From AP via Iwon.com:
Selling shoes in the sweaty afternoon air of a West African market, Ousman Ka owes his job to China ” or, more precisely, to Lu Hui, the wrinkle-faced Chinese man in the blue sweater vest sitting behind him. “Before I was out of work, for about five years. Now I get by,” says Ka, 29, from behind the counter of his stall as he pulls out blue-sequined flats for a woman’s inspection.
Nearly 4,000 miles away, in the copper mines of Zambia , it’s a different story. Keith Mule, who maintains machinery at a Chinese-run mine, says he’s making about half the salary of his counterparts at other mines in the area. Union heads say they have less negotiating power with his employer, a Chinese firm that’s backed by the government. And dozens of workers died two years ago in an explosion at a nearby Chinese-owned mine. “I am not able to live comfortably,” said Mule, 52, who is supporting two daughters and his sister’s son. “We are just living by chance.” [Full Text]
