Modern Slaves: Another Emblem For Shanxi Province

Thinking of Shanxi, what emerges before your eyes may be inexhaustible coal, numerous coal mines big or small, clever merchants, and traditional courtyards. These have somehow become the symbols of the province. However, the recent disclosure of the appalling facts about illegal exploitation of workers by some local brickkilns has disgraced the whole province.
 
An avalanche of news coverage is available on the major domestic websites about the tragedy and its latest progress. Tremendous concern has been aroused throughout the country, from the top government officials like Hu Jintao to commonfolks like us.
 
I can’t restrain my indignation after reading those astounding reports. While I deeply sympathize those helpless and despairing workers, I really want to query those local officials: How dare those unscrupulous brickkiln owners exploit those
workers from other places so barbarically? What were you doing while those pathetic workers, among whom the yungest was no more than 8 years old,were sweating or bleeding in a hell of scorching brickkliln? How come you had known nothing about it?
· There’s nothing to be surprised at. I come to realize you are birds of a feather. Thanks to your connivance, and your patronage, those guys have got the chance to complete such a “feat” by introducing some “slaves” in our so-called civilized and progressive society. They have formed a  chain of supplying “slaves”： some traders in human beings managed to coax people eager to find a job at train stations, or even abducted people from other places. Then they sold their “preys” to those brickkiln owners at very low prices. Here at the brickkilns, their nightmares in the hell had just begun. These pitiful people, having lost freedom, their health, and finally their hope, were forced to work over 10 hours a day.
 
I am so astonished to see what Mr. Xia Yan, a famous Chinese writer, had depicted almost a century ago about the life of exploited workers has been repeated now. What a shame!
 
Now, Shanxi has another name-card, one that is called modern slaves..
 
Just put one beautiful picture here, as I don’t want to bring those nightmares back to you, and you can find them everywhere if you like.