The earthquake that occurred on Monday in the south-west province of China was a magnitude of 7.9. Current death toll is 15,000 but there are approximately 40,000 missing and I doubt many of them will be alive when they are found.

China’s One Child policy means that whole generations are now dead. News of students being buried under the wreckage of primary schools, middle schools, and high schools with a number of 2,000 attached to it means that 2,000 families have lost their only child.

My parents know people who live in the south-west province, and honestly speaking I don’t have the guts to ask them if they have managed to get in contact with them. All I can think about is how thankful I am that my extended family lives in the far north of China.