Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Living in the Shadows

At the end of 2008 and in the first few months of 2009, I wrote a lot about the plight of Chinese migrants. There were a lot of media reports about the millions upon millions of migrant workers who were either struggling to find work in Chinese metropolises or who had simply returned to the countryside dejected.

I haven't seen too many reports about migrants in recent months. I have to assume that most of the millions struggling at the beginning of 2009 eventually found work. The last figure I saw said that there were (only...) four million still looking for work. So it appears as if the crisis of unemployed migrants from last winter is not too severe right now.

I got an email from someone at The Global Post the other day. They directed me to some recent reporting that they've done on Chinese migrant workers entitled: Living in the Shadows. I suggest you click that link and go check out what they've put up over there. The videos, in particular, give the viewer a fascinating glimpse into the daily struggle of those on the edge of China's growth.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That was pretty intense for me and more people should be reminded about the suffering that good people are subjected too. Sometimes its easy to forget, and when people forget nothing is done, so kudos to those producers for keeping these issues in China's conscious.

Its so frustrating. In those three case studies you could see these were hard working people with dreams and hopes for their families like anyone else in the world. Working just as hard, probably harder, than those whom fortune has smiled upon. Life is just no fair.

One thing that also struck me about the discrimination pointed out in this video is that its not just the Tibetans and the Uighurs who are held back economically by discrimination, many Han Chinese suffer as well.