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Scattered Sand: The Story of China's Rural Migrants . Hsiao-Hung Pai . London : Verso , 2012. xiii + 302 pp. $26.95; £16.99 ISBN 978-1-84467-886-0
Book Reviews
Hsiao-Hung Pai is a journalist, originally from Taiwan, who now lives in London. Scattered Sands is her account of her travels in China, making friendships with and hearing the stories of rural migrants. Her journey begins at Moscow's Yaroslavsky station where she catches the trans-Siberian train laden with petty traders who have been trying their luck in Russia and are now returning home. They talk movingly of the insecurity and hardships of life in Russia, the money constantly extorted by the police, and the fear of racist attacks.
In China, Pai visited the informal "labour markets" of Shenyang in the northeast where migrants wait to be hired, the unlucky ones spending the whole day sometimes for nothing, sometimes for a few hours poorly paid work. She then travels to the labour-exporting areas of Sichuan still afflicted by the catastrophe of the great earthquake, to the grime-covered coal-mining areas of the Yellow river with their terrible accident records, and to the brick-making areas near Tianjin. Another chapter covers a visit to Pai's mother's home province of Shandong on which her mother joins her. It contains an interesting account of the surprise of learning that they are descended from a wealthy landlord, and the tensions of meeting up with relatives they have never known,...