Tales from the Silk Factory

One spring, during my primary school years, our gymnasium was transformed into a silk production facility. Thousands of swarming white worms took over our lives for a few months. Every day we would go out to collect mulberry leaves for them. It was our duty to make sure they were fed, clean, warm. I had no idea what silk looked like.

I never thought of asking why we had to spend most of our free time and holidays doing patriotic labour, collecting linden flowers, paper, cork, or rehearsing for days under intense summer heat to put on yet another China-inspired show for our leaders. It dawned on me as an adult thinking about those years that the silk worms had a better life than us primary school children.

We were just cogs in the system.

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