Inside: The life of migrant workers in China
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00.02 (Flag)
The Peoples Republic of China an economical wonderland. The Chinese wonder is created by cheap labour forces. More than 100 million people have moved from their rural hometowns into the city, illegally. This labour movement is now becoming a severe problem in China.
00.23 (Construction site)
February 2005, Shanghai. After long debates a few migrant workers agree to tell their story. Its a risk to both sides. They risk to be arrested.
00.39 (Kejun at work)
Kejun is 33 years old. He was the best in school. It was always his dream to study arts, but no one from his village could ever afford university. Kejun comes from one of Chinas poorest provinces. No jobs, no future. Searching for a better life, he hired with a construction company, works for 5 dollars a day, 7 days a week.
01.05 Int Kejun
I started working here as a simple labourer, but I am now trying to gain special skills. I want to learn how to read the construction drawings, so that I can get a job with more responsibilities and earn more money.
01.29 (Houses of Migrant Workers)
On the outskirts of the new Shanghai, live those who build it. Kajun has a wife, and she too works seven days a week, but in a different city, three hours distance by car. Kajun and his wife only meet once a year, when they both visit their child, who grows up at home with his grandparents.
01.54 (cousins house)
Kejun lives with his cousin and her husband. Unlike Kejun, they were lucky and both found a job in Shanghai. But their son, too, grows up without his parents, in Kejuns hometown.
?03.04 Int Li Yun, Kejuns Cousin, Female Voice-Over
I feel very bad that we and Kajun leave our children behind. It is unbearable.
02.08 (Computer / Website AMRC)
Chinas has approximately 200 Million migrant workers. Most live like Kejun and his Cousin. The Asian Monitor Center AMRC tries to help them. This NGO is fighting for the rights of workers throughout Asia. Most of the criticism is directed at China. There, especially migrant workers are often mistreated by their employers or deceived for their money. May Wong works as a lawyer for the NGO. She criticises that the rural people, who under Mao were once pampered, are in todays China considered worthless.
03.05 OT May Wong, Asian Monitor Center, Hongkong (female Voice-Over)
They are always discriminated by the local residents. That is why their lifes is really very tough. When they are living in the city, their treatment is very different from the local residents.
03.22 (central station)
The Chinese residence law prohibits the rural population to move into the cities. Those who cant present a special permission, can be imprisoned and send home. But the Chinese economy has become dependent on this cheap workforce from the countryside. So the law is often ignored. But there is no certainty, and the migrant workers live their lifes in the city under constant threat.
03.51 (central station)
Shanghais Central Station. We must be careful that no one detects our camera. Already two weeks ago we were put under arrest here. The thousands of migrant workers at the Central Station are certainly not a topic, which Chinas censor would allow us to report on.
04.10
Today Kejun and his cousin want to return home for their village. It is the time of the spring festival. One year has gone since they last saw their children.
04.21 (group)
Kajun and his cousin have not yet had time to purchase a ticket, because they had to work overtime in the weeks leading up to the Spring Festival. Today hundred-thousands of migrant workers want to catch a train home. Last week the Chinese railway sold a billion train tickets.
04.48 Int Kejun
Have you got three tickets to Fuyang?
04.51 Int female ticket seller, Female Voice-Over
We dont have any tickets at all for today
04.56 Int Kejun
No tickets left? Well, thanks
They are sold out!
05.03 (black market)
His next best choice is the black market. But its a risk. If Kajun gets caught, he will go to prison straight away.
05.13 Int black market dealer
Are you looking for tickets?
05.15 Int Kejun
Yeah, I want to go to Fuyang
05.17 Int dealer
You can have one for 300 Yuan, thats only double the normal price. A good deal for you!
05.23 (ticket)
But many blackmarket tickets are fakes. And again, being caught with a fake ticket on the train means punishment. Kejun has doubts about the quality of the tickets.
05.40 (bus)
Their last and only option left is to take the bus. Bus tickets are always available, but they cost 15 dollars that is three days wage and a small fortune for someone like Kejun who - for the past year - has saved every cent for his family.
05.56 Int Kejun
I am so excited to come home now. My life in Shanghai consists only of work I do
nothing else. You can get used to it, but it is very lonely. The main thing is that I dont
return home empty -handed. I saved 1000 Dollars this year, not bad, isnt it?
