A Female Chinese Peacekeeper in Haiti

来源 :文化交流 | 被引量 : 0次 | 上传用户:nyhtstchhgxl
下载到本地 , 更方便阅读
声明 : 本文档内容版权归属内容提供方 , 如果您对本文有版权争议 , 可与客服联系进行内容授权或下架
论文部分内容阅读
  Wang Xueyan, a Chinese UN peacekeeping policewoman, was in Haiti when the 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit the island country on January 12, 2010. She and her partner, a Canadian policeman named Martin, were patrolling by car when the earth shook violently. The patrol car swayed and shuddered for more than 30 seconds. A young Haitian rushed to the patrol car and asked them to rescue those buried under rubbles of a collapsed building nearby. Wang Xueyan and her colleagues rushed to the site. They rescued five survivors after working there like crazy.
  In a television interview, Wang Xueyan remarked, “I am not a weak woman. I am a UN peacekeeper in Haiti. My heart cries when I see rubbles and homeless people everywhere. I do best to help those who need help.”
  After the quake, she talked with her husband, her son and colleagues back home briefly on telephone. They became relieved after learning she was safe.
  Wang Xueyan is on the force of the Crime Investigation Unit of the Public Security Bureau of Huainan, a city in eastern China’s Anhui Province. After her graduation from a police academy, she was assigned to work as a plainclothes detective charged in finding and arresting pickpockets in public places such as shopping malls, streets and buses. With the help of her colleagues, she busted nine gangs of pickpockets and captured eight fugitives whose names had been posted on the national wanted list issued online by the Ministry of Public Security. She was promoted because of her brilliant records. The Anti-Pickpocket Squad where she worked received many honors for its brilliant work.
  Wang Xueyan wanted to do more. She often shut herself up in office and studied English lessons during lunch time. CIS, an American television drama, became one of her best study materials. Watching the thrilling episodes, she learned English and opened her eyes to complicated criminal investigation.
  Wang Xueyan decided to sign up for an English language diplomat course sponsored by Anhui University. In order to graduate successfully, she studied hard. She read English every evening following tapes through a tape recorder. After six machines, she completed all the courses and attained a four-year diploma as an English language major.
  After learning that China dispatches Chinese police to join UN peacekeeping missions and the Chinese authorities recruit candidates on a regular basis, she began to participate in various training activities such as target shooting.
  The Ministry of Public Security was recruiting a new batch of Chinese police in 2003 when she was studying an advanced police course in Chinese People’s Public Security University. She did not apply because her son was still too young. Five classmates were recruited.
  Wang Xueyan did not hesitate at all in early 2006 when the ministry started recruiting again. 640 police officers from all over China qualified for the preliminary, but only 20% went through the preliminary round successfully. Wang Xueyan was the only successful candidate from Anhui Province.
  She joined a training camp in Langfang, a city in Hebei Province in northern China. In early July, she sat for a selection examination presided over by UN officers. What was examined included English language proficiency, driving, shooting, and hands-on knowledge of breaking down and reassembling police firearms. Those who failed in one test were instantly disqualified. Some of her fellows were flunked in ruthless examinations and cried when they were asked to leave. The most nervous moment came when the successful winners were announced. Her heart sank when the announcement went on at an excruciatingly slow speed and her name was not being called. Her joy knew no bounds when her name was finally called. It turned out that hers was the last name on the list.
  On July 5, 2006, she received her qualification certificate for UN peacekeeping missions and became the first female UN peacekeeping police officer from Anhui Province.
  However, the UN certificate is not the final passport to UN missions. Wang Xueyan went through another round of selection. In September 2006, she came to Langfang again for more advanced training. In February, 2009, a 9-test selection began in snow. Only 32 of the 51 examinees passed the second selection. Another seven of the remaining 32 were eliminated after a telephone audition with high-ranking UN peacekeeping officers. Wang Xueyan was one of the 25 successful officers.
  In July 2009, Wang Xueyan received the notification from the Ministry of Public Security for a UN mission in Haiti. She contacted her colleagues in Haiti to get a general picture of the situation there. Her 15-year-old son did research on the distant country on computer. After gathering information for two days, the boy became sleepless for the first time in his life. The son was extremely worried about his mom’s safety in Haiti. He asked, “Mom, how can you ensure your own safety in such a chaotic country?” Wang reassured her son: “Don’t forget your mom is a Class-II Police Superintendent. I am a professional and can competently handle most normal security issues. What is more, if Haiti is all right, what’s the point of my going there?”
