This very candid look<\/a> at the reconstruction process from the China Daily mentions a lot of the problems surrounding the process — corrupt officials skimming funds, unorganized distribution of funds and material, slow or delayed construction projects and over-optimistic statements by political figures. These problems have led to a very uneven reconstruction effort that has made Wenchuan, Beichuan and Dujianguyan — darlings of the media in the first few months after the quake — into vastly improved towns, but has left places like Deyang, Shifan, Hanwang and the villages and towns that surround these cities worse off than before the quake. A lot of this uneven re-development has to do with the government’s initial methods for reconstruction.<\/p>\nIn 2008, the central government put together an ingenious scheme to help re-build the area: they partnered counties, villages and towns affected by the disaster with affluent provinces from other parts of the nation. So companies from Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Beijing, Shandong and other provinces were seen building temporary housing, re-paving roads, building bridges and taking care of orphans, survivors and the elderly. Some sorely under-developed villages of barely 20,000 people in Sichuan were partnered with fabulously wealthy villages of 100,000 people and larger and the results were fantastic. Some villages in Sichuan were expanded to twice or thrice their initial size and were given control over apartment complexes, water management systems and other new contributions for their partners — high-end gifts that they had never seen before, let alone handled.<\/p>\n
As this process was going on, the provincial and central authorities got together and established an international team of city planners and regional infrastructure specialists and drew up a series of plans to not only re-build the area, but take advantage of the tragedy to develop northern Sichuan into a self-sufficient engine of growth. These plans centered on the re-construction of Beichuan and Wenchuan, laying down a proper road network and turning Dujiangyan into a tourism hub with quick, direct connections to Chengdu and to the surrounding towns. The plan included the concept of multiple centers of development that would radiate to lesser developed areas ie Dujiangyan would benefit from Chengdu and QingCheng Mountain would benefit from Dujiangyan.<\/p>\n
Uneven Development<\/h3>\n
In many ways, this scheme has been very successful, but it has also contributed to the very malaise that dogged this region before the quake: pockets of gleaming affluence surrounded by fields of abject poverty.<\/p>\n
“There are a lot of areas that are still in need of a lot of attention,” said Peter Goff, one of the founding members of Sichuan Quake Relief (SQR) and a familiar face to residents in the earthquake affected areas. “Housing, health care, education, environment concerns — (the provincial government) is telling Habitat for Humanity to stop building homes now that the mission has been accomplished but their are still thousands and thousands of people living in temporary shelters.”<\/p>\n
NGO vs GNGO<\/h3>\n
SQR has devoted much of their efforts to information gathering, incubating local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civic society and most of all, to a tiny kindergarten in the town of Luo Shui. The group has found it difficult to fund and pursue the many projects that need to be done in the area, so focusing on one kindergarten, where they have strong local support, is the most efficient and rewarding way to help out.<\/p>\n
Now that the local, provincial and central authorities have hung a Bush-like “Mission Accomplished” banner over the disaster areas, NGOs like SQR, Habitat for Humanity and the local ones they support and work with are being asked to cease operations because they are no longer needed. The Chinese government is not very keen on NGOs to begin with, making the application process very difficult and throwing up roadblocks any chance they get.<\/p>\n
“Even the concept here is called GNGO (Governmental-NGO), which is the total opposite of what civil society should be,” said Goff. “I firmly believe that in any country, the state needs to be backed up by grassroots civil organizations that understand local issues and can support those people trying to solve those issues.”<\/p>\n
In Lui Shui, SQR director David Hunt has seen local organizations spring up after the disaster, take control of their own destiny and help to solve pressing issues in the community. Major issues include access to government grants for new housing and other compensation — everything from a new washing machine to replacement livestock. In order to qualify for the grants, an individual must navigate the full court press of China’s formidable bureaucracy. In order to streamline the process and support the members of their community, local organizations such as the Luo Shui Women’s Club and Senior Citizens Club have thrown themselves behind certain applications and helped others gain access to the compensation grants.<\/p>\n