The safety of the eight hostages in Iraq has now been secured, but this is not the first time migrant workers from Pingtan County in east China's Fujian Province have attracted nationwide concern due to their predicaments overseas.

The workers had applied for passports in order to travel to Thailand, but they actually went to find jobs in Iraq. Five months ago, another three Pingtan migrant workers had been repatriated for working illegally in Israel.

Zhong Ruiming, director of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and African Consular Affairs, said: "In recent years, although the ministry has frequently warned people to avoid going to Iraq and the Middle East due to safety considerations, many people still risk danger to make money."

Since the outbreak of the Iraq War, the ministry has issued 10 such warnings. However, adverts for people to work overseas can still be seen in rural areas like Pingtan. They claim that the reconstruction of Iraq has provided great business opportunities.

According to Guo Tiemin, director of the Industrial Economics Research Center at Fujian Normal University, most migrant workers working in Iraq aren't fully aware of the situation there and are only concerned with money.

Zhong said that, due to the turbulence in Iraq, job opportunities there are actually very limited. The eight migrant workers were seized as they were leaving Iraq precisely because they had no work to do.

Guo said Fujian is the main source for overseas labor. The hostage incident has exposed loopholes in management of overseas labor from coastal areas, forcing the government to look for new solutions.

Overseas labor services have developed rapidly since 1979. By the end of April 2004, their turnover had reached US$28.07 billion and over 3 million people had been sent abroad.

A considerable number of these people go overseas with the help of fellow townspeople and acquaintances, and even through illegal agencies. They are often confronted with unemployment, further financial hardship and lack of a legal identity abroad.

Guo said farmers do not go for work in Iraq and other countries on impulse but after careful consideration.

In the past 10 years, monthly income for migrant workers in coastal areas has remained between 500 and 800 yuan (US$60 and US$97), while advertisements promise a monthly income of 4,000-6,000 yuan (US$483-725) for work abroad.

Local governments should help increase farmers' awareness and better utilize surplus rural labor resources, said Guo.

Guo said the situation for migrant workers will improve if grassroots departments offer occupational training and education to farmers and notify them in time of the latest information on working abroad from the Foreign Ministry.

To prevent people from being cheated and left in dangerous situations, local governments should shoulder greater responsibility in busting illegal labor export agencies, said Jin Canrong, professor from the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China.

A number of illegal agencies have capitalized on farmers' desire to make money and, while 47,000 from Fujian had gone through legitimate channels by the end of 2003, thousands more are thought to have used illegal means.

Increasing school dropout rates in rural areas due to economic burdens also played a part. One of the hostages, Wei Wu, is only 19. He couldn't find a job so left to seek manual work overseas, according to his father Wei Shoulong.

In Guo Tiemin's view, "Migrant workers should have enjoyed enough domestic development opportunities. However, insufficient education and training, and lack of relevant employment counseling, together with their poor professional quality, -- all result in a waste of surplus rural labor forces."

This crisis has caught the attention of Party and state leaders, as well as ordinary people. Rescue work has also been time-consuming. Zhong Ruiming said that embassies and consulates will spare no efforts rescuing any nationals in trouble.

However, in light of this crisis, which has consumed so much of the country's resources, as well as the passions of friends and relatives of the hostages, he urged migrant workers to think twice of the risks before heading overseas. 

(China.org.cn by Wang Qian, Yuan Fang and Wind Gu, January 25, 2005)