Children's Day in China overshadowed by quake dead
By Lindsay Beck
MIANYANG, China, June 1 (Reuters) - It's Children's Day in China, but Mr Li doesn't have much to celebrate.
His 12-year-old daughter was among the thousands of children killed when their schools collapsed in China's May 12 earthquake, which shattered the southwestern province of Sichuan.
His hometown of Beichuan was all but flattened in the quake, and an unstable lake formed by landslide-blocked rivers means that for now, between the threat of flood and the lack of shelter, the government is not allowing residents to return.
"We don't know what we'll do or whether we'll go back," said Li, averting his gaze.
For now, Li is among the nearly 7,000 people, almost all from Beichuan, sheltering in a sports stadium on the edge of Mianyang, a nearby city that escaped serious damage.
Li might take little comfort in the fact that he is not alone.
Domestic media reports compiled by Reuters put the combined toll from deaths of children and teachers in the rubble of schools at more than 9,000. Many grieving parents are blaming corruption and shoddy standards for the crumpled buildings.
On the walls of the stadium, alongside lists of survivors camped there are posters of those missing, many with pleas from relatives for news of their whereabouts.
"Mother looking for daughter, Zhen Yixi, 6," reads one.
Another names Qushan school in Beichuan, where an eight-year-old girl was last seen.
"If you have seen her, please get in touch with her relatives!" it says.
Despite the weight of collective grief over the children lost in the quake, authorities in the stadium are trying to ensure that those who survived have the chance for a bit of celebration.
Under a giant white tent pitched outside the stadium, teachers lead hundreds of students in song in preparation for their Children's Day performance.
All are from Beichuan, and some still bear the scars of the quake.
One boy has his arm in a cast, another's eye is swollen shut.
Some are clad in identical, donated clothes as they march around the tent in formation, belting out a song whose lyrics in part are "We only need to always have love and always be optimistic".
The teachers and volunteers say it's still appropriate to celebrate, despite the despair around them.
"There are the children who made it out. We should give them a chance to celebrate," said Ren Yanyan, a volunteer helping organise the small show.
"I hope that for one day, with some singing and dancing and a celebration, they can forget the earthquake." (Reporting by Lindsay Beck; Editing by Alan Wheatley)
