By decision in the 15th round, no deployment - John

An endless supply of cigarettes were drawn from shirt pockets and from behind ears. For five hours straight most of my new friends from the local communist party of Tong Jian village were either smoking a cigarette, or lighting up a new one. Our walking tour took us through the low foothills of northern Sichuan province, a mere ten kilometers from the border with Saanxi province. To my surprise, we were a lot further from Chendgu than I had imagined.

Lunch was prepared in typical fashion for party officials hosting a guest. In the known history of Tong Jian village, one other foreigner had passed through. He two was invited to dine around a table packed to the edges with dish after dish of spicy Sichuan food while party officials undoubtedly asked him about his home country. Attempting to direct the conversation toward the degree of known damage to buildings and infrastructure, I was redirected by inquiries by the officials wanting to know if my golden hair and blue eyes meant I was handsome in my home country.

As I continued to assess the village with the Head Chief, the Deputy Head Chief, the Deputy Secretary Chief, the General Deputy Secretary and several other flamboyantly titled men, the kindness of these villagers reminded me of some of the times in Peru and Bangladesh that nearly brought me to tears. Sometimes, a man would rush out of a bush or from a construction site in tattered and dirty clothes, and began distributing cigarettes from his own shirt pocket to the party officials and often tried to give me two. Trying to explain that I don’t smoke was a foreign concept here. But so was my golden hair…I had the same thoughts I have had many times at HODR projects, that is, how can these people be so generous and seemingly so content with their lives when they live in such poor conditions? It has been easy to get caught up in city life again since we are based in Chengdu, but being reminded yet again that where life is simple, it is often sweetest.

A “minpien” (business card) goes a long way in China. A local contact, Peter, who enjoys near celebrity status within the ranks of the NGO that he works for has been helpful in navigating the complexities of working for an NGO in China. The minpien is to be given to the receiver standing up, and with two hands. The information should be facing the receiver. When receiving the minpien, one should receive it standing up, with two hands, slightly lowering your head. This particular detail is easy to master.

We have made over 130 personal contacts, visited 25 potential job sites, contacted 48 different NGOs, businesses and other groups, and 21 government departments, and we’ve held 42 meetings. We still haven’t been able to get to work, and that is due to other complexities a bit more difficult to navigate than giving and receiving a business card.

Quite simply, there is no infrastructure in which NGOs have to work. The government has no infrastructure for dealing with NGOs. One of the 42 organization we have been in contact with, Heart to Heart has worked in China for over 10 years. It took them 10 years to build up the necessary trust and relationship with the right government officials in order for them to receive official permission to operate in China. In addition, Heart to Heart has a healthy budget of several million dollars, and supplies professional doctors where they are in need. The wind would appear to be at their back. Not in China. Instead, Heart to Heart has packed up and gone home after a month of service in the quake area. This is not an easy NGO environment for even the most established.

In contast to H2H’s apparent solid foundation almost all Chinese NGOs are both new and unofficial themselves. Some had preexisting government connections which have allowed an increased ability to operate, many are still building these relationships themselves. I realize that it is a big ask to expect a Chinese organization or business to stick its neck out, risking its own connections and authority to operate to let us piggy back on those relationships to do our work. We have often been able to establish very good relations with a Chinese NGO or foundation, but when it comes to the small (but important) realities of operating, many back away. We need a local partner to help us get the proper paperwork for even the simplest of situations. A simple example is the police road blocks around the disaster area. They are random and sporadic, but none the less, they are there. An official road pass is needed to pass these blocks, especially as foreigners. On occasion, the officer is too busy sending a text message to pay close attention, but we have been stopped and told to return to Chengdu a number of times. Do not pass Go, definitely do not collect 200.

The problem is, even those individuals or organizations that have road passes don’t really know how they have them, or who to talk to in order to get one. If we are lucky enough to get a name and number of some gov’t official, the official is quick to pass us off to another official, often in a different city, with no relationship to the official we had originally been speaking to. The normal response is that “we don’t have the authority to make these kinds of decisions.” We’ve also spent days “official chasing” in person. The reaction is usually the same, they listen blankly while we talk about our work, then pass us on to someone else who has no authority either. Officials seem to think that they are imparting valuable knowledge on where we can get permission by suggesting that we contact the Sichuan Foreign Affairs department. When we explain that we have contacted that department in person, by phone, by fax and by email and again, we are told that they do not have the ability to make these decisions, they just drop their eyes to the ground and say that we should contact the Sichuan F.A department.

Cold calling Chinese officials and showing up unannounced at their office or place of work is not the proper way of conducting business here. Despite the fact that this is an incredibly devastating disaster requiring extraordinary actions by everyone involved, most officials are unwilling to step outside the ordinary boundaries of their job. There is a very strong and real fear of doing something wrong, and punishment from above is severe.

Our most robust strategy has been to really develop a relationship with local and national Chinese NGOS and foundations. I believe that they are receptive, willing, and eager NGOs who’s staff are people like myself, that do exist here. The desire to get to work, to apply the resources of the NGO and help people is as strong here as anywhere else. Finding that NGO or that foundation, or that group of businesses takes time. A group that is small enough to understand the realities and difficulties of putting hands to work in the disaster zone, but has the right level of authority to do so, is a rarity. Our most recent round of meetings has lent our most promising connections yet. This week, we had two invitations to spend extended periods of time in the company of partner Chinese NGO’s at their job sites. Both were interested in our ability to apply the HODR model in the communities where they are already semi-established. We thought this might be a breakthrough, but the reality is has been another high point in this assessment followed by the unfortunate low point marked by the reality and the difficulty of NGO work in China.

We have an invitation to install a few of us at the DPC camp in Wudu village and begin our work. We could do that. However, there is always the looming risk that someone from above will come shut down our operation. I don’t believe that DPC or most other NGOS realize the amount of work we are capable of doing by hand and I don’t believe they understand the bond that we ultimately form with the community. I fear that they might fear our presence once we were in full swing. We can slowly slowly grow our presence in Wudu, to the point of possibly declaring it a project. But at what point can we declare it a project? Is it after the first week when there are 6 of us who have worked unhindered for the week? Is it after the second week when there are 10 of us who haven’t yet been stopped by the police? Or is it after the third week when we begin putting volunteers into the kids center and start building a temporary home with 15 volunteers at our base?

I feel that these are the questions and risks that an individual or small group of individuals can take, but can HODR take these risks?

Well in the immediate future, you may find me and a few Chinese friends with some hammers, taking down some homes and building a temp home or two until we get kicked out of the area and asked to leave China.

I hope to see some of you guys in the near future.

John