Millions of farmers are flocking to China's cities, seeking work
in an effort to secure better lives for their families left behind
in rural homelands.
Over the past decade, millions of rural elderly, women and
children have been separated from the family's breadwinner as sons,
husbands and fathers head to the cities in search of a better
wage.
"I feel sad every time I pick up my dad's picture," says Liu
Qian, 14, from Bamudi Village in Yanqing County, Beijing.
Liu's father left the village five years ago and has been
working as a construction worker in Beijing and Tianjin
ever since.
In 1993, Liu's mother was struck down with a serious muscle
disease.
In tune with the old Chinese saying "misfortune never comes
alone," the following year, Liu's father developed a stomach
ulcer.
Medical bills bled the family dry.
"Usually farmers go to cities seeking better-paid jobs to repay
debts caused by medical treatments and wedding ceremonies back
home," says Ye Jingzhong, professor with the People and Development
School of the Agriculture University of China.
It is reckoned there are about 150 million former farmers now
working in urban areas. About 10 million children under the age of
15 have been left in the countryside to grow up without their
fathers.
The research findings have been collected in the book
"Left-behind Children in Rural China," published by Social Sciences
Academic Press in September.
"It's from the perspective of the children that we conducted the
investigation and released our research to see the phenomena's
impact on the left-behind children, both physically and
psychologically," said James Murray, country director with China
Plan, an international organization targeting children's
issues.
The fast growing urban economies offer migrant workers what seem
like fantastic opportunities, but there is a stark downside.
"Every night when I lie down on my bed, I just can't help
thinking of my son," says Ling Zejiang, 33. Originally from
Jiangjin, near Chongqing Municipality, Ling has been a construction
worker in Beijing for eight years.
The only comfort to his homesickness is a long-distance phone
call, but the expense means communication between father and son is
very limited.
Ling says he worries about his son's school performance, basic
health and safety.
They bear the separation for the promise of a better life in the
future.
Yu Xiaoyun, dean of the People and Development School of the
Agricultural University of China, believes the flow of farmers to
cities reflects the impoverished rural population's wishes to
pursue freedom, welfare and happiness.
"It's the first time in China's history that mass migration has
had nothing to do with war or revolution," he says.
Balancing the benefits of an increased income with the, albeit
temporary, loss of a parent is not an easy challenge.
According to research, left-behind children's behaviour and
character are both affected.
Once a father has left a family, greater responsibility falls on
the children, not just for chores around the house, but also in
looking after younger siblings.
In school, left-behind children often fall into one of two
extreme groups, either topping the academic tables, or languishing
at the bottom, says Ma Aiqin, a primary school teacher from Jiaxian
County in Northwest China's Shaanxi
Province.
In addition, possibly because of increased responsibilities at
home, the left-behind children don't dress as tidily as others and
are often inattentive in class, she adds.
But one psychologist, who declined to be named, believes there
are also positive effects.
"Leaving children behind is not an absolutely bad thing," he
says.
In his opinion, when a father leaves, it can liberate the
children from traditional strict discipline.
Without the pressure of an authoritarian presence, children can
grow up with greater independence, he says.
Almost all experts attribute the left-behind children phenomena
to problems with the urban household registration system which
restricts the inflow of rural parents together with their
children.
Because children from rural areas cannot register as urban
residents, they also have more difficulties and may pay more to
enter cities' schooling systems.
Ma Rong, from Peking University, says the flow of rural workers
into cities not only affects their children but also skews labour
markets and gender balance.
According to Ma, the solution lies in combating the negative
impacts on left-behind youths with efforts from schools, village
communities, volunteers, experts and policy makers.
(China Daily October 21, 2005)