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| Migrant Workers in Shenzhen Bear Brunt of Landslide | Migrant Workers in Shenzhen Bear Brunt of Landslide |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| SHENZHEN, China — When she heard the news, He Daxia rushed to Shenzhen, hoping some miracle had spared the lives of 11 members of her extended family who had disappeared after a cascade of mud from a collapsed mountain of building debris. | SHENZHEN, China — When she heard the news, He Daxia rushed to Shenzhen, hoping some miracle had spared the lives of 11 members of her extended family who had disappeared after a cascade of mud from a collapsed mountain of building debris. |
| They had left their home in Henan Province in central China in search of a new life within the gaudy, raucous prosperity of Shenzhen in the south. | They had left their home in Henan Province in central China in search of a new life within the gaudy, raucous prosperity of Shenzhen in the south. |
| “It was a hard way to making a living, but we all have to get by, and they did O.K.,” said Ms. He, who is in her 20s. She said they made a living collecting and selling scrap. “They wanted to make a better life for their next generation.” | “It was a hard way to making a living, but we all have to get by, and they did O.K.,” said Ms. He, who is in her 20s. She said they made a living collecting and selling scrap. “They wanted to make a better life for their next generation.” |
| Now she just wants to know what happened to them. | Now she just wants to know what happened to them. |
| The story of migration, hardscrabble survival and hopes for a brighter future in a city — now shattered by a calamity — is common among the casualties of the massive debris spill on Sunday morning in the Guangming New district of Shenzhen. As in a number of China’s recent urban disasters, many of the victims were migrant workers. | |
| Guangdong Province, including Shenzhen, has for decades drawn its blue-collar work force from migrants who have left farms and small towns in poor parts of China. The country has about 170 million rural migrants working and living outside their hometowns. With its share of this roving cohort, Shenzhen has a population of more than 18 million, and more than 80 percent of those are migrants without local permanent residence permits, including many from the countryside, according to government estimates. | Guangdong Province, including Shenzhen, has for decades drawn its blue-collar work force from migrants who have left farms and small towns in poor parts of China. The country has about 170 million rural migrants working and living outside their hometowns. With its share of this roving cohort, Shenzhen has a population of more than 18 million, and more than 80 percent of those are migrants without local permanent residence permits, including many from the countryside, according to government estimates. |
| In a list of the 76 people missing released by the government, at least 55 came from provinces outside Guangdong, including 22 from Henan, a poorer, crowded rural province. | In a list of the 76 people missing released by the government, at least 55 came from provinces outside Guangdong, including 22 from Henan, a poorer, crowded rural province. |
| But many who were made homeless by the disaster said they would remain around Shenzhen because of the jobs. | But many who were made homeless by the disaster said they would remain around Shenzhen because of the jobs. |
| “I’d like to go home for a while,” said Shen Huawei, a migrant worker from Henan who was holding his 1-year-old son. “I worry about how we can stay here without a home. But longer term, I have to stay here for work. My whole life, my family, is here now.” | “I’d like to go home for a while,” said Shen Huawei, a migrant worker from Henan who was holding his 1-year-old son. “I worry about how we can stay here without a home. But longer term, I have to stay here for work. My whole life, my family, is here now.” |
| The restless rural Chinese teenagers who leave home to look for work elsewhere sometimes lose touch with their families, or see them only rarely, often during the Lunar New Year vacation. Some of the relatives searching for missing workers said they had little idea of those family members’ lives, like Liang Jianping, a migrant worker from Jiangxi Province in eastern China who had come in search of his missing cousin, Liu Haiguang. | The restless rural Chinese teenagers who leave home to look for work elsewhere sometimes lose touch with their families, or see them only rarely, often during the Lunar New Year vacation. Some of the relatives searching for missing workers said they had little idea of those family members’ lives, like Liang Jianping, a migrant worker from Jiangxi Province in eastern China who had come in search of his missing cousin, Liu Haiguang. |
| “We’re both in Shenzhen, but I didn’t see him much,” Mr. Liang said. “Most of the missing people were working in factories, and when you work in a factory, you don’t get out much. That’s your life.” | “We’re both in Shenzhen, but I didn’t see him much,” Mr. Liang said. “Most of the missing people were working in factories, and when you work in a factory, you don’t get out much. That’s your life.” |
