The note below is from Ramsey Rayyis (pictured in green above), an American Red Cross worker who just spent a week in Chengdu, the earthquake affected area of Sichuan province.

Just back to Beijing after a week in the China earthquake zone. We are so lucky to be born where we were and with the opportunities we have. I visited areas where thousands of people died just days before (69,000 according to the latest reports), and now 5 million survivors are homeless and struggling to get by. Many people, though thankful to be alive, are just sitting in complete rubble. I shed a tear when I met the head of the local Red Cross in the hardest hit area, and I told her I was a major earthquake survivor (I was at the epicenter of the San Francisco/Loma Prieta quake in 1989, had been injured and rushed to the emergency ward, my house was condemned, etc.), and I understood much of their pain. Really though, how could I know such loss, when family members are lost and entire towns are destroyed and uninhabitable, and just today they had to evacuate 1.5 million people due to aftershocks and damage to damns with fear of flash flooding. I have been trying to find my groove today, but finding it hard under the circumstances.

Now, I am in my hotel room in Beijing, alone, pondering, exhausted, stressed, and even upset that I have no right to feel any of those emotions while millions are suffering and left with practically nothing. But tomorrow I will continue, still thinking about the people, China, and every other project I’ve worked on over 15 years with people in need, knowing that I can make a difference, that we can make a difference, and that (as many have said) our actions can— and have— changed the world.

Ramsey is assessing additional needs of the response operation and coordinating with the Red Cross Society of China and the International Federation.

Previously, Rayyis spent two years in China as a senior field representative for the American Red Cross working with the Red Cross Society of China to strengthen ties between our sister societies (the above photo is from that previous work).

Filed under: Disaster Response, Flickr, International