06.17 (bus trip)
While Kejun is happy to return home, his cousin is worried. She is six-months pregnant, yet according to the law she shouldnt be. If someone in her village spots her ballooning tummy and denounces her to the authorities, she will have to pay a huge fine 600 Dollars.
06.40 (frosty night trip)
At night, the heating system is out of order, the windows freeze on the outside. 12 hours of freezing.
06.51 (village)
Kejuns hometown. A 1000 souls, mostly elderly people and children. The age-group in between only stopps by for a visit.
07.04 (kitchen)
Kajuns mother is preparing a welcome meal for him and his wife. She is heating the oven, a rare occasion. Wood and coal are so precious that no one heats his house, not even in winter times. Kajuns mother is baking steam bread rolls.
07.29 (chinese lights)
Kejun too is excited to celebrate and shops for some lampions.
07.34 (bus Stop)
Any minute now, his wife will arrive. The last time he saw her, was exactly one year ago.
07.47 Int Kejun
My wife works in a toy factory. She got time off later than I.
07.55 (bus Stop)
Kajuns wife fell travelsick during her long journey. No hug, no kiss. In China big feelings are not shown openly. Love, so they say, lives in their hearts.
8.10 Int Wang Yu (wife of Kajun), female voice-over
My bus was delayed for two hours, there was a traffic jam and an accident at Fengtai. You look forward to this moment for the whole year. This is our only holiday.
08.30 (taxi)
Theyd rather save the money, but decide to take a cab anyway. Its a two hour foot walk and they are both anxious to see their family.
08.41 Atmoton (Sohn) Zhang Wendi
Mum, is that really you?
08.48 Atmoton Wang Yu, female voice-over
Its all gonna be fine. I missed you so much! Did you miss me a little, too?
08.53 (Fernseher tragen)
At dusk Kajun takes his most precious souvenir home. A brand-new TV set. It will bring colourful pictures of a modern world into their living-room and give them a glimpse of a better life.
09.07 (Dorf)
That is what many here are looking for. Not only the new TV set will do some advertisement for a better life. Kejuns uncle Changhong will do, too. He is on the road again. Hes a head-hunter and it was him who hired Kajun. Hes on the lookout for fresh workers for Shanghais building sites. The younger - the cheaper - the better for him.
09.36
Its a rather easy job in this village. Uncle Changhong can dictate the terms.
09.48 Atmoton Zhang Changhong (Anwerber)
I have a job for you in Shanghai. I heard you are a good craftsman. If you want to, you can have it.
09.57
Changchon prefers to headhunt relatives or neighbours. Its safer this way.
10.05 OT Zhang Changhong (Anwerber)
If you hire strangers you risk that they dont work well enough. They are slow, sluggish or are just lazing around. If I hire my friends or relatives I never have experienced any of these problems so far.
10.25 (Nightwalk)
They say their village is a family yet Kejuns pregnant cousin dares to return home only in the dark. No one must spot her tummy. During her stay she wont be leaving her parental home because she fears someone could denounce her at the authorities.
10.44 (child)
Her son has been eagerly expecting them. Its for his sake that his parents went to Shanghai. Like many Chinese they find nothing in life more important than to offer their child a better future. Thats what they work and live for.
11.12 (Fireworks)
Kajun brought home more than lampions. This is his way of showing that he is earning money and that, for him, the future is bright.
11.29 (Packing)
Three days later. Uncle Chonghongs latest catch is packing for his new life. So far he only knows of Shanghai by word of mouth. He will have to leave his wife and his little son behind.
11.48 Int new worker
I am very sad to leave my home. I will miss everything out there, especially my family and my parents. The other workers have told me that you can return home only once a year.
12.12 OT May Wong, female voice over
China can become a big power, but it doesnt mean that the peoples lives will greatly improve. (continue in OFF) they are young and healthy, but after several years, you can see their health become worse. Some young people go to prostitutes or women workers become mistress. So it is quite common nowadays in China.
12.41 Int New Worker
I have to leave now for Shanghai
12.43 Int child
Where is dad off to?
