Law" three times in a row to raise the earthquake resistance standards of all types of buildings to the highest level. In addition to wooden structure residential buildings, commercial buildings are required to be able to survive an 8-magnitude earthquake and have a service life of more than 100 years.

Post-disaster reconstruction is an arduous project that requires comprehensive planning and long-term planning. The first stage is called the resettlement period, which lasts from 3 to 5 years. It is mainly about reassuring the people, that is, solving the problem of people's survival and development. The second phase, the reconstruction and development period, may take 10 to 15 years.

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Japan, during the reconstruction process, the City of Kobe established a reconstruction fund. Reconstruction funds are divided into two categories: basic funds and investment funds. The basic fund mainly covers infrastructure construction and basic public facilities projects, while the investment fund is a commercial project. During the reconstruction process, the two funds play a combined role. The reconstruction fund is essentially a collection of national financial resources, social donations and commercial investment to mobilize the efforts of the whole country to rebuild new homes.

After the "9-21" earthquake occurred in Taiwan in 1999, in addition to the efficient operation of government agencies, civil society and individuals played an equally important role in the reconstruction work. Compared with the top-down administrative leadership of the government, the advantages of civil society lie in its strong social mobilization and organizational capabilities, diversified methods, and for specific work goals, it does not need to go through multi-level document procedures, but can directly cut in. Target, extremely efficient.

For example, the Taiwan Tzu Chi Foundation has been committed to charity work for a long time, and it demonstrated unprecedented organizational mobilization capabilities during the "9?21" incident. Not only was it the fastest team to arrive at the scene (on the same day), it also carried out a three-year work from disaster relief to reconstruction using three major steps: "emergency rescue", "settlement and care", and "rehabilitation and reconstruction". outstanding.

In a series of reconstruction work, taking school reconstruction as an example, the "9-21" earthquake caused 1,546 schools in Taiwan to be damaged to varying degrees, of which 293 were seriously damaged. Taiwan's "Ministry of Education" divided these 293 severely damaged campuses into four groups: A, B, C, and D. Group A is entrusted by the "Ministry of Education" to the "Building and Construction Department" to handle the reconstruction (***41), Group B is entrusted by the "Ministry of Education" to Asia New Consulting Company to assist in the reconstruction (***22), and Group C is handled by the local government itself Rebuilt (***122), Group D is adopted by the private sector and rebuilt by itself (***108). Among the 108 privately adopted schools in Group D, the aforementioned Tzu Chi Foundation rebuilt 55 completely collapsed schools with donations.

In addition, laws are also applied to protect post-disaster reconstruction work. Japan attaches great importance to the management of disaster crises and the implementation of post-disaster reconstruction work in accordance with the law. Japan has a complete legal and regulatory system for disaster prevention and reduction, consisting of 52 laws. According to these relevant laws, after the devastating earthquake disaster, Japan urgently provided drinking water, food, clothing and other relief items to the victims, and provided three meals a day free of charge. Temporary housing must also be provided for victims whose houses have completely collapsed or are no longer habitable and cannot obtain funds to rebuild their homes. During the Great Hanshin Earthquake, Japan urgently built nearly 40,000 temporary housing units.

In addition, the law also provides specific penalties for speculative behavior such as illegal use of disaster relief funds to prevent the loss, waste and squandering of disaster relief funds.

How to carry out rescue operations

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, the Japanese government established the "Hanshin Awaji Reconstruction Committee", an advisory body to the Prime Minister, and dispatched a reconstruction investigation team to the earthquake site to investigate The damage to transportation facilities and living infrastructure in the disaster area was compiled into the "Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Investigation Report", which provides countermeasures and suggestions for housing, urban planning, and industrial revival. Based on extensive solicitation of opinions from all walks of life, the investigation team first formulated a reconstruction plan for the construction of housing, roads, railways, harbors and other infrastructure for the victims, a three-year emergency recovery plan.

From the perspective of results, the post-disaster reconstruction of the Great Hanshin Earthquake has gone through three different stages: the first stage is about a year after the earthquake, which is the preparation stage for disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction; The second phase, from the end of 1995 to the beginning of 1998, is a period of comprehensive post-disaster reconstruction and comprehensive assistance to the disaster areas; the third phase is from the beginning of 1998 to around 2000, a period of comprehensive recovery and self-reliance support for the disaster areas. At each stage, large-scale assistance with different contents and forms is carried out according to the actual situation of the disaster.

Japan’s earthquake relief system is divided into three parts: self-rescue, government assistance and social assistance. Among them, self-rescue and government assistance are the main ones, and social assistance is the supplement.

In terms of self-rescue, Japan has established a comprehensive earthquake insurance system since 1966. As long as people take out earthquake insurance, they can get compensation from the insurance company. This will greatly reduce the financial burden on the victims during the reconstruction process. At this stage, earthquake insurance in Japan is not compulsory to purchase. People can make a comprehensive judgment based on their understanding of disaster insurance and the earthquake risk in the area, and then consider whether to purchase earthquake insurance. Generally speaking, Japanese people have a high awareness of earthquake insurance, and the average national earthquake insurance participation rate is about 20%. The establishment and implementation of the earthquake insurance system has played a positive role in post-earthquake reconstruction in Japan and helping victims resume their lives and production activities as soon as possible.

