Well, today marks the 8th day since the Earthquake. I spent the last two days on my bike again. I started out from the other side of Fitzgerald Avenue- one edge of the cordon, and worked my way away from the central city. My goal was to meet, greet, deliver food and water and find jobs. I was doing this because the large student armies (SVA and Comfort for Christchurch) are struggling to find the best use for their resources (which are vast). Areas such as Avonside, Wainoni and Aranui are still without power. Without power, they are unable to contact the SVA groups, and so are therefore unable to reach help. I headed out yesterday alone, but today I had another person with me, as well as the Student Volunteer Army (SVA), who had come to the same point as I had, so sent much of their army out to the streets going door to door.
So, what have I learned or found out, I met alot of people on my travels and they were from all walks of life. I met some who were angry, frustrated at the system. I went down a street, where I was the first person with any authority they had seen. Which is scary, given that any authority I had, was the self-appointed variety. These areas with no power, water or sewage you could understand them being annoyed and frustrated, a week later there were still nowhere near enough Port-a-loos for the streets, and it is the streets which are entirely rental properties with Housing NZ. I met plenty of people who were the other end of the spectrum, really happy to chat to people, and to have any help that was coming to them. Some of the areas were completly totalled, roads which are destroyed, piles of silt the size of houses and ruined water pipes. The cracks in the ground- some vast; are in places still changing, one of the more impressive sights I have seen is a green wheelie-bin, which was in a crack as a warning to motorists, only to have the crack close on it, totally annihilating the rubbish bin. It sat flat, still in the crack, its wheels in other places on the road, testament to the destructive and changing powers of the earth.
In these stories of tragedy, of rack and ruin, there have been plenty of lighter moments. Today I was cycling past the cordon on Bealey ave, and there was the traditional army component. A team of soldiers, plus a light armoured vehicle. But, along with that there was an ice cream truck. Nothing lately has brought a smile to my face more than seeing a soldier sitting in the turret of an armoured vehicle, chowing down on a soft serve cone. Another one is the enjoyment I find in trying to learn sign language from the translators in the news briefings. Or in finding relations of people I know out on my rounds, I met the mother in law of one of my hockey team-mates purely by conincidence!
I have to say, all of the military personnel that I have had cause to talk to have all been amazingly nice people. They were operating in the same area as I have been, working primarily as a large work team, but also with smaller teams to find jobs. These guys were professional, but best of all, they were more than happy to share their information, to work together with us and the other groups. They were happy to sort out small jobs that I had found, and I am sure people appreciated their quick help, in contrast to the wait which using the student groups would have.
In all of the areas I have seen, people are making do with what they have. I went to a street which had a burst water main, damage from over a week ago. It was still pumping out water, which the locals could use (as unhygenic and unsanitary as it sounds) obviously after a good boil. Communities have banded together, simply because they have had to. The dust and wind today will be an ongoing problem, as is sanitation.
Well, 180 km on the bike travelled in the past 3 days. Multiple neighbourhoods travelled through. In my opinion the clean-up phase is winding down, and it is becoming time for the rebuild to begin. The big question now is, what next? What will the city look like now? Or more importantly, where to begin?
Have I done good? I hope so. And really, sometimes hope is all you get.
I know this was long. But, thats the way it is with me.
CP
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