Chinese doctors help in aid effort for tsunami survivors

(15 Jan 2005) 1. Clinic and camp site of the Chinese medical team 2. Banner reading: "China medical team" 3. Various Chinese doctors treating patients 4. SOUNDBITE: (Cantonese) Li Siu-ping, Doctor from Macau: "I have been deeply saddened from the beginning about what I have seen. I could have been one of the victims. The strength of human being is so limited. Nature is unpredictable. I feel myself so limited. The help I can give is limited. I will try my best." 5. Refugee camp 6. Doctors resting 7. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Ding Ying, Doctor from Beijing: "We had a child patient of 1-2 years old. He was mildly injured. What we are more concerned about is he lost both of his parents. After the treatment, our team members sent him some milk powders. This won't happen when we work inside the hospital. We are more concerned about the future life of these people." 8. Various tents where doctors are living 9. Doctors 10. SOUNDBITE: (Cantonese) Lee Shuk-han, Doctor from Macau: "We walked to the coastal area, we saw destroyed houses and roads. We didn't see any people. We only saw white ribbons. Local people said they hang the white ribbons when their family members died. All you can see are white ribbons in the street. So you know that many people have died. The street was quiet. White ribbons were everywhere in the street." 11. Various of patient being treated after being bitten by a snake 12. SOUNDBITE: (Sinhalese) G. Malani, Patient: "They are like god. I am happy because I don't feel pain in my toe. Now I can walk." 13. Pan of doctors giving medicines to patients 14. Wide shot of clinic A 17-member Chinese medical team made up of doctors from Beijing and Macau have set up an emergency camp in Hikkaduwa in the Galle district of southern Sri Lanka to provide treatment for those affected by the tsunami. So far they have treated about 1,600 patients. The medical team was set up next to a refugee camp. After the disaster, around three thousand displaced people took refuge there. A few weeks on and there are still 250 people living in makeshift tents in need of basic supplies. Li Siu-ping, a doctor from Macau volunteered to join the team. He said he could have been one of the victims since he had originally planned a holiday trip to Thailand and Malaysia. It's the first time Ding Ying has worked abroad in a medical team. She said tsunami victims were not only in need of treatment for their physical wounds but also require psychological care to ease the trauma. The doctors sleep in the tents next to the clinic and they buy food from markets nearby and cook the meals for themselves. Sometimes they are given food by the monks in Buddhist temple nearby. They make up the only Chinese medical team in Sri Lanka. Fourteen members of the team arrived in Sri Lanka on January 2 and the rest of them arrived five days later on January 7. They have no set date to return home as yet. Keywords - Indian ocean earthquake tsunami Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...