12.44 Int mother, female voice over
He is going to earn money
12.51 Int new worker
Take good care of the kid
---------------------------------------------------------
00.02 (Flag)
The Peoples Republic of China an economical wonderland. The Chinese wonder is created by cheap labour forces. More than 100 million people have moved from their rural hometowns into the city, illegally. This labour movement is now becoming a severe problem in China.
00.23 (Construction site)
February 2005, Shanghai. After long debates a few migrant workers agree to tell their story. Its a risk to both sides. They risk to be arrested.
00.39 (Kejun at work)
Kejun is 33 years old. He was the best in school. It was always his dream to study arts, but no one from his village could ever afford university. Kejun comes from one of Chinas poorest provinces. No jobs, no future. Searching for a better life, he hired with a construction company, works for 5 dollars a day, 7 days a week.
01.05 Int Kejun
I started working here as a simple labourer, but I am now trying to gain special skills. I want to learn how to read the construction drawings, so that I can get a job with more responsibilities and earn more money.
01.29 (Houses of Migrant Workers)
On the outskirts of the new Shanghai, live those who build it. Kajun has a wife, and she too works seven days a week, but in a different city, three hours distance by car. Kajun and his wife only meet once a year, when they both visit their child, who grows up at home with his grandparents.
01.54 (cousins house)
Kejun lives with his cousin and her husband. Unlike Kejun, they were lucky and both found a job in Shanghai. But their son, too, grows up without his parents, in Kejuns hometown.
?03.04 Int Li Yun, Kejuns Cousin, Female Voice-Over
I feel very bad that we and Kajun leave our children behind. It is unbearable.
02.08 (Computer / Website AMRC)
Chinas has approximately 200 Million migrant workers. Most live like Kejun and his Cousin. The Asian Monitor Center AMRC tries to help them. This NGO is fighting for the rights of workers throughout Asia. Most of the criticism is directed at China. There, especially migrant workers are often mistreated by their employers or deceived for their money. May Wong works as a lawyer for the NGO. She criticises that the rural people, who under Mao were once pampered, are in todays China considered worthless.
03.05 OT May Wong, Asian Monitor Center, Hongkong (female Voice-Over)
They are always discriminated by the local residents. That is why their lifes is really very tough. When they are living in the city, their treatment is very different from the local residents.
03.22 (central station)
The Chinese residence law prohibits the rural population to move into the cities. Those who cant present a special permission, can be imprisoned and send home. But the Chinese economy has become dependent on this cheap workforce from the countryside. So the law is often ignored. But there is no certainty, and the migrant workers live their lifes in the city under constant threat.
03.51 (central station)
Shanghais Central Station. We must be careful that no one detects our camera. Already two weeks ago we were put under arrest here. The thousands of migrant workers at the Central Station are certainly not a topic, which Chinas censor would allow us to report on.
04.10
Today Kejun and his cousin want to return home for their village. It is the time of the spring festival. One year has gone since they last saw their children.
04.21 (group)
Kajun and his cousin have not yet had time to purchase a ticket, because they had to work overtime in the weeks leading up to the Spring Festival. Today hundred-thousands of migrant workers want to catch a train home. Last week the Chinese railway sold a billion train tickets.
04.48 Int Kejun
Have you got three tickets to Fuyang?
04.51 Int female ticket seller, Female Voice-Over
We dont have any tickets at all for today
04.56 Int Kejun
No tickets left? Well, thanks
They are sold out!
05.03 (black market)
His next best choice is the black market. But its a risk. If Kajun gets caught, he will go to prison straight away.
05.13 Int black market dealer
Are you looking for tickets?
05.15 Int Kejun
Yeah, I want to go to Fuyang
05.17 Int dealer
You can have one for 300 Yuan, thats only double the normal price. A good deal for you!
05.23 (ticket)
But many blackmarket tickets are fakes. And again, being caught with a fake ticket on the train means punishment. Kejun has doubts about the quality of the tickets.
05.40 (bus)
Their last and only option left is to take the bus. Bus tickets are always available, but they cost 15 dollars that is three days wage and a small fortune for someone like Kejun who - for the past year - has saved every cent for his family.
05.56 Int Kejun
I am so excited to come home now. My life in Shanghai consists only of work I do
nothing else. You can get used to it, but it is very lonely. The main thing is that I dont
return home empty -handed. I saved 1000 Dollars this year, not bad, isnt it?
