Hong Kong fire survivors rebuild lives from ashes
Apartment buyback scheme, psychological support, independent inquiry help in healing process
'Not alone'
Months on from the inferno, Lau still gets goose bumps just talking about it.
One of her neighbors lost a child in the fire, and a playmate of Lau's child lost her mother.
George Cheung Chi-lim, aged in his 70s, and his wife suffered physical injuries and have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Joe Wong said his seven-year-old is "a different person" now — "touchier and easily angered".
Despite the negative psychological impacts of the tragedy, the survivors China Daily spoke to all agreed they were not facing their problems alone.
Lau said she still sees her old neighbors.
"We had one good cry together," she said. "Now we silently agree not to pick the wounds anymore."
Instead, they share memories of leaning on one another amid the calamity: water poured from upstairs windows down onto the flames, and Styrofoam window seals carried inside to stop the possibility of any molten drops falling on the floors below.
