To save more lives: Forgive me Father, for I am a policeman
As a traffic police of Pengzhou, Zhang Jinfu was arranged to ensure that the emergency green path which led to Pengzhou People's Hospital after the earthquake. At the same time, his elderly father in the countryside was badly hurt when his house collapsed, and was hurriedly sent to Pengzhou People's Hospital by his neighbors.
In a little yard at the hospital, the 81 year-old father lay at death's door due to massive haemorrhage of internal organs. Almost losing a loved one to death was torturous to Zhang Jinfu, but he had to be at his post, ensuring the emergency green path was clear. He worked for 10 hours at a stretch and could not set aside time to take care of his injured father. With a hoarse voice and practised gestures, he kept his post at the gate of hospital.
On 12th May 2008, Zhang Jinfu was off-duty after the night shift. That morning he visited his elderly father in the countryside, Lichun town, and returned home at noon. He was just about to take a nap when he felt the wardrobe shaking. An earthquake! He jumped up from the bed and rushed out of the building immediately. At the same time, cries for help came from the building. One female neighbor fell over in her haste and tumbled down from the fourth storey to the third storey. She was so badly injured that she could hardly move. Zhang Jinfu, together with several young men, rushed into the building immediately and brought the woman out to safety.
After all these were settled, Zhang Jinfu tried to contact his father and other family members, but was unable to get through. He also tried to get in touch with his department but failed. He swiftly returned to his office and met with many his colleagues, most of who were off-duty and had not received any notification to gather. More than 90 traffic police assembled immediately, and headed off to each district assigned to them. His assignment was to keep the emergency green path free of unauthorised vehicles and ensure that the wounded could reachthe hospital in the shortest possible time.
Zhang Jinfu never expectated that his aged father in the country was also experiencing a disaster when he took risks saving his neighbor. His father was buried by a collapsed wall and seriously wounded in the chest. Fortunately, one villager realized and dug his father out, and sent him to the hospital. The hospital was the one that the Zhang Jinfu was posted at all along.
Zhang Jinfu was busy directing traffic. As he directed a car carrying a casualty towards the hospital, he realized that the wounded man in the car was his elderly father. There was no time to accompany his father, as cars carrying casualties streamed in and the emergency path could be choked with traffic. Zhang Jinfu could only continue working. He could only enter the hospital to take a quick glance at his father lying on the stretcher during the brief rest period he was given. The 10 metres seperating the father and son seemed to stretch on endlessly. He only felt less worried when his elder sister rushed to the hospital to look after their father. Due to the severity of the injury, his father was transferred to Chengdu Military Hospital for emergency treatment. As the ambulance passed him by, Zhang Jinfu saluted it, offering his father his silent blessing.
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The above story is translated by some volunteers at
www.sichuan-earthquake.org
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