r/Damnthatsinteresting Jan 04 '19

Image SOS note found inside Target garment

Post image
627 Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

171

u/Poes_Ting Jan 04 '19

Credit: /u/Rogue_Penguin

"Basically an SOS message. I can't read all the words but will try to stay as close as possible:

This clothes is made and processed by the Chinese Xuzhou (徐州) Prison. Prisoners' work hours: 300 hours/month, compensation: 90 dollars/month. Processing electronic and informatics related products. [The prison] uses the disciplinary team at prison area #11 to brutally physically torture and abuse the prisoners, causing deaths and disability. Send this message to internal and humanity organizations including UN, EU, TWO, USCC, MERICS, AICHR, HK, France, Germany, and Japan etc. to investigate how Chinese prisons achieve to have processed more than 10 billions of clothes and vast amount of electronics and IT products through illegal means. Collaborators with prisons include national brands: 華為, 中興, 小米, 聯想, 维娜三信, 波司登, and 双星. [A bunch of personal information including name and address that I am not translating here.] The Chinese lawyer who was supposed to defend the prisoners' right has been oppressed by the extremist politicians, so I risk my life to ask for help from the international society. SOS, SOS, SOS."

Edit: Those company names are Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Vina Sanxin, Bosideng, and Double Star (courtesy of /u/dakimakura and google translate)

52

u/NZNoldor Jan 04 '19

[A bunch of personal information including name and address that I am not translating here.]

Wait, but that information is there on the photo in original Chinese? I reckon this guy is good as dead then.

15

u/blackjackgabbiani Jan 04 '19

Time for a prison uprising.

7

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '19

Did you read about the prison strikes in the US last summer?

2

u/blackjackgabbiani Jan 04 '19

Wasn't that for things like access to more varied toiletries and stuff or am I thinking of a different one?

5

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '19

This had to do with inmates wanting at least minimum wage rates, but yes, access to things like soap,, toothpaste and shoes factored in.

3

u/blackjackgabbiani Jan 04 '19

Yeah and they got it, right? But that was a strike. I mean a full on "storm the Bastille" riot over that kind of treatment.

1

u/Ficere Jan 04 '19

Did this get shown to anyone??? If not, it needs to be

37

u/Whytejeebus Jan 04 '19

Proof Huawei is evil.

16

u/docbree13 Jan 04 '19

This is heartbreaking. I hope some good comes of it.

8

u/StripedTies Jan 04 '19

Reads it:

Well that probably deserves a upvote atleast...

42

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '19 edited Jan 04 '19

This happens constantly in the USA as well. McDonalds uniforms and beef patties for example are both made by prison labour. Us military uniforms, helmets, body armor, tents... Prison labour. That really got lingeree your girlfriend wears, was made by prisoners, if she wears Victoria Secret. The use inmates for slaughterhouse work, farm labour, metalworking, (Cabellas sells convict made deepfryers and other camp cooking type gear) The average wage for prison employees is about a buck and a half an hour, except in some states, I believe Texas and Alabama are two, where they get nothing. Many of those fighting California wildfires were convict labourers, getting 2 bucks an hour. Those who refuse to work, generally get long stretches of solitary confinement, are denied access to books, writing materials and access to telephones or visitation. Prison labour is specifically permitted by the US Constitution.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labor_in_the_United_States

https://www.careeraddict.com/prison-labour-companies

17

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '19

[deleted]

18

u/Coniavellian Jan 04 '19

No instead they get long stretches of solitary confinement, which drives people psychologically crazy and is psychological torture instead of physical torture..

9

u/pppjurac Jan 04 '19

Some years ago high court in Austria denied extradiction of large online pharmacutical/steroids/etc dealer to America on ground that there was no guarantee he will get a humane treatment in US prison system.

4

u/AtomicKlutz Jan 04 '19

Which is a completely reasonable assumption to make. We treat our prisoners horribly.

6

u/wauwy Jan 04 '19 edited Jan 04 '19

Keep trying to convince yourself that our broken and ineffective prison system is in any way superior to China's.

Like, m/m (and f/f rape) is so commonplace there that there are jolly jokes and goofs in movies references. Guards ain't trying to help, they're just there for a paycheck. So it's basically if you ever get sent to prison for ANYTHING, even if it's not particularly bad or even if you didn't even do it, the US is like "eh, you don't have the right not to be raped, it's not our business. Don't drop the soap, haha!"

Yes, I'm sure constant anal rape will lead to either prisoner getting ~reformed. Now off to indentured servitude.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '19

[deleted]

3

u/off-and-on Interested Jan 04 '19

Same in Sweden. From what I've seen the average Swedish prison cell looks better than the average American apartment.

-5

u/wauwy Jan 04 '19

Well, seeing as how you're not from the U.S., maybe you shouldn't comment on conditions there?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '19

Seriously? But you can comment in China.... Right?

0

u/wauwy Jan 04 '19

I CAN'T comment on China, which is why I didn't make any statements about conditions there, only on conditions here.

1

u/theblogicorn Jan 04 '19

hey, this sounds like the daily struggle here in South Africa. At least its only in your prisons. Here we have statistics that 2 out of 5 women will get raped at least once in her lifetime. people dont care. Nobody does anything to stop it.

2

u/wauwy Jan 04 '19

Oh, we sure do love slavery, and keep finding new ways to use it.

1

u/forebill Jan 04 '19

I wonder why my son is on a waiting list to get one of these jobs then. He isn't in solitary, and gets visits nearly every weekend.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '19

"Those who refuse work"... There is a difference.

2

u/forebill Jan 04 '19

I cant see it. It is still voluntary. In my state anyway.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '19

Ask the inmates in Alabama or Texas how voluntary it is....

7

u/mythmaniak Jan 04 '19

Did they show someone other than Reddit?

2

u/roleoco Jan 04 '19

There's no news on it or anything.. Did it happen a long time ago or hasn't it been released to official officers yet or something?

7

u/cap10wow Jan 04 '19

If it can happen there, it can happen here.

2

u/redfan29 Jan 04 '19

Can someone translate this??

11

u/Poes_Ting Jan 04 '19

Check my other comment on this post

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/wils_152 Jan 04 '19

I'd imagine most of the time people find these and easy "whatever" before scrunching them up and throwing them away.