Locals aid China quake victims

CHICAGO (WLS) -- More than 13,000 people are now confirmed dead in China following an earthquake that wiped out parts of the country.

Tens of thousands of people are still buried. Thousands of others are missing.

"I feel so sad, and a lot of people die," said Tony Hu, who has been watching the images from China in horror.

He moved from the Sichuan province to Chicago 15 years ago and now owns three restaurants in Chinatown.

Here, life seems to carry on, while he is worried sick about his family.

He finally reached them by phone Monday night, relieved to learn they were not harmed but their home was severely damaged. And now, they are sleeping outside like thousands of others, in fear of the aftershocks.

"They are out of the house, they sleep on the street. Everybody's sleeping on the street," said Hu.

There are an estimated 90,000 Chinese-Americans living in the Chicago area, but very few of them from the Sichuan province, where the earthquake struck - only about 750 or so.

But while their numbers here may be small, the desire to help is enormous. The Chinese American Service League has set up a relief fund and president Bernie Wong says donations have been pouring in.

"There's a lot of sadness among the community. Whether you have family there or not, it is part of the family of our homeland," said Wong.

The Chinese American Service League has set up a relief fund for victims of the Sichuan province earthquake.

Send checks payable to:
CASL-Sichuan Relief Fund
2141 S. Tan Ct.
Chicago, IL 60616

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local, kevin roy

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