Parents' losses compounded by China's one-child policy
中国的独生子女政策使家长的损失雪上加霜
From Kyung Lah
CNN
SICHUAN, China (CNN) -- Li Yunxia wipes away tears as rescue crews dig through the ruins of a kindergarten class that has buried her only child -- a 5-year-old boy.
李云霞抹着眼泪。救援人员挖通了的一所幼儿园的废墟，里头，埋葬了她唯一的孩子-一个5岁的男孩。
China's one-child policy magnifies the loss parents are feeling after learning their child died in the earthquake.
中国的独生子女政策使得父母们在地震后得知他们的孩子死亡消息的悲痛重上加重。
Other parents wail as soldiers in blue masks trudge through the mud, hauling bodies from the rubble on stretchers.
当戴着蓝色口罩的士兵们用担架将废墟中的尸体抬出的时候，家长们止不住号啕大哭。
"Children were screaming, but I couldn't hear my son's voice," she says, sobbing.
“孩子们哭喊着，但我听不到我的儿子的声音， ”她哽咽地说。
This grim ritual repeated itself Thursday across southwestern China, as thousands of mothers and fathers await news about their sons and daughters.
这一残酷的一幕幕在这个星期四，在中国西南部的许许多多个地方不断地重演。成千上万的母亲和父亲等待着关于他们的儿子和女儿消息。
The death toll from Monday's massive earthquake could be as high as 50,000, according to state-run media.
按照官方媒体的估计，周一的大地震导致的死亡可能高达5万。
The grief is compounded in many cases by a Chinese policy that limits most couples to one child, a measure meant to control explosive population growth.
As a result of the one-child policy, the quake -- already responsible for at least 15,000 deaths -- is producing another tragic aftershock:
Not only must thousands of parents suddenly cope with the loss of a child, but many must cope with the loss of their only child.
China's population minister recently praised the one-child rule, which dates to 1979, saying it has prevented 400 million children from being born.
Some wealthy families ignore the order, have more children and pay a $1,000 fine. In rural areas -- like earthquake-devastated Sichuan province -- families can petition for an additional child, but there's no guarantee the authorities will approve the request -- they usually don't.
That reality has cast parents like Li into an agonizing limbo -- waiting to discover whether their only child is alive or dead.
Thousands of children were in class when the temblor hit Monday afternoon. Many of their schools collapsed on top of them.
In Dujiangyan City, more than 300 students were feared dead when Juyuan Middle School collapsed with 900 students inside. A similar number died at the city's Xiang'e Middle School.
Now parents cluster outside collapsed school buildings, held back by soldiers in some cases as rescue crews search for signs of life.
"Which grade are you in?" a rescuer asks a trapped child in Beichuan County.
“你今年几年级？”一位救援人员问北川县一位被困学生。
"Grade 2," comes the answer.
“2年级。”回答道。
"Hang on for a while," he says. "We are figuring out ways to rescue you."
“耐心等待，”他说，“我们正在想办法救你出去。”
The child is pulled from the rubble a short time later.
那孩子稍后被人们从碎石堆里救了出来。
For every child saved, though, many more are lost.
孩子们被救出来了，但是还有许多不知所踪。
Many are missing at a middle school in the city of Qingchuan. The scene is devastating at Juyuan Middle School, where sorrow seems endless.
"There were screaming parents, and as the bodies would come out they were trying to identify whether it was their child or not," said Jamil Anderlini of London's Financial Times. "And once they -- the parents -- realized it was their child, obviously they collapsed in grief."
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