  Her colleagues in Haiti gave her a shopping list for things she would need in Haiti. The list had 195 items ranging from wok to toothpaste. The mother and the son went on a shopping spree for days.
  Wang Xueyan and her colleagues arrived in Haiti on September 20, 2009. Though she had thought she was fully prepared for what she might encounter in Haiti, the real situation there was worse and the mission was extremely tough. She would get up at five o’clock in the morning and leave for work at six. She keeps in touch with her son by talking with him through internet every Sunday.
  Wang Xueyan and colleagues often visit orphanages in Haiti, bringing food to boys and girls there. She feels sad when seeing the hungry children gulf the food they bring. The country needs peace badly. She now sponsors a little boy at an orphanage. She manages to learn some simple French and chats with the little boy.
  Her family and her colleagues back home in Anhui Province are most proud of her. Gong Yingmin, the director and Party chief of the Huainan Public Security Bureau, commented in a television interview that Wang Xueyan’s heroic behavior in Haiti testified to the good work they do at the local police department in Huainan.
  At 12 o’clock on the noon of January 19, 2010, Wang Xueyan talked with her colleagues at the bureau in Huainan.
  She reports, “The security situation in Haiti is bad and danger is everywhere. We carry a heavy workload and can only rest for three or four hours a day. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and the domestic chaos has plunged lots of people into a life of extreme poverty. The earthquake is a further heavy blow to the poor country. Peace is crucial. Many Chinese wept when they saw Chinese rescue teams come to Haiti. I cried too. We now feel relieved with our fellows from motherland. The biggest revelation I have got through this now four-month-long peacekeeping mission is that peace is the most precious thing in the world and that my motherland is the most precious thing in my life.” □
其他文献
Liu E (刘鹗 1857-1909, E pronounced ur in burst) is remembered largely as the author of “The Travels of Lao Can”, a realist novel that portrays the last years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). He was exi
期刊
I went through a collection of paper-cut masterpieces by 113-year-old female folk artist Hu Jiazhi during the days celebrating the 60th anniversary of New China. The amazing master is from Tonglu, a p
期刊
Wu Qiyao, 92, was a pilot of the Flying Tigers volunteer group that helped fend off Japanese attacks in China during the World War II. Now sitting in the wheelchair, the veteran pilot still remembers
期刊
Some Chinese sayings describe the affinity between the lips and the teeth, but for those suffering from cleft lips and palates, the affinity is far from perfect. Smile Angel Foundation and Operation S
期刊
Stan Lai or Lai Shengchuan as he is most known in Taiwan and on the mainland is a highly influential award-winning Taiwan playwright and theater director. His latest show, “The Village”, was staged at
期刊
Master Mei Diaoding is remembered by the people of the purple clay kettles as a great master who contributed a great deal to the elite literati style in the art of purple clay kettles.   Mei Diaoding
期刊
在“国际花园城市”总决赛中,太湖畔的长兴获得环境可持续发展奖第一名,夺得国际花园城市最高级别组(D组)竞赛全球第一名,被授予大赛最高奖金奖。长兴把最好的一面展示给了世界。值得一提的是,这在国内还是首次。  “长兴是我参与合作的5个城市中最好的一个。”国际花园城市全球顾问、厦门大学教授潘维廉对记者这样说。他的话也是对长兴这个国际花园城市的最好褒奖。长兴打造国际花园城市,既为长兴的持续发展打下了坚实的
期刊
I met Admiral Xiao Ke (1907-2008) sixteen years ago. It was the only time we met, but the red-army veteran gave me a deep impression. The other day I was sorting through my documents and books while p
期刊
Su Dongpo (1037-1101), well known for his achievement as mayor of Hangzhou, is a big figure in Zhejiang’s cultural history. Su Dongpo is widely celebrated as a poet, essayist, calligrapher, and painte
期刊
Changxing, a city in northern Zhejiang, won the top prize in Division D at the International Garden City Competition in November, 2008. Pan Weilian, a professor with Xiamen University and advisor of I
期刊