Posted by Joseph Nguyen
Anna Tran Thi Ngat, from Thai Binh province in the north of Vietnam, has been working illegally in China for the past 10 months. I met her as she and 25 other migrants returned home this week.
“I’m amazed to find myself still alive,” she told me. “I thank God for protecting us from death in China. I will never go there again for work.”
Anna is small and slightly built. She could hardly afford to lose any weight, but she shed eight kilos.
She worked 14 to 16 hours every day, under very strict supervision, at a toy factory in Guangdong. Of the 300 workers there, around 40 were illegal Vietnamese migrants.
People who worked well were paid five million dong (US$24) a month, but those who were deemed to work badly were only paid three million. Workers who got sick were forced to work or have their salaries reduced. As a result, one 45-year-old Vietnamese man died, right there at work.
“We were given free food but it was so bad, we went out sometimes to eat at nearby restaurants with terribly high prices. Six workers shared three beds in a tiny room,” she said.
“Even worse, to get this job we had to pay 12 million dong – at least two and as much as four months wages – to the brokers who took us to the manufacturers and finally back home.
“To get there and back without getting caught, we had to walk hours at night through forests and mountains, before we finally got picked up and driven the last few miles.
“But we could not trust the brokers. Five young Vietnamese girls were sold to brothels after they finished in the factory.
“On the way back home, one large group of migrants did get caught. They were detained 20 days and everything they had was taken off them by the Chinese border guards.
“So they ended up with no money to bring back to the family. And some are stuck without even the money to get home.”
But throughout it all, she kept her faith. “There was no Catholic church in the area so, with some of the others, we gathered for daily prayers after work at midnight,” she said.
For those of us who will eat good food and sleep in our own bed tonight, perhaps we should spare a thought and a prayer for Anna and the others who shared her plight.
Please share your thoughts on this.
