Remembering the disaster zone – Ruili Elementary graduation ceremony

At this time of year when the Peacock flowers abound, it is almost two years since Typhoon Morakot struck. At a number of elementary schools nestled in the mountains of one of the fiercest hit areas by Typhoon Morakot, the question for everyone’s mind was how to find a fitting way to bid farewell to the young students who were graduating there? The rebuilding process has passed through many heartrending, emotional chapters, and although the graduation ceremony is unable to shed the saddening air left behind by Typhoon Morakot, nevertheless deep down all parents, teachers and students from the region know that the period will be forever etched in their memories. In reality, these children who have grown up in this disaster stricken area have matured far earlier that those growing up in the cities.

With the aim of celebrating this graduation ceremony ‘in the clouds’, the citizen journalist traveled back and fourth between elementary schools in Chiayi County’s disaster struck regions of Meishan, Zhuqi and Alishan to make a lasting record of this real-life human drama for posterity; and made a solemn promise to record the joyous faces on each and every child. He felt it so important that the images depicting tears and sorrow were retained in their totality, to express the poignancy of the occasion that he split the footage into two parts before unloading them onto the Internet platform unabridged. In the course of the filming, the citizen journalist met unexpected incidents of falling rocks one after the other. From this, it became extremely evident that hillside structures are still terribly unstable. We can but look to the heavens and pray that the people in the mountains are spared any more misfortune, and that the children can walk out from the black shadow of landslides that hangs over their everyday lives.

Remembering the disaster zone – Ruili Elementary graduation ceremony

URL: http://www.peopo.org/news/79130

(以下為中文對照) 驪歌在重災區響起~~瑞里國小畢業典禮1 影音

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又是鳳凰花開的季節，八八水災到現在快二年了，位處偏遠地區的幾所重災區小學，又是怎麼送別畢業生的呢？他們的重建歷程充滿感動的章節，雖然典禮中嗅不出 88風災遺留下來的那股心酸，但每一所學校的家長會和師生都很清楚，那是一段讓人刻骨銘心的過往，災區的孩子就是比城市的孩子早熟，為了紀錄雲端上的畢業 典禮，公民記者穿梭在嘉義縣梅山、竹崎與阿里山鄉的幾所災區小學，真實的寫下孩子們難得留下的人生臉譜，答應國小的師生，要把每一位小朋友歡愉的心情全部 紀錄下來，也不會剪掉典禮中感傷落淚的鏡頭，所以把片子都分成二集在網站上播出。在採訪過程中，公民記者還是陸續遇到大石滾落的意外，顯然山坡結構仍然鬆 軟，祈盼老天爺別再作弄這群子民，讓災區聚落的孩子早日揮去土石流的陰霾。

為擴大服務範圍，自2010年4月起，PeoPo每周精選三則公民報導及相關活動與發展，翻譯成英文摘要，讓更多關心台灣公民新聞的朋友，瞭解台灣在地大小事。