Nothing and Some More

scroll down for the english version
我们是那四百位不幸被卖黑砖窑做苦工的孩子的父亲们。6月5日，在寻子无果走投无路的情况下曾联名借助大河网发过一篇题为《400位父亲泣血呼救，谁来救救我们的孩子》的求助贴子。期望借助网络的力量把孩子们的不幸遭遇传送到我们中央高层，引起政府的高度重视。

我们的求助信被各大新闻网站转载后，得到了广大具有社会良知与责任心的各界人士的声援支持。国内各大主流媒体，也深入当地进行了采访、调查、挖掘，这起惨绝人寰，草菅人命，令人发指的惊天大案浮出水面。在媒体的监督和公众的呼吁下，党中央高度重视。中共中央总书记胡锦涛、国家总理温家宝等国家领导人也相继作出重要批示。中华全国总工会副主席张鸣率领工作组进驻山西督导解救工作，山西方面也终于明确表态，各级政府下了打击黑砖窑，解救被困民工的决心。河南警方在打击人贩子的同时，还酝酿出跨省解救的工作计划。有领导的批示，公众的监督，解救工作如火如荼的展开。并在短短两个周内取得很大的进展，山西方面已解救民工370多人。那个参与倒卖童工的冯姓监察队员已受到了“开除留用，降两级工资”的严肃处理。黑窑主王东东的父亲、曹生村党支部书记王东记也被开除公职，开除党籍。4名参与殴打民工的打手，已相继辑拿归案。“惊天大案”画上一个圆满的句号。

我们的公仆们称“解救工作还在继续进行，不留一个受困民工。”看着那一个个“喜人”的数字，按照常理，我们这些做父母的应该得到安慰，但聆听着某些媒体空泛的报道，我们的心更加无助和凄凉，我们看不到希望。在这个和谐的国度里，我们感受不到对生命和人权尊重的具体体现。

在6 月11日，就在国内的大小媒体就山西黑砖场非法拘禁民工事件进行披露和谴责的时候，我们一行8位寻子家长还在运城市临沂县临晋乡艰难寻找，在一些窑主的 “不让河南人进来找孩子，再进来打死你们”的威胁下，我们只有请求当地派出所的帮助。在临晋乡指导员（警号092703）的陪同下，我们深入窑厂去寻找孩子。在途中正好遇见开着车牌为晋OM1061的窑主岳西山，他指着指导员的鼻子训斥道：“谁让你让他们坐你的车，快让他们下去！”在岳西山的指示下，指导员马上把我们轰下了车。6月12日上午，我们带着费尽周折自行营救出来的23个孩子，到临晋乡派出所办理交接手续时，他们却坚决不让带人。甚至我们问一下孩子家长的联系方式，都不允许！有一个寻子母亲还遭到人民警察的粗野推搡。我们怕孩子再入虎口，费尽口舌，与派出所协调，最后得到一个空头承诺：“我们会负责把这23名孩子送到家。”至于他们把孩子们送到哪里，我们不得而知。在我们长达二个多月的寻子过程中，掌握了大量的证据，我们走过近千家窑场，每个窑场都是正常工作运行着的，窑工们多数都是未成年人，仅运城市辖区内，就有窑场逾千家。那么整个山西省呢？他们一共有多少砖窑场？他们会非法拘禁使用多少童工？粗略一算，即可得知！如果说我们造谣惑众，以电视台拍摄的资料为证，还有那些获救的孩子们的证言及累累伤疤。试问，电视画面中的那个八岁小童工呢？还有那个一脸哭容，要和我们走却被警察诉责，“不是你们的人，你们不要管！”的河北孩子呢？相信他们脸上的恐惧和泪水会被很多人记住！他们去了哪里？山西方面能不能给民众做个客观的解释？

还有我们的孩子，他们很多是获救孩子的工友，6月4日，一位袁姓孩子，在工头的授意下，给父亲打了一个电话，说只要汇3.5万元给工长，就放他回家。那个电话号码不是证据吗？相信公安部门对一个电话的定位技术应该过关吧，还有康姓、柴姓、杨姓孩子，他们都在山西，可解救工作已经接近尾声，怎么还没有孩子的踪影？他们在哪儿？一千多个鲜活的，为山西的“经济发展”出血、流汗的生命到底在哪儿？我们这么多趟着血泪寻子的家长们，何时才能盼来骨肉团圆？？？？？

山西当地的窑主既然敢在中央调查组来临之前，一把火烧掉能暴露他们罪行的房子，那么，那一千多名最能证明他们血的罪行的孩子，他们会面临什么？会不会也一样惨遭毒手？ 我等都是一介草民，对于攻击党国之事，想都不敢想，甚至在一些海外媒体要采访我们时，我们怕他们把我们的不幸当做武器，来辱没我们国家的尊严，我们虽悲怆但却决绝地回绝了。但我们的家呢？没有了孩子，我们还有家吗？天理何在？质问那些欺上瞒下的当权者，在你们惊惶失措，以各种丧尽天良的手段掩盖你们罪行的时候，你们是在维护社会的安定，还是制造国家的灾难？当你们面对那些惨烈的面画，还有那一双双纯净的求生的眼睛，你们真的无动于衷吗？你们如何面对那些屈死的冤魂？你们拿什么来医治那些伤残孩子及他们亲人心头的伤痛？你们面对那么多苦难的，流血流泪的家庭，如何叩问自己的良知？

“洪洞”虐工事件，只是冰山一角，还有一千多个生命正在遭遇危难，可怜天下父母心，我们用自己的尊严，跪拜我们的政府，救救我们的孩子吧！

400多位父亲悲愤呐喊！

We are the fathers of the 400 unfortunate kids who were sold to back brick kilns as hard labourers. On June 5th, when we had exhausted all the means looking for our sons, we wrote a joint letter posted on Dahe website , titled "400 fathers crying out in blood, who can save our children", asking for help. We were hoping that the internet will pass the suffering of our children to the highest level of the central government, attract their attentions.

