Migrants Becoming Marginalized

We spent time this semester studying the growing migrant worker movement in China. People from the countryside seeking opportunity in the growing cities of China but who do not develop permanent residence in the cities. Most of these workers do not intend to become migrants according to this article . They flock to the cities looking for opportunities and means to establish themselves but often end up living on the outskirts of the cities in non-permanent communities and returning to the countryside to be with family.

These workers represent the "dream" in China. To become incorporated into the web of wealth and opportunities the expanding Chinese market offers is their goal. However, as this article points out, traditional city dwellers look down upon these migrant workers. They live on the outside looking in. In many ways, they are casualties of the changing Chinese market. Oftentimes, their farms have been displaced by China's progress and so they turn to progress as a means to support their families. In some cases, their land has been desimated by China's environmental problems, usually resulting from a lack of usable water.

Like many capitalist societies, its easy for the have-nots to grow further away from the haves and China is experiencing this change. China has made it difficult for many of them to make permanent residence in the cities by denying them residency permits. The migrants continue to seek and search for opportunity. Some have turned to providing educational opportunities for their children as a means to end the cycle. China could do better to provide housing and access for those migrant citizens willing to take a chance on opportunity rather than forcing them to live on the outside looking in.