| “I’m not sure if he had a girlfriend,” he added. | “I’m not sure if he had a girlfriend,” he added. |
| Although one man was rescued alive from the debris at the disaster site on Wednesday, the hopes of Mr. Liang and other people waiting for word of missing family members appeared increasingly dim. | Although one man was rescued alive from the debris at the disaster site on Wednesday, the hopes of Mr. Liang and other people waiting for word of missing family members appeared increasingly dim. |
| After earthquakes, survivors have often been pulled from collapsed buildings beyond the second day, according to a study in 2006. But such results do not apply to Shenzhen, where buildings were covered and partly filled with mud and debris. | After earthquakes, survivors have often been pulled from collapsed buildings beyond the second day, according to a study in 2006. But such results do not apply to Shenzhen, where buildings were covered and partly filled with mud and debris. |
| “This rescue effort will be much harder than for earthquakes or other disasters,” Liu Guonan, a geological expert with the China Academy of Railway Sciences, who is at the rescue scene, said in an interview on China Central Television on Tuesday. | “This rescue effort will be much harder than for earthquakes or other disasters,” Liu Guonan, a geological expert with the China Academy of Railway Sciences, who is at the rescue scene, said in an interview on China Central Television on Tuesday. |
| “When buildings collapse, there’s always some space created by the frames,” he said. “But after a landslide, the mud will fill up that space like toothpaste.” | “When buildings collapse, there’s always some space created by the frames,” he said. “But after a landslide, the mud will fill up that space like toothpaste.” |
| Many of the workers left homeless and jobless by the disaster said their hardships were magnified by uncertainties about what would happen to their unpaid wages. | Many of the workers left homeless and jobless by the disaster said their hardships were magnified by uncertainties about what would happen to their unpaid wages. |
| Even before the disaster struck, the migrant work force in Shenzhen was going through tough changes. Manufacturers have been moving out of the city, partly because of rising wages and other costs. Many displaced workers said they had been earning as much as 4,000 renminbi, or about $617, a month. But although factory jobs are still easy enough to find, workers said, their living costs have also been rising. | Even before the disaster struck, the migrant work force in Shenzhen was going through tough changes. Manufacturers have been moving out of the city, partly because of rising wages and other costs. Many displaced workers said they had been earning as much as 4,000 renminbi, or about $617, a month. But although factory jobs are still easy enough to find, workers said, their living costs have also been rising. |
| Outside a sports center in the Guangming New district that had been converted into a receiving area and shelter for disaster victims, workers milled around on Wednesday. Many said they hoped the government would help secure their unpaid wages so they could leave. | |
| “All we can do now is wait,” said Luo Jing, a thickset 30-year-old migrant who had been working in a plastic-molding factory that was shattered by the debris slide. “We haven’t heard any news about our pay or compensation.” | “All we can do now is wait,” said Luo Jing, a thickset 30-year-old migrant who had been working in a plastic-molding factory that was shattered by the debris slide. “We haven’t heard any news about our pay or compensation.” |
| Gao Xiaolong, a general manager at the factory, said that it could not pay the workers their wages because the disaster had halted production, and customers would not pay for orders they had not received on time. | Gao Xiaolong, a general manager at the factory, said that it could not pay the workers their wages because the disaster had halted production, and customers would not pay for orders they had not received on time. |
| “There’s no money, so how can we issue wages?” Mr. Gao said. “We don’t know how to deal with this. We can only rely on the government.” | “There’s no money, so how can we issue wages?” Mr. Gao said. “We don’t know how to deal with this. We can only rely on the government.” |
| Mr. Luo said he would like to return to his home in the Guangxi region in southern China, but could not. | Mr. Luo said he would like to return to his home in the Guangxi region in southern China, but could not. |
| “My family called me after they saw the pictures on the television news of the collapse,” he said. | “My family called me after they saw the pictures on the television news of the collapse,” he said. |
| “I told them that I can’t go home. We need to claim our unpaid wages, and then I’ll need to go outside to work,” he added. “I have to keep finding work. Otherwise how will I live?” | “I told them that I can’t go home. We need to claim our unpaid wages, and then I’ll need to go outside to work,” he added. “I have to keep finding work. Otherwise how will I live?” |