Our letter has been carried by all major news outlets, gained support from many people with good social conscience and responsibilities. Many mainstream media went to the local site to interview, investigate and research, and finally this shocking case that is so tragic, in which human lives are so lightly tossed, that makes the hearts of all of us tremble, is uncovered. Under the monitoring of the media and the demand of the public, the party center gave it a high priority. The secretary general of the party Hu Jintao, the prime minister Wen Jiabao and other leaders of the country also gave important instructions. The vice Chairman of the national union Zhang Min led work teams in Shanxi province to monitor and guide the rescues. Shanxi government also finally expressed clearly, and all level of governments have declared, their determinations to strike the black brick kilns and save the migrant workers. Police department in Henan province is striking at the human traffickers, and are planning to go to Shanxi province to save the children. With the instructions from the leaders and the monitoring of the public, rescuing work is in well under way. In a short two weeks, many progresses were made, 370 workers were rescued by Shanxi province. The monitoring team member Feng who participated in selling child labourers are given a severe punishment of being "fired but staying with wages two level down". Party secretary of Caosheng village, Wang Dongji, the father of the owner of one of the black brick kilns, Wang Dongdong, has been fired and purged from the party. Four henchmen who have beaten up the workers also have been arrested. The shocking case has a satisfactory closure.

Our public servants claim that "rescue work is still under way, no oppressed workers will be left behind". Looking at all these "happy" numbers, rationally, we the parents should feel comforted. But listening to the hallowing report from the media, our hearts feel even more helpless and sad. We don't see any hope. In this harmonious country ^{see footnote}, we don't feel the substance of respecting life and human rights.

On June 11th, just when the big and small media in China are uncovering and criticising the illegal detention of workers in the black brick kilns in ShanXi province, 8 of us were still looking for our sons in Linjin village, Linjin county, in Yuncheng city. Under the threat of some of the brick kilns owners', like "don't let the people from Henan come in, if they ever come again, kill them all", we asked for help from the local police station. In the company of the director of the police of Linjin Village (Police number 092703), we went into the kilns to look for the children. On the way we ran into a kiln owner Yao Xishan, with car license number OM061. He pointed his finger at the nose of the police director and yelled: "Who allows you to let them ride in your car? Get them off quickly". Under the instruction of Yao, the director made us off the car. In the morning of June 13rd, we rescued 23 children by ourselves overcoming many difficulties.
When we went to the police station in Linjin village to go through legal procedure, the police refused to let us take the children with us. They even did not allow us to ask the kids of their family contacts. One mother was even rudely pushed around by the police! We are afraid that the children will be sent back to the tiger's den, so we talked the police into promising emptily, "We will take the responsibility to send the children home". But no one knows where they sent the children. In our two month long journey looking for our sons, we have huge amount of evidence. We have been to thousands of brick kilns, everyone of them are operating as normal, and majority of the workers are still kids. There are thousands of brick kilns in Yuncheng city alone. What about the whole province of Shanxi? How many brick kilns are there? How many children are illegally kept? With just some simple arithmetics, one can guess. If you say we are fabricating scare story to confuse the public, there is the evidence from the video material shot by the TV reporter. And the words and wounds of the children. We are asking: where is the 8 year-old child worker shown in the TV program? And the kid with such sad face from Hebei who we wanted to take but the police would not allow because he is not "our kid"? We believe the fear and tears on their faces will be remembered by many of the TV viewers. Where are they? Can Shanxi give the audience a good explanation?

What about our kids? They were fellow workers of the rescued kids. On june 4th, a kid with last name Yuan, under the instruction of the foreman, called his father, saying that if the father sent the foreman 35000 yuan, he can be let go. The telephone number is an evidence, no? We believe the police department has the technology to locate the telephone. And the kids with last names Kang, Chai, Yang... they were all in Shanxi. The rescue work is near its end, how come we don't see any trace of them? Where are they? Those one thousand lively children, contributing to the economic growth of Shanxi with their sweat and blood, where are they? All of us parents, looking for our sons with tears and blood, when can we finally see our own flesh and bones again?

The local kiln-owners dare to burn the houses that bear the evidence before the work team from the central government arrives, what could have happened to the one thousand kids, who are the strongest evidence yet against their crime?

We are all ordinary citizens, we never dare to think of attacking our party or country. When media from overseas requested to interview us, in fear that they might use our misfortune as a weapon to insult our country, we declined firmly, even though we were full of sorrow. But how about our homes? Without our kids, how do we have our homes? Where is justice? We ask the people in power who cheated their supervisors and their subordinates, when you are in disarray and trying to cover up your crime by all means, are you truly maintaining social order, or are you making disaster for the country? When you are facing those heart wringing images and those pairs of innocent eyes seeking help, you really can't be moved? How do you even face the ghosts of the deads? And what can you do to heal the wounds and pains of the tortured kids and the people who love them? Facing all the suffering families in their tears and blood, how can you answer to your conscience?

Labour abuse in HongDong county is only the tip of an iceberg. There are still thousands of lives in danger. Pity the hearts of all the parents on earth! We are giving up our self-respect, and kneeling on our knees and begging our government: Please Save Our Kids!

"Building an harmonious society" is the slogan used by Hu Jin Tao (back to text)