06.17 (bus trip)
While Kejun is happy to return home, his cousin is worried. She is six-months pregnant, yet according to the law she shouldnt be. If someone in her village spots her ballooning tummy and denounces her to the authorities, she will have to pay a huge fine 600 Dollars.
06.40 (frosty night trip)
At night, the heating system is out of order, the windows freeze on the outside. 12 hours of freezing.
06.51 (village)
Kejuns hometown. A 1000 souls, mostly elderly people and children. The age-group in between only stopps by for a visit.
07.04 (kitchen)
Kajuns mother is preparing a welcome meal for him and his wife. She is heating the oven, a rare occasion. Wood and coal are so precious that no one heats his house, not even in winter times. Kajuns mother is baking steam bread rolls.
07.29 (chinese lights)
Kejun too is excited to celebrate and shops for some lampions.
07.34 (bus Stop)
Any minute now, his wife will arrive. The last time he saw her, was exactly one year ago.
07.47 Int Kejun
My wife works in a toy factory. She got time off later than I.
07.55 (bus Stop)
Kajuns wife fell travelsick during her long journey. No hug, no kiss. In China big feelings are not shown openly. Love, so they say, lives in their hearts.
8.10 Int Wang Yu (wife of Kajun), female voice-over
My bus was delayed for two hours, there was a traffic jam and an accident at Fengtai. You look forward to this moment for the whole year. This is our only holiday.
08.30 (taxi)
Theyd rather save the money, but decide to take a cab anyway. Its a two hour foot walk and they are both anxious to see their family.
08.41 Atmoton (Sohn) Zhang Wendi
Mum, is that really you?
08.48 Atmoton Wang Yu, female voice-over
Its all gonna be fine. I missed you so much! Did you miss me a little, too?
08.53 (Fernseher tragen)
At dusk Kajun takes his most precious souvenir home. A brand-new TV set. It will bring colourful pictures of a modern world into their living-room and give them a glimpse of a better life.
09.07 (Dorf)
That is what many here are looking for. Not only the new TV set will do some advertisement for a better life. Kejuns uncle Changhong will do, too. He is on the road again. Hes a head-hunter and it was him who hired Kajun. Hes on the lookout for fresh workers for Shanghais building sites. The younger - the cheaper - the better for him.
09.36
Its a rather easy job in this village. Uncle Changhong can dictate the terms.
09.48 Atmoton Zhang Changhong (Anwerber)
I have a job for you in Shanghai. I heard you are a good craftsman. If you want to, you can have it.
09.57
Changchon prefers to headhunt relatives or neighbours. Its safer this way.
10.05 OT Zhang Changhong (Anwerber)
If you hire strangers you risk that they dont work well enough. They are slow, sluggish or are just lazing around. If I hire my friends or relatives I never have experienced any of these problems so far.
10.25 (Nightwalk)
They say their village is a family yet Kejuns pregnant cousin dares to return home only in the dark. No one must spot her tummy. During her stay she wont be leaving her parental home because she fears someone could denounce her at the authorities.
10.44 (child)
Her son has been eagerly expecting them. Its for his sake that his parents went to Shanghai. Like many Chinese they find nothing in life more important than to offer their child a better future. Thats what they work and live for.
11.12 (Fireworks)
Kajun brought home more than lampions. This is his way of showing that he is earning money and that, for him, the future is bright.
11.29 (Packing)
Three days later. Uncle Chonghongs latest catch is packing for his new life. So far he only knows of Shanghai by word of mouth. He will have to leave his wife and his little son behind.
11.48 Int new worker
I am very sad to leave my home. I will miss everything out there, especially my family and my parents. The other workers have told me that you can return home only once a year.
12.12 OT May Wong, female voice over
China can become a big power, but it doesnt mean that the peoples lives will greatly improve. (continue in OFF) they are young and healthy, but after several years, you can see their health become worse. Some young people go to prostitutes or women workers become mistress. So it is quite common nowadays in China.
12.41 Int New Worker
I have to leave now for Shanghai
12.43 Int child
Where is dad off to?
12.44 Int mother, female voice over
He is going to earn money
12.51 Int new worker
Take good care of the kid