China quake survivors scavenge amid the ruins

updated 5:37 p.m. ET May 29, 2008

QINGCHUAN, China - Dozens of men and women swarm over the mounds of debris of this ruined city, an eerie replay of the early days following China's devastating earthquake.

They are not searching for the missing and dead from the May 12 quake, which killed tens of thousands. Nor are they looking for lost belongings.

Instead, many are scavenging for any bit of scrap metal to sell so they can buy food and other necessities.

For the estimated 5 million homeless quake refugees in Sichuan province, the slow path to rebuilding their lives is lined with huge challenges.

Supplies of food and water are adequate for now, but shelter is limited, with a severe shortage of tents. The longer-term need for jobs and income has yet to be addressed by China's leaders.

Desperate measures
Many refugees aren't waiting for the government; they are taking desperate measures to survive on their own.

As in other quake-hit towns, survivors in northern Qingchuan have discovered that recycling companies want the scrap metal from twisted and crumbled buildings.

Standing atop an enormous pile of rubble that was once a three-story building, Mao Hong Lin meticulously searched for the dull glint of metal. Spotting a pointed tip, he pulled out a twisted length of steel.

"It takes money to buy anything and everything. Now our house is collapsed and I have nothing. I need the money for basics, to buy salt and cooking oil," said Mao, 37, a short, wiry man in orange shorts and soiled white gloves.

Stooped over beside him was his 33-year-old wife, Dong Sheng Fang, digging with her bare hands. The two have been hunched over in the dust and debris for hours since dawn.

"Even before the quake, we were already very poor," she said during a short break.

"He had no fixed job; he only did a little labor," making about $4-$6 a day, she said. "But now even that is gone."

The start of 2008 had been a new beginning for the family, Dong said. They had begged relatives and friends for loans of $4,200. They had managed to get a 430-square-foot apartment that was home to seven people — the couple, their three children, and Mao's mother and brother.

Now the entire building is a pile of rubble.

"We borrowed all this money to buy a second-hand apartment at the beginning of the year. We now owe a lot of money. How will we repay it?" she said.

Chinese banks ordered to forgive debts
Although Chinese banks have been ordered to forgive debts owed by earthquake survivors who lack insurance, it's not certain such help would extend to Mao and his family.

Overwhelmed, she began crying as her husband lifted a gentle hand to wipe away her tears.

The two have joined others who have been coming for several days to one of dozens of demolished sites around town, after hearing that local salvage companies would pay about 7 cents for each pound of metal.

At the same site was Li Hong Shen, a 52-year-old janitor, who was swinging a crude pickax to crush blocks of concrete to extract the scrap metal.

"There's no other way to make money," he said, shrugging almost apologetically. "I feel a little bit guilty because so many people died here but I have my family to support."

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