They are also Parents They Are Also Parents - A Study on Migrant Workers | Page 56

CCR CSR | A Study on Migrant Workers with Left-behind Children in China | August 2013
Appendix 1: In their own words
CCR CSR | A Study on Migrant Workers with Left-behind Children in China | August 2013
children’s schooling, daily living expenses, visiting relatives – and outgoings
are even greater if a family member gets ill.
Case 1: Schooling for children is still a problem “My parents are getting on in years, and coupled with a life of hard work, it’s
Liu Qiang, 38 years old, parent of three children inevitably there will be some illnesses,” says Liu. “My youngest daughter and
son’s health are also not very good. Nowadays, if you go to the hospital, it can
Whether the children can go to school will determine whether Liu Qiang’s easily cost several hundred or CNY1,000. If the illness is serious, and requires
family can be together in the future. Many working families face a similar hospitalization, then you can easily spend thousands of dollars.”
dilemma: children’s schooling is always the stumbling block for migrant
workers and their families when they move away from home.
Liu calculates that over the past two years, treatments for his father and his
son have racked up more than CNY10,000 in hospital bills. Nevertheless, the
Liu Qiang, aged 38, a native of Sichuan, has been working away from home
family is still together.
for over 20 years. He has worked in many jobs in the past: spray-painting,
cooking, building renovations – and he has learned to drive.
As the children grow up, their schooling has become a major problem.
The eldest daughter’s schooling in Zhuhai has been made possible through
Liu has three children – two daughters and a son, all born in Zhuhai, the connections and costs CNY2,000, along with a payment of CNY1,000 to the
Macao border-town in Guangdong Province. His eldest daughter is nine years school. Her enrollment problems are basically resolved. The younger daughter
old, and she will enter fifth grade in the second half of 2013. His second and son both want to go to the same school, but that will be difficult. It is
daughter is six years old, and she is about to enter first grade, while his no longer possible to bypass restrictions through connections. Rather, an
four-year-old son is the youngest. Liu has worked for more than a decade in online lottery system combines with test scores and other conditions, such
Zhuhai, and the family lives in simple housing at the work premises. They as children’s place of birth and household registration, parents’ marriage
have often faced pressures to move, but for 10 years now the site owners certificate, and residence permits. In addition, there are quota restrictions.
have not charged them for rent and utilities, which is a significant saving for
the family.
The industrial area where the family lives has private primary schools, but
the charges are very high, with one year costing nearly CNY10,000. For Liu’s
Liu’s wife works in a Zhuhai factory. As soon as the children were born, family, this is overwhelming, and he says he and his family will take the
Liu’s parents came to Zhuhai from their hometown to help take care of their children back home to go school after the summer vacation.
grandchildren. The elders usually collect scrap waste and sell it to help support
the family. Overall, the family has an annual income of around CNY60-70,000. “If they go to school back home in Sichuan Province in the second half of the
For example, last year, Liu worked in construction and renovation, earning a year, it will reduce a lot of expenses, but the kids will not have anyone to take
monthly salary of CNY4,000, his wife earned CNY$2,000 a month, and the care of them,” he says. “Teaching standards are also not as good as here in
grandparents provided some supplemental income. Zhuhai, and I’m afraid of the impact on the children’s future. Also, if we are
not with the kids, even if the grandparents are there to take care of them, we
But over the course of a year, the family’s expenses are extensive: three
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are afraid we’ll drift apart.”
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