Humble Pie

So, are you in favor of opening up the immigration process, or in favor of stricter border control? Have you ever considered emigrating to China?
What are your thoughts about living in China? Many people have told me I'm very brave to be doing this, and many have said they don't even want to visit China, much less move here. But, did you know that there are people in Asia who see China as a safe haven, the land of opportunity and the proverbial milk and honey? Sound familiar?
There are people who live in North Korea who get killed trying to get into China for a better life. There are people from the Phillippines whose big dream in life is to get to China to work, and it's not easy for them. Living conditions in the Phillippines are such that many - millions - of women leave their children and husbands to work overseas. Just so they can feed their own children, get them to school and possibly into a better life situation, they go to China or Singapore or some other country to take care of the children of those more fortunate. They leave, not knowing when they will see their families again, and faithfully send home money at every opportunity, hoping their children are healthy and going to school. The economic conditions are grim, and many families rely on farming - sharecropping, really. Farming, of course, is dependent upon the weather - this past fall, a flood swept through the Phillippines and washed out all the newly-planted crops. Most people lost everything, and the government there doesn't provide subsidies or welfare.
In North Korea, where people live in constant fear of being considered a traitor or revolutionary, living conditions aren't any better. Poverty, starvation and disease are rampant and there is no outside help from anywhere. People hope to get to China, where they can eat and possibly make a living, but they also live in continual fear that they will be found out and returned to North Korea.
In China, there are many northerners, mainly from more rural areas, who must migrate south to find work at factories, where working conditions can be quite grim. They, too, leave their children - usually with grandparents - and get on a bus to go live in a factory dorm until the following Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year is the only time during the year where people have time off to return home. The vast number of people traveling during this season are making their once-yearly (sometimes even less frequent) trip home to see their children and families they are supporting.
This Chinese New Year, a terrible storm paralyzed most of the country. Transportation systems were shut down and people were stranded in train stations, bus stations, and on the road in the middle of nowhere. Most of China could not go anywhere, much less way up north to their families. It was their only chance to go home. Most are still reeling from the storm - people living without heat or water. Homes were also destroyed in this storm. Our kids' school is taking up a collection to provide blankets, coats, warm clothes and money for the people just an hour north of here.
I've been complaining lately about the inadequate heating system we have. There are little wall units which provide cool air in summer and hot air in winter. There is no central heating or a/c in southern China. It's basically like having a little space heater in a drafty room - not very effective. I found out recently, however, that it is more common to not even have the wall units in most apartments here. People don't have any source of heat in winter (remember, nobody even has an oven here) and - even more shocking to me - no a/c in the very, very hot, humid summers.
In trying to picture China as a safe haven of opportunity for millions of others, I need to reconsider my previous opinions of it. Previously I saw it as a dirty, poverty-stricken place, and in many areas it is. But these same places are a dream come true for those even less fortunate, and there are many modern conveniences and potential for great success here.
I think it's time to re-think my priorities and concentrate on how stinkin' lucky I am. I get to live with my family and I have the luxury of warmer air in this cold winter than most, and cooler air in summer. I have great food available to me all around, and I have indoor plumbing. I can complain that the water smells like feet and sometimes comes out a little brown, or I can be thankful I have a shower every day and water to clean my dishes that I use to cook and eat the food we have in abundance. I can complain about my kids' school not teaching enough Chinese, or about my kids' behavior in certain circumstances, or I can be grateful I get to see them every day and send them to a fantastic, well-credited school. I can look the other way at the poverty and distress in the world around me, or I can look into ways to help people and make somebody else's situation a little better. I can complain about living in China, away from the things I am familiar with, or I can see it as a land of opportunity, a place where people come to fulfill their dreams.