People of short stature fight against employment discrimination(2)

Chen Hongli, 28, from the Little Ants Shadow Play Troupe, takes a photo during an outing of the troupe in a natural resort in Changping, Beijing, in March. Photo: Li Ming

No alternatives

Born in 1978 in a rural family in the suburb of Beijing in Daxing district, Li Ming, director of the Little Ants Shadow Play Troupe, was diagnosed with GHD at the age of 10. The treatment of growth hormone injections every day only continued for a year as they put the family in debt.

In 1995, he was coerced to cease schooling after graduating from a junior school. "My head teacher didn't give me the application form, saying no high school or vocational school would admit me," Li said.

Later the teacher recommended him to a private tourism reception complex near the Ming Tombs in Changping district, Beijing, where he worked for 13 years on various jobs like guide, doorman and cashier with eight other dwarfs. Their salary was always half of that of the other colleagues.

Gary Arnold, president of the Little People of America Inc., a support group based in California providing care to individuals with dwarfism and their families, says that one method in the US is to use legal weapons to fight against injustice.

"In the past months, two dwarfs have filed discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The dwarfs were fired in the restaurant industry after asking for accommodation," Arnold told the Global Times via e-mail.

In China, however, there have been no such attempts to seek redress via government agencies.

"Even when we know there's inequity, we dare not complain. At least they offered us a job," Li told the Global Times, adding that it's also common for employers to not pay any insurance to them.

For Li, the biggest issue is the disrespect. "Some employers deem that they are being charitable by employing little people. But what we need is not sympathy, but understanding and respect."

In the World Ecological Garden of Butterflies in Kunming, Yunnan Province, there's a "Dwarf Kingdom" with over 100 members.

"Many of us feel uncomfortable about the idea. The dwarfs are displayed like a mountain of monkeys in a zoo," Li said. "We hope others can recognize us by our knowledge and skills, not by our statures."

The garden's manager Chen Mingjing has defended it as a "pure charity" effort.

But Arnold says that this is not helping. "I do believe that if little people are put on display as entertainment simply because of their different stature, it does promote stigma and stereotypes, and might contribute to an environment in which it is more difficult for people with dwarfism to have the same opportunities as other people," he said.

But Arnold said it's understandable that some dwarfs agree to take those jobs as their options are limited, and suggested that the best course of action would be raising awareness about dwarfism and offer them wider range of employment options.