With the rescue of eight Chinese farmers kidnapped in Iraq while trying to find jobs there, experts are calling on the Chinese government to give more efficient guidance to the flow of redundant rural labor.

Although the Foreign Ministry repeatedly issued notices warning its nationals not to travel to Iraq and other dangerous regions, there were still individuals going there for business, said Zhong Ruiming, director of the Asia-Africa Office of the Consular Department.

The eight victims, all farmers in Pingtan County of east China's Fujian Province, applied for passports between 2003 and 2004 saying they wanted to travel to Thailand, according to local government. They were kidnapped last Tuesday in a taxi while trying to leave Iraq after failing to get jobs there.

When the news reached their villages in Pingtan, advertisements luring local farmers to work in Iraq could still be found on streets.

"The majority of farmers deciding to seek jobs in Iraq couldn't give an accurate judgment of the current situation in Iraq. They were carried away by a dream of getting rich quick," said Guo Tiemin, director of the Industrialization Research Center of Fujian Normal School.

Zhong Ruiming also confirmed the job opportunities in Iraq are quite limited due to turbulent local situations.

To prevent similar cases, Guo said that grass-root government officials should help local farmers get informed of the latest notices of the Foreign Ministry.

"Farmers need to be equipped with the skills of making judgment on a safe working environment," he said.

He also called on local governments to give more professional training to redundant rural workers and more guidance on where to get employed.

Professor Jin Canrong of the International Relations Institute of the People's University of China said the Chinese government should punish the illegitimate agencies sending farmers abroad.

Given the huge regional imbalance inside China, Guo believed the expanding Chinese urban market has the capacity to absorb most redundant rural workers. These years, however, a severe shortage of rural laborers was even found in many coastal areas.

To retain these jobless farmers inside China and help them get employed, Guo said that Chinese governments should give serious thought about the future of redundant rural labor.

"These people are not a burden. They are a huge resource waiting to be tapped and utilized," he said.

Source: Xinhua