On September 23, an overflow at the Matai'an Creek barrier lake in Hualien, caused severe flooding in Guangfu Township. As soon as the news broke, a group of volunteers known as the “shovel heroes” rush to help flood victims with nothing but their hands and hearts. Kangol and Ash, a young couple from Kaohsiung, are part of this movement.
On a hot night in Kaohsiung, I wait at the corner of a boulevard with a big bag of old clothes.
Earlier that day, Kangol and Ash, a young couple who run a small cocktail bar nearby, showed me a box full of shirts and pants—all in good condition, albeit old-fashioned. “We got them from a neighbor who owns a vintage clothes shop,” they explained, “when we told him we were going to Hualien to help the victims of the flood, he gave us these clothes for them.”
Now I wait for Kangol and Ash to pick up my old clothes. When I called them to say I found a bunch of them in my wardrobe, they immediately jumped on a bus to catch up with me. By the time they appear among the neon lights of Kaohsiung’s Blade Runner-like downtown, it’s past 9 p.m. The next day, Kangol and Ash will take the first train across the entire island, bound for a full day of shoveling mud out of strangers’ homes.
＊欲閱讀中文版本，請參考：「鏟子超人」奔赴花蓮馬太鞍：來自高雄的他們，如何用雙手為陌生人鏟出希望？
From Mixing Cocktails to Shoveling Mud
When I met them again three days later, they looked drained but happy. “We cleaned four houses,” Kangol says.
Tall, always smiling, and dressed as if his life were a perpetual holiday, Kangol is actually a very hard-working man. In his mid-thirties, after years in the service industry in the resort town of Kenting, he opened no9dimension, a pocket cocktail bar in Kaohsiung.
“I shoveled mud out of many houses,” he recalls. “One of the people whose house we cleaned almost cried. The flood took away his car, and when he saw us helping, he was very moved.”
His girlfriend Ash migrated from Hong Kong. Beneath her petite, bohemian allure hides a powerful mind with a solid sense of psychology, which she studied overseas. “Kangol kept telling me, ‘Rest! Drink water!” she laughs. “He did most of the heavy lifting. While others were scrubbing, he was shoveling and carrying the wheelbarrows. I was scrubbing floors. At one point, we were cleaning a house. We couldn’t see the floor because it was all mud. When we finally reached the floor, we were like ‘yes!’ It felt like victory.”
The contrast between the evenings they spend with their regulars at the little bar and the experience they had in Hualien couldn’t be sharper. In Kaohsiung, the couple turned a small concrete corner between two buildings into a steampunk-style bar where Kangol mixes colorful drinks. He built the entire place himself, showcasing his handyman skills—no wonder this crafty man was able to help so much in Hualien.
A Journey Began with a News Report
Images of the devastated city on television convinced the couple to take action. “We saw the news, how terrible everything was,” Ash says. “We thought, we don’t have much to donate, but we can give our efforts and strength, just to help people there. It was hard for them to take care of everything themselves; there was just so much to do.”
Kangol adds, “When we saw the news, we thought maybe we could go and help. I figured I could help clean houses, do something—anything.” He didn’t waste time. Since Ash felt the same, he immediately set up a day off from the bar and planned the trip. “I just think and do, that’s who I am. It touched my heart, so I did it.”
But what they saw in person was far from what appeared on the news. At the end of the long train trip–Hualien is literally on the other side of the island from Kaohsiung–there was more than an impressive sight. “The first thing I noticed was the smell,” Kangol says. “It was horrible, like dead rats! There’s a lot of garbage in the street, too, because people just couldn’t handle it anymore.”
Ash recalls: “The roads were blocked because everyone was cleaning the mud out of their homes, and there was nowhere else to dump it except the middle of the road. We knew that people farther from the station needed even more help, but volunteers couldn’t reach them until the machines cleared the roads.”
Volunteers Step into Hualien’s Devastation
The trip was intense from the start.