Government assistance is the most important source of assistance for disaster victims in the reconstruction process. There are two main forms: one is through earthquake insurance and reinsurance, which helps and promotes insurance companies to actively carry out earthquake insurance business and according to standards The other is for the central and local governments to directly provide financial assistance to the victims based on the severity of the disaster and their self-rescue capabilities. In order to reduce the burden on disaster victims during reconstruction, the government also exempts and exempts other taxes such as income tax and fixed asset tax on disaster victims to varying degrees in accordance with the Disaster Relief and Relief Law.

In terms of social assistance, in addition to donations from all walks of life, Japanese financial institutions will also introduce some relief measures, such as temporarily suspending mortgage loan payments and reducing loan interest, to reduce the burden on disaster victims. In addition, some local groups will also appeal to the government to extend the repayment period of mortgage loans for disaster victims and exempt them from the increased interest burden.

In 1995, a powerful earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale occurred in the Hanshin area of ??Japan, killing more than 6,000 people, injuring more than 30,000 people, and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. The direct economic losses caused by the earthquake were as high as 10 trillion yen (equivalent to approximately 100 billion U.S. dollars at the time), and the total losses were 1%-1.5% of the gross national product. It was the largest natural disaster Japan suffered after the war. The reconstruction work after the Hanshin earthquake was arduous and long, lasting nearly 10 years and costing nearly 10 trillion yen! Therefore, we must have a clear understanding and sufficient preparation for the arduous and long-term nature of post-disaster reconstruction work.

Pay attention to psychological assistance

Research shows that major disasters will cause huge psychological trauma to the people on site, especially the elderly and children, who need more spiritual comfort and concern. For this reason, when Japan encounters a sudden disaster crisis, firefighters, journalists and psychological counselors are usually the first to rush to the scene.

In addition, after the disaster, Japan also launched a number of spiritual relief activities for the victims, such as sending experts to provide regular free psychological counseling and psychological knowledge lectures to survivors, and arranging life assistance workers and elderly households. Life assistance workers regularly visit the elderly’s residences, etc.

After the earthquake relief enters the second phase, the main tasks are to resettle the victims, rebuild their homes, and provide long-term psychological rehabilitation assistance to the victims who have suffered severe psychological damage. Some commentators believe that this stage of disaster relief may not be as thrilling on the surface as the previous stage, but its difficulty is no less than the rescue of lives, and it is even more far-reaching.

Take Japan as an example. During the 2004 Japan-Vietnam earthquake, 51 of the 67 people who died died in shelters after the earthquake due to mental weakness, pessimism, and illness. of.

Japanese researchers found that in the first two weeks after the earthquake, the victims were characterized by repeatedly recalling the instant experience of the earthquake. At this time, they maintained a relatively excited emotional level, but after two weeks Afterwards, he immediately entered a state of depression, speechlessness and even despair. Whether the state after these two weeks will leave any sequelae of psychological trauma is extremely critical for mental health care.

At this stage, Japan often takes several measures: The first is to divert attention. At this time, we must block all unnecessary interference from the media and do not intentionally evoke the financial crisis again

Faced with this disaster coming from the depths of the land, is there any reason why we should not be grateful to you, me and him ( Where are her tears? Who doesn’t feel the power of tears every day? American psychologist William Frye divided tears into reflex tears and emotional tears. Sad tears contain less water and taste very salty, while happy tears are large in volume but bland in taste.

The reason why our tears are powerful is not because sadness is salty and heavy, but because they are kind, beautiful, tragic, contemplative, and noble tears! They are tears that are strong, future-oriented, and understood by the world!

Who can deny that this river of tears is not washing, soaking and dissolving many things? Who can say that many things are not changing their own connotations?

——When did our understanding of love become as profound, vast, broad and rich as it is today? In the face of disaster.

What is love? Love is no longer just its original connotation. Love has become more of an action, has no interests, and has become a cross-border action. It’s about stretching out your hand and stretching out my hand, connecting hearts and holding hands. If you stop a car on the road in a disaster area, the cars in front of you will stop and stop for you. It is touching every moment. It's a long song that makes it hard to cry! Love is a light that lights up in the dark night. It is human nature, humanitarianism, responsibility and strength. We stand under the same flag. Love is with the motherland and nation. Love has become destiny!

Tears are closely connected with love and coexist with power; love with tears is a more powerful love.

After the disaster, we can always see a civilian - our relative - on the TV screen: he climbs up the ruins of the collapsed building; he picks up the schoolbag and the dropped sneakers, and staggers around among the ruins. ; He shouted for the people without a microphone; he ate pickled steamed buns with the people; he looked back at the ruins of Beichuan and waved an affectionate farewell to the ruined city; his tears fell heavily on people's hearts; his tears fell heavily on people's hearts; Affection and reluctance represent the love of the party and the country for the people, and represent the image of a great country!

