Looking back at a year of mixed blessings

Wang Shunwen thought that time would be the best cure for sadness after losing his beloved daughter in the fire, but he was wrong.

"I'm even afraid to look at my two teenage granddaughters. Whenever I see them, my daughter's face appears immediately," said the 68-year-old.

In comparison, Liu Yunbo, who was injured in the fire, should count himself lucky. However, chest pains, caused by the inhalation of toxic smoke, torture him everyday and have almost destroyed his ability to work.

After six months without income or compensation, the 44-year-old family breadwinner has even started to almost envy those killed in the blaze.

"In front of the media, government officials promised to help us, so why don't they fulfill their commitments? I felt like a ball being kicked back and forth by government departments when I asked for the compensation owed to me. Am I demanding too much for being alive, like a normal person?" he asked.

I interviewed both men in the days after the fire. They still keep in touch. They said others face the same dilemma, and, although the government spared no efforts during the rescue work, less attention has been paid to those left to deal with the fallout.

Liu has called me several times since I returned to Beijing from Jilin. To be honest, I'm a little afraid to receive his calls - he must consider me a last resort, but I have little power to change the situation.

It's the government's responsibility to help these people. A strict accident compensation procedure should be followed after every incident.

I helped to report on some of the major disasters and accidents that occurred last year.

Indelible memories include a blaze at an unofficial orphanage in Henan province in January, a fireworks truck that exploded, also in Henan, in February, floating pig carcasses in Shanghai in March, the earthquake that hit Sichuan province in April, fishing boats sunk in the South China Sea in September, the hornets that attacked and killed people in Shaanxi province in October, and an oil pipeline blast in Qingdao in November.

The experience of being at the scenes of disasters or doing follow-up reports is precious and a constant reminder to be kind to those around me.

Further reading: Families Cling to Fading Hopes of Finding Survivors, published on June 5, and Qingdao Continues Recovery from Nov 25

Relatives of victims of a deadly fire at the Baoyuanfeng Poultry Process Firm in Dehui, Jilin province. Wang Jing / China Daily