Chinese Earthquake

You know those little ornaments that sit on the mantlepiece, hemispheres of glass depicting snow scenes or underwater vistas. You lift them up and shake them. The snow falls, the bubbles rise and you stare in amazement at the scene. Our lives are like this. Nice and comfortable on the mantlepiece. Until someone or something shakes us up.

Well, the people of Sichuan province, have certainly had their lives shaken up...

" We must make every sacrifice to open the road....our first priority is to race to save people, every minute, every second that you gain is a chance to save one more trapped person "

Wen Jiabao - Chinese Prime Minister

Whatever the politics of Tibet or the China humanitarian response in Darfur, is this the voice of someone not in touch with his people? Is this a general telling his troops to block aid?

It's always the poor who suffer in these earthquakes, they live in the flimisiest of buildings, perched precariously on life...

I will donate £100 to the China / Sichuan Earthquake Appeal and take it personally to Wen Jiabao in October.

You can lift yourself off the mantlepiece or stay where you are...the choice is yours.

Mervyn