Labor Camps in Our Own Backyard

Hard to believe, but it appears that there are still some version of forced labor camps in our very own fifty states. The particular camp in the news as of today was mistreating mentally disabled workers, who may have been much easier targets. But just the fact that they are easier to target does not mean it is any more just to mistreat innocent people.

Henry's Turkey Service uprooted hundreds of mentally disabled Texan natives from their homes and shipped them off to labor camps in seven different states within the US. One particular camp in Iowa housed 32 of these workers, "in a dilapidated farm house," for several years, according to ABC news. No matter how many grueling hours they spent on duty, they were paid a flat rate of $65 a month and they suffered verbal and physical abuse. Because of their mental state, these innocent men were helpless and endured theses terrible conditions living in a house in ruins and for almost no compensation. It wasn't until years later when family members reported these cruelties to the state that there was any action taken against it. The camp in Iowa was shut down in 2009, but the article in ABC news today was reflecting on the fact that Henry's Turkey Service has suffered almost no repercussions since.

The Federal Justice Department ruled that the company owed $6 million in repercussions that was going to be used to help compensate for the damages suffered by those hundreds of mentally ill men. However, Henry's has somehow managed to avoid paying these dues for 3 years straight. Although the Justice Department says they are looking into how to get these funds, many people have given up on every receiving any of the money at all.

Sherri Brown, sister of a worker, said, "I have never had any illusions about us seeing one dime from all of this." Yet she believes that it is still worthwhile because even though her own brother may never receive justice she says, "We fought this case for other people, so that this sort of thing would never happen again to anyone else." 

 I believe these men from Iowa who were cruelly mistreated still deserve their money, and I am not sure if why the government has let Henry's get off so easy is because they are lazy and have moved on past the case, or for another reason. However, as much as it angers me, Sherri is right, and has an amazingly positive attitude by reminding us that in America all our court cases can set a precedent for the future so every small victory now could lead to a much larger victory later. Hopefully in the near future there will be no more labor camps on our own soil, and this is just the first step.