YOGAYUGA

Snowstorms cause delay, clash and blackout in China. It’ s such a bad and sad news before Chinese New Year. Many planes and trains delay without further notice given to travellers. Thousands of travellers are waiting in the Putong airport, Shanghai with no way out. They all shouted they want to go home. Some travellers can’t even be accepted to cancel their current air tickets, and buy new tickets for next week or so as they have been told the weather is not expected to be good next week. Some travellers have been told by their airline companies their air tickets can be refunded as there is no more plane arrangement but they have to reserve their air tickets again themselves with other airline companies. All the air tickets have been fully booked from city to city during the CNY period, so there is no way that travellers can buy tickets again by end of next week. They need to wait at the airports. Perhaps, they need to stay there for many days and nights. Some already did. The airline companies are not comforting travellers any accommodation and food during this tough period while everyone is waiting. Flights and trains just stop without detail advice. The arrangement of train and plane has been doing slow due to the heavy snow in various northern cities of China. Workers are even more poor in this frustrating situation. There are over 10 millions of workers waiting in the train station of Shanghai. Some workers died in Guangzhou while waiting for train in the train station due to the cold and congestion. Many workers do have limited salaries to bring home for Chinese New Year, but they need to spend those money during this period.

“Railway stations in Guangzhou are a scene of horror, with countless thousands of desperate and freezing people besieging them”

It’s unbelievable that it happened in two of those top Chinese cities of China, Guangzhou and Shanghai. The fact is the government didn’t do anything effective to response the actual needs of people. The workers actually complained that the officers and the rich can get on the trains with special arrangement, but the workers need to wait and wait for days and nights. No, this is not right! This is not a story about Titanic during 19th century. We are living in 21st century now. This issue is not just about natural disaster, is about the reformation that Chinese government should process for various management systems of Chinese societies. How can airline companies not comfort their travellers with free accommodation and food during such tough period? If free accommodation is not available, then at least some free food and water should be available. Should government have some sort of policies for the guidance of local airline companies under difficult condition? Should government have temporary shelters set up for the workers who stay outside the train station under such weather? Should they be distributed food by the government? There are lots of issues in here. This is all about national image of a country. It’s also about how all of us can rely on our country. It’s a national disaster, not a natural disaster.

Some areas are also experiencing food and power shortages, with deliveries of coal and other commodities delayed. Houses and agricultural land have been destroyed and at least 50 people killed, 25 of whom died when their bus slid off an icy road in Guizhou.

I do really hope that everything is going to be fixed up soon, not getting worst. For the sake of Chinese New Year, the cold just stops; then everyone can go home and stay warm with families. Poor workers, they can only go home once a year for the CNY holiday. I can imagine how bad the situation is over there….