The world of Tzu Chi May 2021 (Vol.134)

TZU CHI 134 37 and soothe the bereaved became another major and difficult task. In fact, it was the most difficult mission of all. Tzu Chi volunteers arrived at the funeral home at five that afternoon to provide help and support to families. In response to a request from the Hualien County government, volunteers kept the grieving families company and provided them with transportation. They worked in two-hour shifts to serve the families day and night. Volunteer Lu Feng-ying worked a shift from 11 p.m. April 2 to 1 a.m. the next morning. “We are using two vehicles to take the grieving families back to their hotels,” she explained. “Tomorrow we are taking them to buy clothes for their deceased loved ones.” Although it was very late, Lu checked the supplies at the service station set up by Tzu Chi at the funeral home. There were bread and bottled water, bananas for a quick replenishment of energy, and face masks for families to wear as they rushed between the accident site and the morgue. Around midnight, two volunteers who had taken some family members to their hotel returned to the funeral home. They were Li Si- bei, an administrative worker at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, and her husband, Feng Qing- rong, who also works at the hospital. From the time the hospital had issued Red Alert No. 9, Li had thrown herself into caring for survivors and families. It was very late at night when she returned to the funeral home, and even though she would have to go to the hospital the next day to provide more care and help to the injured, she was not ready to call it a day. She wanted to spend more time with the bereaved still at the funeral home and help them in whatever way she could. No matter the depth of their pain and loss, the bereaved had no choice but to accept the cruel fact that their loved ones were no longer with them. On April 3, the day after the accident, the grieving families returned to the disaster scene in six tour buses for a traditional ritual to call the spirits of their loved ones home. Each family was accompanied by two Tzu Chi volunteers. With their eyes red from crying, the families called out the names of their loved ones and said with trembling voices, “Let’s go home.” The Tzu Chi volunteers accompanying the families had a difficult time holding back their tears, but they stayed close to them, offering their staunchest support. “My heart twisted into a knot when I saw the six tour buses carrying the bereaved arriving at the accident site for the soul- summoning ritual,” said volunteer Zhong Su- zhen. “When they called out their family’s names in tears, my heart felt torn to pieces.” Zhong had lost both of her parents just last year, and the experience this time once again engulfed her in sadness. But she tried her best to emerge from the sorrow. She advised everyone after this experience: Do not wait until it is too late to say, “I love you.” Do not wait until it is too late to regret. The train crash shocked and saddened everyone in Taiwan. Although Tzu Chi’s emergency aid for the disaster has now come to an end, volunteers have continued to care for families who lost their loved ones. Comfort and Care in Action Tzu Chi Responds to Taiwan’s Train Crash