Forum

Big city should have room for a little love

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-06 11:55

A metropolis like Beijing should show more care and love toward its migrant workers.

I was quite touched by a news report, even though it had a sad ending.

Six years ago, a group of students from the education department of Beijing Normal University volunteered to set up a "kindergarten" for children of peddlers in the nearby Sihuan vegetable market. Almost all of the peddlers were migrant workers.

The kindergarten was not official because the volunteers could not get it registered with the education department. They could not even rent a classroom for the children. So, the facility was called the Sihuan Game Group.

For the past six years, students from the normal university took the youngsters to play games and taught them some basic knowledge along the streets. Parents took their turns to act as security guards.

For one year after another, the children lived happily in Beijing thanks to the care of the volunteers. More than 400 children have "graduated" from the street side "kindergarten".

I believe that the 400 children, when they grow up and become integrated into the city, will be full of gratitude toward the volunteers and even to all Beijingers.

They are far away from their hometowns, but still, they had a happy childhood, they received love, care and education, even though it was on the streets.

But now the "kindergarten" has been closed by the market managers and children of these migrant workers have lost their paradise.

Liu Li, one of the volunteers, said they had applied to the education and commerce department for several years, but failed to get approval because they did not have any investment and had no fixed sites to be used for classrooms.

We cannot place the blame totally on the market managers, who banned the group for safety reasons. And it is hard to criticize the education department that did not give certificates to the volunteers because of the lack of necessary equipment.

But when the children of the vegetable peddlers lost the chance to receive an education, why did the city managers sit idle?

In fact, the education department should have taken action earlier.

They should make statistics on the number of migrant children, coordinate volunteers and market managers, channel the government and social resources to ensure that these children, like their Beijing counterparts, can get care and education.

They should take measures to get these children enrolled into nearby kindergartens and primary schools. The government should provide necessary financial and manpower support to relevant schools.

It is a consensus among sociologists that when there is one more school, there will be one less prison. To set up a kindergarten, a school for migrant children, will give them a happy childhood. The warmth will accompany them for their whole life.

Their parents, who have been making great contributions to the capital city through their hard work, will also feel the love and care from Beijing.

Beijing is a big city, but if it cannot even find a corner for a game group, it will become a city with no love and warmth.

Excerpts from a comment in Beijing News, June 4