The story told in this book, in which young girls are taken forcefully from their families and forced to work off debt that just keeps accruing, brings to mind stories of indentured servants coming to America. Except, it’s set in present day China.
In order to keep their small family farm, Roshen’s family allows the Hubei Work Wear Company to take her to their factory in southern China to sew uniforms. They’re not too concerned, because everyone says these factories are a great opportunity for the girls. And even if that wasn’t the case, they just didn’t have a lot of choice. If they lose their farm, they lose everything. Roshen goes willingly in order to help her entire family.
Once she arrives, along with several other girls, Roshen is horrified. They’re forced to work hours on end, with terrible food and unsanitary living conditions. Every little infraction of the rules leads to debt piling up, which gets deducted from their small wages. Roshen’s family is Uyghur, an ethnic minority in China that has been persecuted for their differences. She bonds with some other Uyghur girls, but the managers at the factory look down on her for her background and prevent her from following her religious and cultural customs.
We watch Roshen try to make it work in the factory, and then we watch her try to escape when her situation changes. This book has some really horrifying stories — some of the girls are “promoted” to entertain businessmen coming in to view the factory, and end up drugged and raped. Others suffer horribly from illness or injury, with no medical attention. But what’s really scary is that it’s true. La Valley interviewed women and girls in this region, gathered their stories and created this book as a way to spread the word.