Migrant Labor
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Effects of Reflections Migrant Urban The “Master’s” on the Role of Inside: Cities . 4 Migration . 6 Embarrassment . 8 Migrant Labor . 10 Transformation . 12 Winter 2004 Vol. 6 No. 4 Against the Storm Three Chinese peasant children amidst the largest population shift in world history Mark Wendling he migrants are hated because they are an ignorant and dirty people, they are carri- ers of disease; they increase the necessity for police and the tax bill for schooling in a community. Mark Wendling They are never “Tallowed to feel at home in the communities that demand their services. Wherever they stop they try to put the children in school. It may be that the children will be in school for as much as a month before they are moved to another locality. But they still start the older children off to school, but the ragged little things will not go; they hide in ditches or wan- der off by themselves until it is Perspectives and analysis for those who serve China for those who serve and analysis Perspectives time to go back to the tent, be- cause they are scorned in the school. It should be understood that the old methods of repres- sion, of starvation wages, of jail- ing, beating and intimidation are not going to work. These are American people.” The struggles of displaced peo- The government estimates that ple transcend history and geogra- twenty million phy. The preceding story was told children have migrated to the cities with in the San Francisco news in 1936 their families. and more fully developed in John Steinbeck’s classic, The Grapes of Wrath as 150,000 migrant Americans left the eco- every American west of the Mississippi moving to nomically depressed “dust bowls” of Oklahoma Canada since the time that Deng Xiao Ping made his with the promise of employment in California. Yet infamous visit to the south of China in 1992. That’s the exact same aches are occurring today in the right, in that amount of time, 150 million people hearts of an even larger population in the People’s have relocated from China’s rural areas to its mid- Republic of China. size or mega cities. (There are now 176 cities with Today, China’s rural-to-urban migration phenom- one million or more people.) But, as the saying enon is on a scale that boggles the mind. Imagine goes, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” 2 Winter 2004 3 Mark Wendling China’s government offi- ing away, you might see that cially predicts that the mi- Li has a constellation of grant community will double small black flecks embed- by the year 2015. The social ded along the right side of implications and the impact her face. Her self-conscious- upon the Christian commu- ness is obviously a direct re- nity are nothing short of sult. Li received her unwel- breathtaking as the gravita- come tattoo when she was tional pull of China’s cities is six years old and her family irresistible. Like water moving had been in Beijing for toward the lowest surface, three months. Like all of China’s countryside peasants China’s northern residents have flowed en masse toward who do not live in apart- the urban centers in search of ment housing, Li’s family a livelihood and a piece of has a small coal-burning China’s new prosperity. Hav- stove, essential for heating ing no other option, villagers and cooking. Sometimes, leave their ancestral lands small pockets of air that are where their home is familiar, trapped in the cheap coal where their children have will heat and explode from friends and, in the case of pressure. Li was unfortunate millions, where the gospel enough to have been looking was first embraced. into the stove when this hap- While the displaced some- pened. Upon rushing the lit- times travel alone, the major- tle girl directly to the nearest ity of “floaters” migrate with Often, one or both parents will venture ahead medical clinic, Li’s parents their families. Often, one or were distraught to find that both parents will venture to a city in order to find work, leaving their they would need residence ahead to a city in order to children in the care of relatives or friends. permits for anything other find work, leaving their chil- than minimum first aid care. dren in the care of relatives Not having even temporary or friends. Once they have found some their children in this complex, urban puz- workers permits, they were forced to con- sort of employment and any kind of zle? Following are three stories of migrant cede to a bottle of antiseptic and some housing, they will bring the rest of the families who brought their children to salve. family along. Beijing and struggle against the storm. While efforts have been made to re- The government estimates that twenty form educational policies regarding mi- million children have migrated to the cit- The Child without a Face grant children, most families still cannot ies with their families. This is understand- It is not difficult to spot Xiao Li. She receive adequate health care. According to ably a life-altering move for these kids. spends her days running between stalls the July 13, 2004 issue of the China Daily, Even a move from one village to another and roaming the alleys in a makeshift many children suffer from anemia, rickets would be an adjustment. The contrast outdoor produce market that services two and serious malnutrition. sharpens when the elements of dialect dif- large residential complexes in the north- Xiao Li does not worry about class- ferences, pace of life increase, mobility, west corner of Beijing. mates teasing her about her face; she does economic needs and, a new issue, educa- It is not so easy to make eye contact not go to school. Neither does her broth- tion for the children, are added. with this diminutive, Chinese lass. Dur- er. In spite of a government regulation re- How do parents arrange education for ing a rare moment when she is not look- quiring all children between the ages of Brent Fulton, Editor Julia Grosser, Managing Editor Dona Diehl, Layout and Design Copyright © 2004 by ChinaSource. ChinaSource (ISSN 1552-9223) is published quarterly by China- Source, which was founded as a cooperative effort of Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies, the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association, World Evangelical Alliance, and the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College, and merged with the Institute of Chinese Studies in 2000. Its purpose is to provide up-to-date and accurate analysis of the issues and opportunities facing Christians involved in China service and to provide a forum for exchanging viewpoints and discussing strategies. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of ChinaSource or its cooperating agencies. ChinaSource may be requested from ChinaSource, P.O. Box 4343, Fullerton, CA 92834 ([email protected] or 714-449-0611). Subscription rates: USA: $29/yr., $54/2 yrs., $79/3 yrs.; International : $39/yr. , $74/2 yrs. ChinaSource reserves the right to transition the international version to an electronic format to improve service and offset postage rate increases. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without prior written permission of the publisher. 2 Winter 2004 3 six and fourteen to attend school, an esti- mented. While money is no longer a re- order to see them, Qu takes three differ- mated twenty percent of all migrant chil- strictive factor in most public schools, ent buses on the weekend. When he gets dren do not go to classes. The regulation there is still the issue of prejudice and there, he is usually required to help them is a difficult one to enforce. Migrant proximity to the schools. Most migrant catch up on their work load. workers are absent from their home vil- workers live a considerable distance from The school that Qu attends is a school lages, and many are undocumented in the public schools. for migrant children. There are about one the places where they live and work. thousand children who attend this school Grown at Twelve which has only existed for three years. In Shamed Qu Long Fei is twelve years old and those three years, the school has had to Han Guo Sheng eagerly awaits the end lives alone. His dwelling is a small shack move twice. The third location, where the of class. As school lets out, he quickly made from corrugated metal sheets tied school is now situated, is rented from a gathers his things and makes for the class- together with odd scraps of string, wire coal processing plant. Already, the room door. As he crosses the campus, he and torn fabric. His only source of heat school’s headmaster has been threatened hears other boys forming teams for the in the winter months, a small coal burn- that he must leave. daily after-school basketball game. Han ing stove, ventilates directly into his Qu is hopeful for the future. When frowns. He loves basketball. The exertion would feel wonderful after a long day of Mark Wendling sitting in class, but he will not play. He knows what would happen if he tried. It has happened before. These Beijing kids are relentless. They will make fun of his shirt. They will tease him because of his accent. Worst of all, they will probably talk about his parents. Han does not tell his parents when these things happen—that is, when he sees them. His mother leaves every morn- ing at 3:00 A.M.