A French Son-in-Law in Wuhan Battle

By Yang Zhigang, Wang Siban, Yue Wenwan & Zhang Xinyi Photos by Wang Siban

During the battle against COVID-19, behind medical workers stand a group of volunteers. They worked on the streets or in the communities of Wuhan every day and night to keep this big city running. Among them, Frederic Domeck from Lyon, France attracted our attention.

8 years ago, Frederic settled down in Wuhan with his wife, and taught French at Wuhan University of Technology.

On January 26, when asked if he would like to join the volunteer motorcade and deliver supplies to hospitals and communities, this veteran, full of experience in dealing with complicated situations and unknown danger, readily accepted his friend’s offer without any hesitation, thus becoming a member of Leopard Change volunteer motorcade.

“I’m healthy. I have a big car. So I think I can help.” In more than one month, he drove his car to deliver disinfectant, rubber gloves, protective suits, and foods to hospitals, and send vegetables and daily supplies to communities, driving over 600 kilometers. “Frederic is earnest and down-to-earth. He has set a good example,” said Wan Bin, a member of the motorcade.

All the time, Frederic was holding a smart phone on his hand. He needed to use the translation apps to communicate with others.

At the end of January, when the French government started to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan, Frederic and his family decided to stay. “My wife, my daughter, and my mother are all here in Wuhan, so I cannot go back to France.”

“There are a great number of volunteering groups in Wuhan,” said Wang Zhixiang, a member of the motorcade. “In our motorcade, we have 7 teams of drivers. And more citizens are joining the volunteer services to help those in need. Up to now, we have provided volunteer services for nearly 500 hospitals in total.”

Frederic concluded, “All of us are delivering protective kits, medical supplies, and foods to medical workers. They are not fighting alone, and behind them is the entire Chinese nation. Morale is very high in Wuhan.” (Source: Xinhua News Agency. Translation: Fan Jiayu)

Frederic Domeck goes to the supermarket to buy supplies弗雷德到超市代購物資

武漢抗疫戰(zhàn), 志愿者們是白衣戰(zhàn)士身后堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的后盾。他們?yōu)檫@個城市的運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)日夜奔波。在志愿者中，有一個身影格外引人注目，他是來自法國里昂的弗雷德。

8年前弗雷德隨愛人來到武漢，曾在武漢理工大學(xué)當(dāng)法語老師。

1月26日朋友詢問他，是否愿意加入志愿車隊(duì)，為醫(yī)院與社區(qū)運(yùn)輸物資。曾是一名軍人的弗雷德，早已習(xí)慣處理復(fù)雜危險(xiǎn)的情況，很爽快地答應(yīng)了，成為豹變支援車隊(duì)的一員。

“我很健康，我的車空間也挺大，我可以幫忙?！币粋€多月來，他開著自己的車給醫(yī)院送去消毒水、橡膠手套、防護(hù)服、飯菜，還幫社區(qū)運(yùn)輸蔬菜、日常生活用品等，跑了近600 公里。車隊(duì)隊(duì)員萬斌說：“弗雷德做事非常踏實(shí)，而且極其認(rèn)真。他給我們的影響很大。”

由于語言不通，弗雷德時刻將手機(jī)拿在手中，出現(xiàn)溝通障礙時，就打開翻譯軟件輸入法語轉(zhuǎn)換為中文，與對方一句一句地溝通交流。

1月底，法國政府開始從武漢撤離法國僑民，但弗雷德與家人堅(jiān)定地留在了武漢?！拔业钠夼蛬寢尪荚谖錆h，我沒有理由回法國?！?/p>

“武漢還有很多志愿服務(wù)團(tuán)隊(duì)，我們的車隊(duì)就有7 組人，此外還有很多市民志愿者采取行動，去支援需要幫助的人群?！避囮?duì)隊(duì)員王治翔說，“我們現(xiàn)在支持的醫(yī)院，有將近500 家了。”

弗雷德說：“大家都在為醫(yī)護(hù)人員運(yùn)送防護(hù)用品、醫(yī)療物資和食物。醫(yī)護(hù)人員不是獨(dú)自在奮戰(zhàn)，他們背后是所有的中國人。武漢的士氣很高昂?！?/p>