稿件来源：NGOnews

作者：仲静文

翻译：王    冰

Facilitating migrant life: Li Tao interview 

(Part l）

李涛专访：团结协作 助力打工者（第一部分）

根据路透社报道，中国农民工总量2020年已达2.8亿，占全国总人口的近20%。因为缺少社会保障和单位、社区支持不足等外部原因和家庭经济困难、技能匮乏及社会认同低等内部原因，农民工可能是新冠肺炎疫情期间受到打击最为严重的群体。

The number of rural migrant workers in China reached 280 million in 2020, according to Reuters , representing almost 20 percent of the total Chinese population. During the pandemic, they were possibly the hardest-hit group – due to both external factors, such as a lack of social insurance and poor support from companies and communities, and internal factors, including difficult family situations, a lack of skills and negative social identity. 

大量农民工从乡村流动到城市并不是一个新的现象，全世界范围内的城镇化和大量劳动力从乡村到城市的迁移既带来了经济的繁荣也同时引发了社会问题。城镇化和农民工带来的挑战受到了学界和媒体的关注，但是真的回应策略还有待发现。

The huge flow of migrant workers from rural to urban areas of China is not a new phenomenon, and worldwide urbanization and the movement of labor has brought a large proportion of people from the countryside into urban areas, leading to both economic prosperity and social issues. Challenges posed by urbanization and migrant workers have attracted attention from academics and the media, but real solutions are yet to be found. 

在这一问题上，国家政策和全球范围的共同努力是至关重要的，公益组织能为农民工提供的支持也有重要影响。几个月前，中国发展简报访问了在农民工服务领域深耕的北京市协作者社会工作发展中心（简称“协作者”）主任李涛。

While national policies and global mutual efforts are vital, support from charitable organizations to migrant workers is also making a difference. Early this year, CDB spoke to Li Tao, founder of the Beijing Social Work Development Center for Facilitators (“the Facilitators”) which is dedicated to the needs of migrant workers. 

注：本文为协作者根据 NGOnews发表的文章《Facilitating migrant life: Li Tao interview (Part l)》翻译。

李涛

北京市协作者社会工作发展中心主任、创始人，协作者学院公益导师，民政部首批全国专业社会工作领军人才，高级社会工作师。

协作者成立于2003年，在“非典”（SARS）期间开展农民工紧急救援服务，开始帮助陷入困境的农民工。对于李涛来说，机构的创立并不是一个全新的开始，而是延续了他在公益方面的多年投入。  

The Facilitators was founded in 2003 in the midst of the SARS outbreak. The initial task of the charity was to offer support to migrant workers in Beijing who were in need. For Li Tao, the birth of the organization was not a new beginning, rather, it was a continuation of what he had been dedicating himself to for years. 

李涛之前在《中国妇女报》担任记者的经历和他在乡村生活的经验，让他相信他与打工者在情感上是相通的。

Having worked as a journalist at the China Women Newspaper, as well as living in the countryside for a couple of years, Li believes he has an emotional bond with migrant workers. 

“我在中国妇女报工作时，采访过很多打工者，她们的故事让我对她们很敬佩，因为她们为城市的便捷生活付出了很多。”李涛说。

“I interviewed a large number of migrant workers when I was working for the China Women Newspaper. I grew to respect them after hearing their stories because in many ways migrant workers have sacrificed a lot to facilitate the convenient lives we lead in the cities,” he said. 

在改革开放之前，中国的劳动力并不怎么流动，但从上世纪70年代末期起，大量人口从乡村向城市，从北方向南方，从内地向沿海地区流动。

Indeed, before the reform and opening up policy, China’s workforce was not especially mobile. But since the late 1970s, the country has witnessed a huge flow of labor from villages to cities, from northern China to southern China, and from inland regions to coastal areas. 

“当时劳动力的流动还是有很多壁垒的，农民工在那时是第一批遇到这些障碍的人。他们要么为了适应新环境、相关的规则和文化调整自己，要么抗争，有时候会失败，但是通过他们个人的抗争，问题得以浮出水面并能找到解决的办法。现在也还是这样的”，李涛说。他认为劳动力的自由流动已经成为现代中国最重要的问题之一。

“There were many obstacles to the flow of labor at that time, and migrant workers were the first group of people who met those obstacles. They either adjusted themselves to the new environment, rules and culture, or they struggled – and sometimes failed. But through their personal struggles, problems could be exposed and solutions could be identified. And this is still the case today,” said Li, who thinks the free movement of labor has become one of the defining issues of modern China. 

因此，他认为，农民工过去几十年的经历将会成为年轻一代的常态。因此，更应该关注政策、整个社会和其他人群是如何对待农民工的，因为毫无疑问地这些方面也会影响到未来的劳动力人群。 

Thus, for him, what migrant workers have experienced over the past few decades has since become the norm for the younger generation. Hence, it is critical to pay attention to how migrant workers are treated by policies, society and other citizens — for it will undoubtedly impact the future labor force as well. 

