Hundreds of Chinese workers stranded in Romania are camping outside their embassy in freezing conditions in Bucharest. They are trying to get home because Romanian construction companies have failed to pay them.

Many of the workers arrived in November when the credit crunch was really starting to bite. They had paid huge sums to Chinese and Romanian intermediaries in return for long-term contracts. But then Romania’s economy took a tumble and the contracts evaporated. This man says they have had no money for two months and they have been unable to buy food and water. He says they are living in desperate conditions. There’s no work and we have no cash, he says. There may be thousands of Chinese stranded in Romania and although the Chinese Embassy has repatriated some, there are many more who have no choice but to sit in the cold and rain. They are trying to stay warm as best they can, meanwhile hoping someone will help them get home.More about: China, Romania

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