Wu Jie is the only child of her parents. But the 27-year-old still doesn't have time to take care of mother and father, who have been living in a tent in Mianyang city since the quake struck on May 12.

Wu is a policewoman who, along with her six colleagues in the police station, has to maintain law and order in Huangtu. Also, she has the 40,000 residents of the township's 24 villages to take care of.

Huangtu lies between Mianyang and Beichuan, two of the worst hit places by the quake. So she and colleagues have had to patrol the villages, looking out for any fire or other hazard in the temporary shelters that are made of inflammable material.

Their area of patrol has increased after the quake, for now it covers the township's main road, the only way to Beichuan county. And they have to keep it clear and persuade scared residents not to pitch tents on it.

They have been persuading farmers not to burn straws and wastes, too, because the smoke could block the view of pilots' airdropping relief material in the disaster zones.

Though the casualties in Huangtu's villages were not as heavy as in Beichuan or Mianyang, the destroyed houses and broken families have increased their workload.

The events of the first four days after the quake is fresh in Deng Hui's mind. The 32-year-old policeman and his colleagues had just two private cars to make the patrols, and stayed near the vehicles almost round the clock so they could answer emergency calls.

He says he was jolted from his sleep in the middle of the night many a time. "But compared with our peers in some hard-hit areas, we are much better off," says the tired officer, sitting in his temporary office in a steel plant, one of the few buildings left intact in the township.

"Our counterparts in Beichuan, many of who lost their homes and family members, continue to perform their duties These are difficult times, and everyone has to make a sacrifice," Deng says.

"You have to meet your needs on your own because nobody is in a position to offer you food or water," says Wu.

Such is the pressure of work and their urge to help the survivors that none of the cops have had time to be with their families.

But still they are not complaining because they have the satisfaction of maintaining order in the villages. A couple of thefts were reported last week, though.

"We know all the people are suffering and are on their nerves end," Deng says. A dispute between a tenant and the owner of a local inn escalated into a fight on Monday, requiring police intervention.

"I told them no one wanted the quake. In these difficult times, everyone should connect to each other and the bond between human beings should triumph over everything else," Deng says. "The focus of our job now is to enlighten and help our residents."

This reporter's conversation with the cops yesterday was interrupted several times by local visitors who came to collect their lost ID cards or to enquire how to apply afresh for one.

Farmer Li Huaquan, who collected his second-generation ID card, says: "The cops have done a very good job."

"With them around we don't have to worry about security," says Beichuan victim Yang Daomei, who along with hundreds of others has taken shelter near the township.

(China Daily May 28, 2008)