The People Who Built It

Today, beneath a YouTube video about how excellent Switzerland’s transportation system is, I came across this comment:

“As a Swiss person, I want to clarify something: the Gotthard Tunnel was designed by a Swiss man (Louis Favre) and financed by another (Alfred Escher), but the people who actually dug the tunnel were mainly Italian workers. Without these migrant laborers, the tunnel could never have been built. They lived in appalling conditions and earned meager wages. We owe them far more than we are willing to admit.”

It made me think of my parents, and of so many workers like them. They are the people who actually built China’s infrastructure. In China, they are called nongmingong—rural migrant workers. Let’s not forget the work they do: crouching for long stretches, carrying heavy loads. Many see their families only once or twice a year.

When I was very young, my father went to the city to work in construction. I could only see him during holidays, and even then, only for a few short days.

When people around the world marvel at China’s extraordinary infrastructure and transportation networks, the praise often goes to the government’s efficiency. Yet I have never come across anything that mentions the actual people: the migrant workers who built these city roads and high-speed railways, brick by brick.

Today, city residents and visitors from abroad can enjoy convenient, inexpensive public transportation and live in comfortable, beautiful residential communities. And I can’t help thinking about the people behind all of this, and the families behind them.

Now, as these workers grow old, they return to the countryside, without access to good healthcare, and few people speak up for them. I want to lend my voice, however small, so that more people understand: behind all this frenzied construction are real, individual people, and their families. They left their hometowns, separated from their children and parents. There is pain in that separation. I think that, as we enjoy the conveniences they helped create, we should show them some gratitude and respect.