Source: CCTV.com

05-11-2009 09:16

Special Report:   One Year after 5.12 Quake

Both her head and body were covered with dust, and her big watery eyes filled with fear. At 9:00 am, May 13, 2008, 10-year-old Yang Qin waited to be rescued in the ruins of Wudu Primary School of Hanwang Town, Mianzhu, Sichuan Province. In order to protect her head from falling stones, rescue workers put a red safety helmet on her head. From then on, Yang Qin has been nicknamed “little red hat.”

The particularly eye-catching “little red hat” amongst the gray ruins represented the hope of survival and the desire to live. After about 20 hours, “little red hat” was finally carried away from the ruins by the fire fighters. Of Yang Qin’s class of over 70 children, only half survived.

So how is "Little red hat” one year after the “5.12" earthquake? With concern and curiosity, reporters drove to the temporary school building in Hanwang Town to visit the lucky “little red hat” Yang Qin.

They found Yang Qin among a group of children doing their English homework on the steps outside the classroom. Seeing the reporters coming, Yang Qin stood up and approached them with tottering steps; she seemed a little shy. Because she was buried for such a long time, Yang Qin’s right leg was necrotic and infected, and she underwent surgery to amputate it. She now has an artificial limb.

“Little red hat” has quickly regained her cheerful nature. She loves to smile and giggle whenever her classmates amuse her. To remove the shadow of the earthquake as quickly as possible, Yang Qin is currently participating in a weekly psychological rehabilitation course in a classroom built with planks , where she sings loudly, plays games with her little friends and chats with the volunteers. As she walked out of her psychological rehabilitation class, she was thoughtfully reading an instruction manual on the use of artificial limbs.