Migrant workers are the physical engine driving China’s explosive economic development. Anywhere there’s construction – buildings, roads, bridges, railroads, airports – the migrant force of impoverished rural laborers does the backbreaking work. The tents they occupy year round near construction sites are a familiar sight. The An De Gate Labor Market in Nanjing is the biggest in East China; in 2005, 800,000 workers sought jobs at An De Gate, where employers post openings and hire workers. The Amity Foundation, in a joint effort with the Nanjing Legal Bureau, has established a Legal Aid Station at An De Gate. Staffed primarily by young law students who volunteer their time, the project provides migrant workers with legal information and helps them settle disputes with employers.

On a recent summer afternoon, as a thunderstorm rumbled across humid Nanjing, I joined a group of Amity volunteers to visit the project and talk with administrators (through gifted Amity interpreter Ji Xiaodong). They were as interested to hear from us as we were to listen to them. We described the circumstances of migrant workers in our home countries, and compared them with the problems experienced by similar laborers in China. The labor market itself is a fascinating place. There was heavy security, which is probably the norm even without foreign visitors. We witnessed one scuffle between a worker and guards; he was outnumbered, subdued, whisked away from our prying eyes. The workers themselves were friendly and curious; we were made more conspicuous than usual by an entourage of local broadcasters with all their video gear.