A Home of Red-White-Blue
23 May 2008
A woven plastic fabric is serving as shelter material for people in Xiushui. But when the monsoon rains arrive, the red-white-blue, as it's called, won't be able to stand up to the elements.
Oxfam’s assessments in several earthquake-hit areas indicate that a large percentage of the population is in urgent need of resettlement. In the town of Xiushui, in An Xian, Sichuan, hardly a building remains standing, and almost all of the survivors are homeless.
Many residents are living in tents including at least one that shelters 50 people. Some of the tents are made of a plastic woven fabric called “red-white-blue” because of its colors. It’s rain-resistant and flexible, allowing earthquake survivors to use it as a ground cover or to drape across supports for shelter.
Yet this red-white-blue is only a temporary measure. It is not strong enough to endure the rainy season, with its typhoons, that will start in June and run until September or so.
It has already been raining for several days straight in Xiushui. Temperatures vary drastically: In the daytime, they climb above 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and the men wear no shirts. But at night, it can drop to 60 degrees.
The supply of stronger, enclosed tents in Sichuan province, and even in the country, remains limited. According to official figures, nearly 280,000 tents have been delivered to the affected areas so far. Oxfam is sourcing tents from other areas, including the adjacent province of Gansu, as well as Hebei in the north. But it takes at least two weeks for the bulk order, and in the meantime, the red-white-blue is meeting people’s immediate needs for shelter.
The government has just announced that it will be preparing temporary pre-fabricated shelters for the people—this will takes weeks, if not months, to have ready. To date, another 150,000 donated tents are on the way from outside mainland China.
People in Xiushui have shown a strong resilience in the face of the crisis. They have searched through the rubble to find maize, which they are feeding to the chickens that have survived. The poultry will be their meals in the future.