“我认为人类社会本质上是人员的不断流动。历史上，人们也是不断的’流向’更适于生存和发展的地方。但是他们一旦到了新的环境，没有当地政府和社区的支持是无法体面生活的。”

“I reckon the movement of labor is fundamental to human societies. Throughout history, humans are constantly ‘moving’ to look for better places to live and develop. But once they move to a new environment, they cannot live decently without support from the local authorities and community.”

李涛当记者时采访的第一批打工妹大多在离开故乡前只接受过很有限的教育。她们的故事和在城市生活的经验深深打动了他，他当时非常想为她们做些什么。1996年，李涛和朋友借了一间教室召集打工者来参加文化学习。随着他对打工群体了解的加深，他开始到意识到，他和他的朋友能帮助打工者提高文化知识，但并不能改变他们的处境或改变他们对自己的看法。 

The first group of Li’s interviewees were all female migrant workers, most of whom had only received limited education before saying goodbye to their hometowns. Their stories and experiences in the city struck him deeply and he was eager to do something for them. In 1996, Li and his friends hired a room for the workers and gave them classes to help them catch up on some of the education they had missed out on. As Li got to know the workers better, he started to realize something: the education they were receiving from him and his friends could improve their knowledge, but it couldn’t change their situation or how they perceived themselves. 

李涛说，“这是我第一次怀疑，教育是否真的能改变一个人的命运”。

“For the first time, I started to doubt if education could really change a person’s destiny,” said Li.

教育可能可以让一个打工者能读出一本书上的所有字，但是并不能改变雇主的过多要求、低廉的收入、糟糕的工作和生活环境以及需要寄钱回家给家里人的现实，更别说他们还要面对在一个陌生的城市生活所带来的挑战。李涛不断问自己，打工者有多少时间可以真正花在自己身上，是否可以通过“读”来改变自己的命运。 

While education might help a migrant to read all the words in a book, it wouldn’t change the reality of demanding employers, low salaries, bad working and living conditions, and the need to send money back home to support struggling families – not to mention the challenges of living in an alien city. Li repeatedly asked himself how much time a migrant worker could really have for themselves and whether there was anything they could possibly read that would change their lives.

“有没有一个专业可以使人更好的认识自己，更好地处理和周围的其他人的关系？这个专业能不能帮他们解决个人的问题也关注到和社会公正有关的更大更广泛的问题？“

“Is there a subject which enables people to become self-aware and helps them appropriately manage the relationships they have with the people around them? And can it help them to address personal problems and care for bigger, wider issues all related to social justice?”

李涛在两年后找到了答案。1998年，中华女子学院邀请他担任社工督导。他之前没有意识到他所做的工作和社会工作这个专业有关，便赶紧找来相关的课本了解相关的理念、原则和案例。很快他就明确了社会工作就是他一直在找寻的答案。

Li found his answer after two years of searching. In 1998, China Women’s University reached out to him and invited him to take the position of social work supervisor. Without realizing what he had been doing was partially related to the subject of social work, Li hastily looked for textbooks and read up on the relevant concepts, principles and cases. It quickly became clear to him that social work was the answer he had always been looking for.

“我印象最深的是赋能理论和优势视角，可以帮助受助者通过发掘个人潜能和帮助他们提升能力来解决他们的问题，因为他们碰到的问题大多是因为社会不平等造成的”，李涛说。 

“What impressed me the most were the theory of empowerment and the strengths perspective; these help the service recipients solve their problems, which are mostly caused by social inequality, through exploring individuals’ abilities and facilitating them to gain the power to improve their lives,” said Li.

在上世纪90年代，大多数打工者是自己来到大城市的。当时认为他们一旦存了一些钱就会回乡似乎是合理的，但是让人意外的是，随着新千年的到来很多回乡的打工者稍后又回到了城里，而且是和家人一起回来的。 

In the 1990s, most migrant workers came to big cities on their own. It was sensible to think that once they had made some money, they would return home. However, to people’s surprise, as the new millennium approached it became clear that after returning home, many would later come back, but this time with their family.

打工者这时要担心的就不仅是就业了，对于那些生活困难的打工者来说，照顾孩子、子女教育和医疗都是新问题。二十年前，政策和社会的支持对于这些新市民来讲并不太多，正是在这样的背景下协作者成立了。

Migrants now had to worry about more than employment. Childcare, education, and healthcare, were just some of the new concerns for migrants already leading difficult lives. Two decades ago, support from policies and society was not always available to these city newcomers, and it was against this background that the Facilitators was founded. 

未完待续……

协作者期待你加入“协作者之友”月捐计划，成为“协作者学院”的支持者和建设者，成为助人自助的典范。您的持续捐赠，能够支持打工青年获得学习和改变命运的机会，他们将加入到社会服务的行动中，让我们每个人都可以怀抱着尊严和梦想，自由地行走在大地。