Urumqi residents long for simple life

By Zhao Huanxin (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-11 08:48

URUMQI: As this city that was savagely scarred by rioting continues to pick up the pieces, locals are turning their attention to finding the basic necessities they need to put their lives back on track today and hoping for the best in the future.

Armed police help clean the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, the business centre in Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Thursday in preparation for its reopening. The bazaar has been closed since last Sunday's riot. [Xinhua]

One such person is Mamut Kadir, who set out on Thursday to buy flour and provisions from the Grand Bazaar in the center of the regional capital.

When he arrived at the fenced compound he found the supermarket was still being guarded by police and was not yet open, so he headed toward the open-air market looking to find necessities there.

Mamut wandered around the bazaar with his wife and their two children, watching as police patrolled the street, listening to loudspeakers broadcasting appeals for calm from armored vehicles and stopping at a temporary clinic set by medical officers where he could get free medical help.

The experience for the 37-year-old migrant worker from Kashi was typical for many Urumqi residents during the city's recovery from the trauma of the July 5 riot that left 156 dead and 1,080 wounded.

For some locals, the tragedy has taught them an appreciation of simple things, such as the importance of sharing.

Mamut says he has hated living with panic and fear and wants nothing more than for life to return to normal as soon as possible.

Minawar, another visitor to the open-air bazaar, said she hopes ethnic groups, whether they be Han, Uygur or others, will refrain from agitating each other.

"A conflict has happened. It is bad to fuel it or spawn another conflict," said the middle-aged woman who lives on Xingfu Road. "Rather, let's strive to mend the solidarity among different ethnic groups."

And she said she hopes the government will move to stifle any violence, regardless of which ethnic group starts it.

"A bloodstain cannot be washed away with more blood, but with water," she said.

Kurban, another Uygur visitor to the bazaar, echoed her sentiments, saying that when he returns to work at the Bianjiang Hotel, he hopes to get along with co-workers from other ethnic groups.

Mamut Tursun, a resident from the Jiefang Nanlu Road in Tianshan district, was getting his blood pressure checked at a roadside clinic.

The supplier of dried-fruits to retailers was taking some rare time off because so many stores remained closed and demand for his services was diminished.

He ventured outside for the first time on Thursday and the 39-year old said he hoped Urumqi would soon return to the harmonious state it was in before the riot.

But, despite the closed stores, about 10 minutes walk from the main Grand Bazaar, a business was thriving.

At least 100 residents were queuing Thursday morning to buy potatoes, onions, cucumbers, peppers and other vegetables.

Nurxat Rouzi had shipped in 10 tons of fresh produce from Turpan, about 180 km from Urumqi, to be sold at cost price in the Jiefang Nanlu Road community that is home to at least 100,000 residents, of which around 70 percent are from ethnic minorities.

Nurxat said he was confident Urumqi will recover and normal life will resume.

"A room with windows open will have flies and other pests, but if you get rid of the flies and pests, the room will still be good," he said.

An official, surnamed Wan, said the trade bureau had set up another six outlets selling vegetables at cost price in a bid to stabilize escalating prices in the city.