Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – An increasingly embarrassed government is promising serious investigations into the brick factory slave scandal, but it remains silent regarding local authority’s responsibility. Meanwhile new reports reveal that it all took place in broad daylight. The tale of one 16 year old slave labourer.
On June 20, Premier Wen Jiabao chaired a State Council meeting, asking that the Shanxi state government “pay the highest attention" to the problem and step up investigations. Lawbreakers that illegally employ children, force people to work or maliciously injure workers will be severely punished," a statement issued after the meeting said. Xinhua reports that Yu Youjun, made a "self criticism on behalf of the Shanxi government" but did not say if any officials had been held responsible or would face punishment.
591 labourers – among them 51 children - have been freed over the past week from brick factories and mines in Shanxi and Henan, forced to work between 14 and 20 hours a day without pay and in inhuman conditions; hundreds of missing children are believed to still be slaves. This is why analysts observe that the repeated affirmations by Beijing to punish those responsible, for such evident crimes, seem aimed at covering up their grave embarrassment. Xinhua also reports that in Xian train station, capital of Shanxi, 13 job agencies have been closed for tricking people into working as slaves, "deceiving rural workers and sending them to work as slaves in illegal brick kilns”. Confirming that everything took place in broad daylight.
If now Railway Station director Meng Zhe promises that “We will not allow any other job agency to open near the railway station in the future”, this fails to explain why there were no controls beforehand, despite parents reporting their missing children and the tales of escaped “slaves”.
16-year-old Chen Chenggong, from Ruzhou (Henan) jumped at the well-paying factory job offered by the man who approached him at Zhengzhou train station. Within hours, he was bundled into a minivan with 12 others and dumped at a brickyard in Hongtong (Shanxi) where they were fed little, beaten often and forced to haul loads for 20 hours daily without pay. Freed on June 16th, his his face, arms, legs and torso are still mottled with sores where the guards' blows became infected. He tells that he often saw “local uniformed police officers” visit the brickyard.
He says that “They were paid off by the owner. The whole village was his”. Food consisted of farmer's fare, he said, though there was never enough. “Sometimes we'd steal someone else's”. All workers slept on the bricks they hauled Eight guards beat the slaves when they worked too slowly, while six guard dogs kept them in fear and prevented escapes. He says at least one prisoner escaped and reported the slavery, but no action was taken.
When the police freed us – he tells - The workers were taken to the local police precinct to be registered and give statements. About half left without waiting for extra help, while the rest were returned to the now-abandoned brickyard. Only after three days they were offered food and travel money.
