China Hope Live » People

Not all morning commutes are created equal

Joel — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:32:43 +0000

For every one Chinese skyscraper there are thousands of these guys:

I took this just before 9 this morning as I was walking from the subway to work thinking about how cold and brutal it was (-13′C with a sharp, dry wind). Remind me not to complain about my commute!

Migrant workers in China would be the bottom of urban Chinese society if they were actually included in society. They live a brutal parallel existence far from their hometowns, where the rural life they left behind was even tougher. Without the millions of migrants filling the factories and building the skyscrapers, there would be no new New China.

This is the original:

For another, happier Chinese-migrant-workers-in-the-back-of-a-pickup photo, see here.

Related Migrant Worker posts:

Not all morning commutes are created equal

Joel — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:32:43 +0000

For every one Chinese skyscraper there are thousands of these guys:

I took this just before 9 this morning as I was walking from the subway to work thinking about how cold and brutal it was (-13′C with a sharp, dry wind). Remind me not to complain about my commute!

This is the original:

For another, happier Chinese-migrant-workers-in-the-back-of-a-pickup photo, see here.

Related Migrant Worker posts:

Chinatown, Africa

Joel — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:00:23 +0000

Our first major international experiences were in Africa, and we still have a special interest in its places and peoples. This 24 minute video goes where the kids “think all white people are Chinese” and talks to an interesting cast ensemble: the ultimate Chinese migrant workers who’ve discovered that the real Africa isn’t exactly like the one they were sold in China, an Angolan government official who loves China’s “no strings attached” policy with regard to where the aid money goes, Angolan construction “helpers” who can’t pronounce their Chinese co-workers’ names, and some articulate young Angolans who believe that despite what it looks like, China’s involvement is not really helping their country.

(From The Current via CDT):

How authentically Chinese is a Chinatown in Angola? They have lǎowài singing Hotel California during drunken karaoke sessions.

Related Articles:

Chinatown, Africa

Joel — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:00:23 +0000

(From The Current via CDT):

How authentically Chinese is a Chinatown in Angola? They have lǎowài singing Hotel California during drunken karaoke sessions.

Related Articles:

Migrant worker CBC radio interview

Joel — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:48:24 +0000

CBC’s China correspondent travels with his maid to her home village and presents her story on CBC radio. Like millions of migrants workers in China, she left her husband, sons, and home village behind to work in the city to be able to pay for her children’s education.

Download the mp3 from CBC (starts at 00:56 of the mp3) or listen online (scroll down to “Part 2: My China Maid”).

Migrant worker CBC radio interview

Joel — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:48:24 +0000

Download the mp3 from CBC (starts at 00:56 of the mp3) or listen online (scroll down to “Part 2: My China Maid”).