| TAIPEI,
Taiwan - A circle of love: transcending SARS |
 |
June 16,
2003
Chinese
Version
On April
30, 2003, Mr. Chen, an employee of Ho-Ping Hospital in Taipei,
phoned the "SARS Relief" hot-line set up by Tzu Chi
Foundation. He asked Tzu Chi members to help his Indonesian
wife start their motorcycle. When Mr. Chen called, he was under
quarantine at the military training center while his wife was
under self-imposed quarantine at home. Since Mrs. Chen spoke
very little Chinese, this mission was assigned to the foreign
language team right away.
The love of a husband
With the address and phone number in hand, volunteers contacted
Mrs. Chen and made an appointment to see her the same day. When
they met, Mrs. Chen showed where the motorcycle was and handed
the key and the vehicle license registration to the volunteers.
As Mr. Chen requested, the volunteers warmed up the motorcycle
for ten minutes, rode it around the neighborhood and safely
returned it to its original place. They returned to the appreciation
expressed in Mrs. Chen's eyes. She said, "My husband told
me that Tzu Chi volunteers are nice people and that I could
trust them."
After the mission, the volunteers called Mr.
Chen to let him know his request had been granted and that they
had a message to pass on to him from his wife. The message was
that Mrs. Chen was thinking of her husband and her wishes for
him to return home soon. She also wanted Mr. Chen to not worry
about her. Mr. Chen also asked the volunteers to deliver a message
back to his wife. He wanted to tell her to turn on the light
and music at night so she would not be scared while sleeping
alone.
The love of a wife
The volunteers' concerns and help for the separated couple did
not stop at the completion of Mr. Chen's original request. When
they sent the message back to Mrs. Chen, they suggested she
write down her feelings. The volunteers then helped her translate
her letter into a Chinese letter. The volunteers then attached
a bundle of artificial flowers to the letter, as fresh flowers
are not allowed in the quarantine facility, and delivered it
to Mr. Chen the afternoon of May 1, 2003.
On their way to the military training center,
the volunteers suddenly remembered that Mrs. Chen mentioned
that her husband liked durian, a type of fruit. They then made
a detour to Nan-Men market and searched without success at several
fruit stands. With the direction of a nice pedestrian, the volunteers
successfully found a supermarket that had durians displayed
at the entrance. They picked up a ripe one and hurried to Mr.
Chen.
The love of Tzu Chi
The volunteers' hearts were filled with joy since they knew
they had bridged the love between the couple. Two days later,
Mrs. Chen asked the volunteers to deliver two bags of vitamins
and health food to her husband. This time, the volunteers met
Mr. Chen for the first time. Even with a more than ten meters
of safety zone between them, they saw Mr. Chen, with his palms
together, expressing thanks to them.
The volunteers then helped Mr. Chen to send
a letter to his wife. The thoughtful volunteers delivered it
to Mrs. Chen with a lily, hoping to lift her spirits after a
long period of quarantine. Mrs. Chen told them, "I knew
what the government did was to protect the public. I really
appreciated the delivery of the food and fruits to me every
day. The quarantine period will end in two days and I will be
able to go out freely." The volunteers continued to call
and show their concern for the couple until May 12, 2003, when
Mr. Chen's quarantine period was successfully completed.
Love is like a circle, started from a dot
and extended to an endless circle. With the volunteers' help
to convey the sentiments between Mr. and Mrs. Chen, their circle
of love transcended the quarantine.
