Down and Dirty...Part 3. Migrant Streets

CWEF - Shanghai works with the migrant population in the city, and so it makes sense that they have their office down a migrant street. Before I get into what I see everyday on my way to the office, a word about migrant workers. Shanghai is a hub for people from all over China to come and try to etch themselves out a living. Some collect plastic bottles and sell them to the recycle centers on the edge of the city. Some have a fruit stand that they sleep in at night. Some have food trucks that they sell street food from - mostly illegally, and if they haven't paid their bribes they will get beaten up. These people aren't beggars, they're workers. Beggars are usually collected by the police and shipped out to the country side. 

The lonely puppy

It would be typical for a household monthly income to be somewhere between 1000-2000rmb/ month. That's about $150-$300. (To give an idea of the disparity here, I currently pay 2000rmb/ month for my sublet.) A lot of these people send most of the money back home to their parents or their children in the countryside, but some families are lucky enough to live together in a run-down building. Even in one of the shiniest and brightest cities in Asia, there's a whole slew of the population that doesn't have running water in the home. 


For these families that remain together, a huge choice is made. Obviously it's better for children to live with their parents and for the grandparents to be taken care of by their families. But this also means that the children cannot go to regular schools. Chinese are given a sort of ID number called a Hukou, and you can only get a Shanghai Hukou if you are born in Shanghai. If you don't have a Shanghai Hukou, you can't go to Shanghai schools. Shanghai schools are generally regarded as the best in China, but migrant children that live down the street from them cannot go. 


The government up until very recently has left these children by the wayside, but there is movement towards building migrant schools. The government will cover the cost of tuition to these schools, but things like uniforms, insurance, and lunch aren't covered. Even the cost of these things can be prohibitive for most families, and so CWEF - Shanghai provides scholarships to cover those costs. The schools are still very lacking in amenities and quality teaching, but it's better than nothing.

Migrant street

So, now back to this street. It's still very close to the center of town, but the entire street has to share one restroom. Bathing takes place late at night from buckets in the street. Young children crawl on the dirty ground. It's not a great life for these people, but the sight of this puppy chained up every day still makes me sad. I've only seen him taken for a walk once, and he's usually panting from the bright sunlight or struggling to reach the leftover rice his owners have given him to eat. As you can see, it's a very short chain he's on. I almost get hit by cars and motorbikes on a daily basis, and with the narrowness of the street I can understand.