Taking a break. Scenes of a typical day.

Workers from Gansu pause for a group photo. Scenes of a typical day.

 

Hard Work

In Manas County, patches of cotton fields stretch far and wide. Still not mature, the cotton is just small pods among green leaves. A few workers are busy with the first-phase picking. Du Yongqiang, a cotton farmer, tells this reporter that the picking in Southern Xinjiang will reach a peak in September and October. At that time, some workers will temporarily relocate to here from the north of the region. “Those who have the endurance can work as long as three months,” says Du.

Upon first seeing Xie Huafang, I knew she was different from her co-workers. A slim figure, Xie wore a neatly fitting outfit, rarely seen among female workers. However, she was no less skillful than her co-workers. The 26-year-old Xie is relatively new to the trade. To protect her skin, she wrapped herself completely, only exposing her mouth, nose and eyes. In describing her first cotton picking experience last year, Xie uses the word “nightmare.” She explains, “How many people, wearing heavy clothes, can bear the oppressive heat under the sun for a whole day? Let alone you have to bend down and pick cotton.”

To ensure the cotton gets enough water, sunshine and nutrition, Manas County advocates crops that are dense and low. Those cotton plants are only knee-high, thus workers have to bend lower to pick the buds. “When I am too tired to bend down, I pick squatting. And I may even sit on the ground to pick,” says Xie.

“Everyday, I work from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. To save time, I finish my meals in twenty minutes.”

“The first few days wore me out. My face puffed up, my body was falling apart. I couldn’t even keep my legs together.”

When Xie feels dizzy under the scorching sun, she lays down in the shade of a tree. But just for a few minutes. She cannot bear to think that while others may pick 100 kilograms per day, she might only do half that, if she rests too long.

After the first seven to eight days, Xie no longer had backaches and became familiar with her job. Now she can pick up 70 to 80 kilograms per day.

Cotton fields are a paradise for insects. They like to hide themselves under the cotton bolls. They swarm and bite at humans in their midst. Although workers are fully clothed, they still get bit. “I cannot put on more clothes, or I will be stifled to death. And I have no time to drive away these insects, for I am busy with cotton picking. So I just ignore them. They will stop when they are full,” Xie says, shrugging her shoulders.