Slaves in China

clipped from www.theglobeandmail.com Chinese police rescue brick-kiln ‘slaves' The Chinese media have estimated that 1,000 children – some as young as eight years old – were drugged or kidnapped near train And bus stations and then sold to factory owners for as little as 500 yuan (about $70). The children were forced to work as many as 14 hours a day in cruel conditions with little food. Some were beaten by their bosses. Others were burned by hot bricks as they worked. Some of the children have spent up to seven years in slavery. Another worker, also mentally handicapped, was beaten to death with a hammer last year. The workers were forced to sleep on the ground and were not permitted to wash or change their clothes. Their bodies were covered with bruises and burns from the hot bricks. The factory was owned by the son of the local Communist Party boss. He employed five guards and six dogs to prevent the workers from fleeing.