“We woke up around 4:30, “ Ash recalls. “We were still half asleep, but we wanted to catch the first train there. We only had one day off, so we knew we’d come back with the last train home and make the best of this day. “
At first, they didn’t have a seat on the train. “After a few stops, we could finally sit down, “ she says. “So many people were going to Hualien to help—the train was packed. You couldn’t even walk past people. But it was full of enthusiastic young people. I didn’t talk much because I fell asleep! I figure it was important to save my energy for the work ahead.”
When they arrived at Hualien’s train station, they were greeted by a crowd of volunteers trying to organize the chaos. “The train station was packed,” Ash says. “They made a website for people to sign up, and if you did, you had to go a certain way. We hadn’t signed up, so we joined another group. Locals would come and ask for help—‘I need five people‘, or ‘ten people‘—and we’d step forward and go with them. As soon as we put on our rain boots and grabbed a shovel, we were sent out.”
Kangol adds, “As soon as I stepped out of the train station, I was struck by how terrible it looked—so many people, so much dirt. You see it immediately, and it’s almost too much to take in“.
They handed the donated clothes to volunteers at the station who were sorting and distributing them. “We got the idea to bring clothes thanks to our friends,“ Ash explains. “They’re for both locals and other volunteers whose clothes get ruined during the day. Some volunteers stay for days, sleeping on piles of supplies because they have nowhere else to go. But people in Taiwan are incredibly kind—they’ll do whatever they can to help. We even saw construction workers driving their trucks over just to lend a hand, without asking for anything in return.“
Witnessing Pain, Inspiring Action
Between shoveling and scrubbing, Kangol and Ash heard the stories of the people they were helping.
“People told me that when the water came, they didn’t even have time to think or escape—they just went upstairs,” Kangol says. “At first, they thought the flood might be limited, but then they realized how huge it was.”
Ash adds, “The first house we cleaned was the worst. It was a shop downstairs. The only thing left were the clothes that had been hanging up high. Everything else was ruined. We scrubbed the floor and the yard. The owners were so kind, constantly apologizing: ‘We don’t even know you, and you’re helping!’ And we told them, it’s okay! At lunch, they gave us bento boxes, brought bread and water, and said we could take as much as we wanted.”
Kangol also had another idea during the day: documenting and spreading what they saw.
His little cocktail bar has some social media presence, with Instagram and Facebook accounts for no9dimension that get good engagement. He decided to use the following to help the people of Hualien. All day long, he filmed and took pictures, uploading striking videos without wasting a moment.
“The idea to put everything on my social media is to let everyone see how much help is needed,” he says, “Maybe it will inspire others to give or come as well. Some already did. A few followers even donated money and goods after seeing what I posted.”
Exhausted but Grateful: Volunteers' Long Way Home
After a full day of work, Kangol and Ash took the last train back, crossing the island in the opposite direction. They reached their home in the middle of the night.
“When I got home, I just cleaned myself and fell into bed,” says Kangol. “I was tired the next day, too.” Ash concurs, “The train on the way back was so quiet—everyone was half asleep! Back home, I felt good when I slept, but the next day my back was so sore and stiff, and I had to get up for work.”
It is difficult to imagine two Taiwanese cities more different than Kaohsiung and Hualien, not just geographically. The lifestyle, the local language, and even the political scene are almost opposites. Yet, many people from Kaohsiung packed the train that brought Kangol and Ash to the disaster zone, ready to help people in need without any hesitation.
“I really think I saw more good than bad in the end,” Ash says. “Yes, it all looked bad, but people were so nice. They brought food and encouraged you to eat. Overall, it was a very nice experience. It was heartbreaking to know more people still needed help, but we only had so much time and strength.”
Kangol concludes, “I saw people being very grateful even though we don’t know each other. And that’s the best feeling.”
＊欲閱讀中文版本，請參考：「鏟子超人」奔赴花蓮馬太鞍：來自高雄的他們，如何用雙手為陌生人鏟出希望？
執行編輯：洪翊芳
核稿編輯：羅思涵
