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WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND THE ORGANIZATION？
In 1999， I tramped around the country for a year， made a living as a street singer and casual laborer. I met Brother Biao on a construction site， and I stayed there for three days. Every evening， after work was finished， workers carried their enamel bowls to an empty space and sat together. At that time， I sang songs for them. Brother Biao seldom spoke. For the first two days， he did not say one word to me. On the third day， he put out his hands， full of calluses， and said this to me： “I only have this pair of hands. But I rely on them to feed my children， my wife， and my parents. I work very hard， everyday， extremely tired. When I get tired， I drink jiu. After I drink， I feel homesick. We come from the countryside to the city. We use our hands and sweat to build high-rise buildings and bridges， but so many people look down on us. I don’t understand it. I thought that， as long as I worked hard， my destiny would change， but all year round is hard work. I don’t have anything but these hands.” Brother Biao spoke his mind to me， so I compiled his story into a song so that more people could hear it. I feel that， in this city， we just see the city’s skyscrapers and economic prosperity， but we do not see the story behind them. Migrant workers use effort to construct material wealth， but they are so poor. So， my friends and I set up a troupe to perform in factories and construction sites to enrich their cultural life. As we traveled， we found that migrant workers encountered many difficulties， such as nonpayment of back wages. It’s difficult for their children to be accepted by schools in cities. They want to learn how to operate computers but no place will have them. What can we do？ How do we fix this？ So， we started the MWH.
WHAT SORT OF ORGANIZATION IS MIGRANT WORKER’S HOME （MWH）？ WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH？
It’s a non-profit. My goal is to establish a social support network. In our hometowns， we migrant workers have our own homes； we have parents， brothers， sisters， and friends. Family is a support network for an individual in a community. When we have a home and family， we can help each other when we encounter difficulties. When we leave our hometown to work in a new city， we do not have this relationship. There is no home for us， and nobody cares about us. We realized that we needed to build a home in the city； this home is a social support network. As long as we have support， when we encounter problems， we can care for each other， help each other. YOU’VE WRITTEN A LOT OF SONGS ABOUT MIGRANT WORKERS. HOW DO THEY INSPIRE YOU AND WHICH SONG IS YOUR FAVORITE？
My songs tell stories with simple words. They are the stories of migrant workers， such as the story of Brother Biao. My favorite song is “Unite as One to Get our Wages Back”. Behind the song， there is a story of 80 migrant workers； they worked for a year without payment. To get their money， they occupied the constructive site， from dusk till dawn， and negotiated with the boss. Their boss first sent in “spies” from another construction site amongst them to try to encourage infighting. Then， the boss threatened to call the police， saying they would all be arrested. But they weren’t tricked， and they got their payment. I love this song because I think our labor derserves to be respected， and this was a successful experience， very encouraging. So， I often sing this song to workers on construction sites. Today， in the construction industry， back wages are still a common problem because of the industry’s subcontracting system. Each project turns into a lot of subprojects. Then， those labor relations are shifted again. Workers and employers don’t have a direct labor contract. If there is no labor contract， it means no labor relationship. So， the wages don’t get paid at all， and it is a huge disadvantage for workers in court. How can we change this situation？ There are many approaches. What I can do is sing these songs to workers and enhance their awareness in maintaining their legal rights.
In 1999， I tramped around the country for a year， made a living as a street singer and casual laborer. I met Brother Biao on a construction site， and I stayed there for three days. Every evening， after work was finished， workers carried their enamel bowls to an empty space and sat together. At that time， I sang songs for them. Brother Biao seldom spoke. For the first two days， he did not say one word to me. On the third day， he put out his hands， full of calluses， and said this to me： “I only have this pair of hands. But I rely on them to feed my children， my wife， and my parents. I work very hard， everyday， extremely tired. When I get tired， I drink jiu. After I drink， I feel homesick. We come from the countryside to the city. We use our hands and sweat to build high-rise buildings and bridges， but so many people look down on us. I don’t understand it. I thought that， as long as I worked hard， my destiny would change， but all year round is hard work. I don’t have anything but these hands.” Brother Biao spoke his mind to me， so I compiled his story into a song so that more people could hear it. I feel that， in this city， we just see the city’s skyscrapers and economic prosperity， but we do not see the story behind them. Migrant workers use effort to construct material wealth， but they are so poor. So， my friends and I set up a troupe to perform in factories and construction sites to enrich their cultural life. As we traveled， we found that migrant workers encountered many difficulties， such as nonpayment of back wages. It’s difficult for their children to be accepted by schools in cities. They want to learn how to operate computers but no place will have them. What can we do？ How do we fix this？ So， we started the MWH.
WHAT SORT OF ORGANIZATION IS MIGRANT WORKER’S HOME （MWH）？ WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH？
It’s a non-profit. My goal is to establish a social support network. In our hometowns， we migrant workers have our own homes； we have parents， brothers， sisters， and friends. Family is a support network for an individual in a community. When we have a home and family， we can help each other when we encounter difficulties. When we leave our hometown to work in a new city， we do not have this relationship. There is no home for us， and nobody cares about us. We realized that we needed to build a home in the city； this home is a social support network. As long as we have support， when we encounter problems， we can care for each other， help each other. YOU’VE WRITTEN A LOT OF SONGS ABOUT MIGRANT WORKERS. HOW DO THEY INSPIRE YOU AND WHICH SONG IS YOUR FAVORITE？
My songs tell stories with simple words. They are the stories of migrant workers， such as the story of Brother Biao. My favorite song is “Unite as One to Get our Wages Back”. Behind the song， there is a story of 80 migrant workers； they worked for a year without payment. To get their money， they occupied the constructive site， from dusk till dawn， and negotiated with the boss. Their boss first sent in “spies” from another construction site amongst them to try to encourage infighting. Then， the boss threatened to call the police， saying they would all be arrested. But they weren’t tricked， and they got their payment. I love this song because I think our labor derserves to be respected， and this was a successful experience， very encouraging. So， I often sing this song to workers on construction sites. Today， in the construction industry， back wages are still a common problem because of the industry’s subcontracting system. Each project turns into a lot of subprojects. Then， those labor relations are shifted again. Workers and employers don’t have a direct labor contract. If there is no labor contract， it means no labor relationship. So， the wages don’t get paid at all， and it is a huge disadvantage for workers in court. How can we change this situation？ There are many approaches. What I can do is sing these songs to workers and enhance their awareness in maintaining their legal rights.