Abstract: In the summer of 2016, I was introduced to the women who carry the burden of China’s foreign relations on their shoulders, that is, providing care services while employers attended to the strenuous realities of expatriate life in Beijing, China. What stood out to me was the network that existed among these nannies and the issues they discussed daily that they experienced on the job. Here, I realized that the period that they took the children out to play and unwind, was as much therapy for them, as well as the children. During these visits, I learnt of a foreigner working illegally as an ayi. I decided to probe and used this as a basis for a study through narration, as existing reports show that foreigners of African ethnic group do not usually source employment in this area. Instead, this exclusively a practice of Asian women in Mainland China. By way of using observation, journal entries and interviews, I was taken into the informal economy of China to see how foreigners illegally worked. What has unearthed from this case, is that the Universities seem to hold a surplus labour in China and the care industry seems to be benefitting. Additionally, this case shows that having international students is one way in which China is contributing to poverty reduction in developing countries at a household level. Thus, this is a phenomenon in China that demands extensive studying in terms of how international students cope in Beijing China, as well as what avenues are available to them for assistance in moments of financial constraints.
Title: The Ayi is ‘under the table’
Author: Tamika Peart
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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