Publisher's Synopsis
This is a study of the disappointments experienced by Chinese workers working on a multi-million-dollar road project in Ethiopia. China's activity in Africa has received a lot of negative coverage from western media, yet such characterizations have little bearing on the experiences of ordinary Chinese workers on the construction site. Drieseen finds that the Chinese on the ground do not dictate the terms in their encounters with the Ethiopians; more often than not the uncooperative Ethiopians are in a position to undermine the work of the Chinese. These migrant workers (mostly from a rural background), whose move to Ethiopia is primarily economically motivated, believe that they are helping to turn the locals into productive workers and making Ethiopia a better country.