Why do I always have tears in my eyes?

Because I love this land deeply...

——Facing the passing of so many moments Who can not seriously think about, understand and interrogate the true meaning of life?

Traditional textbooks define all life as exhibiting the "3f" characteristics: attack (fight), movement (flight) and reproduction (frolic).

In other words, any life has the characteristic of responding to external stimuli. Life is a process. Life and its surrounding environment, as well as within living organisms, all have the exchange and conversion of matter and energy. Only when living things absorb the materials needed for life into their bodies and turn them into their own materials through a series of transformations can the biological individuals grow up. When they grow to a certain level, they will have the ability to reproduce, and even inherit, mutate and evolve.

Before his unexpected death, the famous biologist Sagan defined life as "a system with the ability to replicate, mutate, and mutate."

...Life is so great and yet so small at the same time. Life is not powerful all the time. What was supposed to happen has happened. Believe that everything will be fine. The living people can only comfort the dead by facing it bravely, living well, and doing their best to do what they should do.

Today, even though there is no echo when life dies, there are still cries that turn into rain, and there are boundless black clouds, even if there is no response and no cries.

And in this disaster, how can we bear to regard those who have sacrificed their lives for loving others, those who have been buried underground because of their greatness, nobility, and selflessness? What about death? How can we think that they will really have no echo, no response and no buzzing? !

These people in capital letters are the real people with life! Only worthy of eternal life! We should thank them. It is they who give life the meaning of tears and express the true meaning of life!

3

More than 30 years have passed since the Tangshan earthquake. In that special era, it was not possible to build a special memorial venue for the victims of Tangshan. Survivors can only pay homage to the 240,000 souls at street intersections, where paper dust is always flying. ——We cannot bear the recurrence of such sadness in Wenchuan!

A proposal to build an earthquake relief museum in Wenchuan has appeared in the media. Someone even posted about building a wailing wall. I think of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. For thousands of years, Jews who have been exiled around the world will rush to the Wailing Wall to pray and cry when they return to the holy city of Jerusalem. It has become the spiritual home of the displaced Jewish people and a holy place, this Wailing Wall!

We do need a wailing wall to face this national disaster and human trauma! Isn’t it said that “a nation can thrive despite difficulties”? The Wailing Wall is a kind of measure, a kind of facing up, a kind of responsibility, a kind of excitement and a kind of strength! The Wailing Wall not only stands in the softest and saddest place of a nation, but also towers in the most powerful and majestic place of a nation. This Wailing Wall is a symbol of the Chinese nation’s past sufferings, and it should become a milestone for the Chinese nation’s increasing setbacks!

The past belongs to Death, and the future belongs to you.

——Shelley

In my sorrowful heart, a special "wailing wall" is gradually being built, hardened and erected - the memorial hall! Part of this memorial hall is the towering Wailing Wall Group, and the other part is the monument standing outside the main Wailing Wall Group. The monument is composed of a group of arms raised straight above the head like a force soaring to the sky!

This memorial hall was built on the ruins of today - Beijiang Middle School. Only school can symbolize immortal knowledge, power and hope.

——This is a memorial hall without a roof! The ruins where the dead are buried are surrounded and embraced by wall after wall of disconnected wailing walls!

On the back of the "Wailing Wall" of this memorial hall, the names of all the victims who have lived forever are engraved, while the front of the "Wailing Wall" is covered with pairs of all kinds of people who are always open. man's tearful eyes! These are blank eyes, twisted eyes, blood-red eyes, desperate eyes... Countless eyes are all living on the wailing wall, living on pairs of hands that are hopelessly stretched out...

With this memorial hall, it can somewhat protect the life of the victims from the cold wind.

With this memorial hall, we can give the unfortunate deceased a large family that is peaceful but incomplete, and can naturally bathe in the moonlight like clear tears every Mid-Autumn Night.

With this memorial hall, survivors have a place where they can shed tears, remember and reflect on May 12 every year. Does our development philosophy need to be adjusted faster? Is it possible to achieve harmonious coexistence of "nature, society and people"? Have we fully respected and protected citizens' basic rights, including the right to life? In Japan, schools and hospitals are important places to escape earthquake disasters. Why do our schools and hospitals collapse so easily on large areas? Before the disaster struck, it was said that there had been numerous abnormal animal behaviors. Why was there no forecast?

The subject’s experience and memories of the disaster. Secondly, we need to provide hopeful information, such as information on their future life security. In addition, the content of media reports must shift from memories of the earthquake disaster to social care, helping society establish new connections with the affected people. For example, many children in Japan have established communication relationships with children in disaster areas, and communication links have also been established between non-disaster-affected communities and disaster-stricken communities. These are very effective measures.

It should be said that post-disaster psychological reconstruction is a long-term systematic project, and its recovery is much more arduous than the reconstruction of physical facilities such as houses and roads.