Saturday, June 16, 2007

Enslaved, burned and beaten: police free 450 from Chinese brick factories

Via: The Guardian
Photo by: NYTimes

"More than 450 slave workers - many of them maimed, burned and mentally scarred - have been rescued from Chinese brick factories in an investigation into illegal labour camps, it emerged yesterday.

The victims, including children as young as 14, were reportedly abducted or tricked into labouring at the kilns, where they toiled for 16 to 20 hours a day for no pay and barely enough food to live.

According to the state media, they were beaten by guards and kept from escaping by dogs. At least 13 died from overwork and abuse, including a labourer who was allegedly battered to death with a shovel."

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