The Black Informant

My wife (and avid weave wearer–Don’t tell her I said that) not too long ago came across some information that has caused her to rethink which weaves to purchase. She may provide some commentary here in the near future that will describe her “reformation” in this area. Below are some excerpts of the article, but as always read the whole thing for yourself.

Henan Province Shibalihe and Xuchang labor camps have been buying Falun Gong practitioners for 800 Yuan as slave labor for Henan Rebecca Hair, China’s biggest hair product company. Their products are sold worldwide under brand names such as Shake-N-Go and Royal Imex, Inc. Ms. Zhang Yali, an accountant in her thirties, and at least two other Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death in these camps.

(emphasis mine)

Mr. Wang Jiangping is handicapped and can’t knit as fast as the others. It’s almost 2:00 a.m. and the Division Six prisoners have been working since dawn. They have to meet the deadline. His fellow Falun Gong practitioners nod off only to be wakened by guards stabbing them with scissors. Mr. Wang is exhausted.

The guards throw bricks at his chest. The Changji Labor Camp has to meet Tianshan Wooltex’s quota of Kashmir sweaters, or the guards won’t get their bonus. The Chinese “reform through labor” camps have become privatized. They are small enterprises that sign contracts with big companies and export products to overseas shopping malls.

…According to one testimony, when seeing prisoners fall asleep while working, the guards shock them with electric batons and order the head of the workshop, also an inmate, to hit them with bricks and wooden clubs. If a detainee fails to complete his assigned work, the guard will cuff him to a heating pipe, strip him naked and shock his neck, armpits, abdomen, private areas, mouth and ears with electric batons. His detention terms will also be extended. (more…)

If one company is doing this, chances are there are more.

Black people, what we do with this information is up to us. Either we are going to continue to “rock” the latest weave (women) , or we are going to demand that this practice is brought to an end.

The question then becomes, “will a significant amount of black women (yes I know white women wear ‘em too, but we got them beat) be willing to forgo wearing a weave (if it means we have to go that far) to bring international attention to this issue?

Hmmmmmm.