Disabled earthquake victims face tough road in China
About 50,000 of the injured are likely to suffer permanent disabilities, including many with amputated limbs. They face a social stigma and hurdles getting rehabilitation.
MIANYANG, CHINA — "Feifei, where are you? I'm looking for you."
After nearly three hours of frantic searching, Zhang Qin found her 8-year-old daughter in the rubble that was once Nanba Elementary School in northern Sichuan province. Zhang dug her daughter out with her hands, removing a large beam that had pinned the little girl's right leg.
But on the third night after the Sichuan earthquake, Zhang's joy over her rescue was tinged with sorrow as doctors amputated Feifei's leg several inches above the knee.
Zhang, fighting back tears, broke the news to her daughter: "Your leg isn't there. You have to be brave. You have to live well."
The official injury count from the deadly quake is staggering -- more than 370,000 people. Among them, 50,000 are likely to be disabled, including many with amputated limbs, according to various government and health industry sources.
"I would estimate there would be thousands of amputees from the earthquake," said Lan Xiufu, an orthopedics doctor at Chongqing Daping Hospital who has done about 100 amputation surgeries on Sichuan quake patients. He said about 30% to 40% of them were performed on children.
These victims face numerous hurdles getting rehabilitation and counseling, especially in rural areas where government programs and finances are weakest. But perhaps even more significant, they will encounter a social stigma that many of the 83 million other disabled Chinese face.
Over the last 25 years, China has established a welfare fund for the disabled and the China Rehabilitation Research Center, thanks to efforts led by the late Deng Xiaoping's son, Deng Pufang, who was paralyzed during the Cultural Revolution. In 1991, China also enacted a quota system for hiring disabled people.
Still, experts say many employers remain reluctant to employ people with disabilities, preferring to pay fines rather than meet government requirements.
Negative attitudes toward the disabled abound. One recent example: An official guide for Chinese volunteers at the Beijing Olympics referred to physically disabled people as a "special group," describing them as "stubborn and controlling." (After complaints from activist groups, the commission that prepared the guide apologized for the inappropriate language.)
For disabled children, resuming their education could be a big obstacle. Very few schools in China have wheelchair and other special access for the physically impaired.
