Modern-Day Slavery
writer: Adam Hanson
photographer: Ted Haddock
(story synopsis)
|
People are being enslaved, and
entire families are forced to work to pay off debts they can never repay. International Justice Mission is freeing these slaves.
*to protect the individuals mentioned,
pseudonyms have been used. |
Kumar demonstrates how he carried bricks on his head when he was enslaved in a brick mill. He became a slave at age seven. |
| It is impossible to know how many people in India are forced to work as slaves in brick kilns, silk factories, salt mines and rice mills. Justice organizations estimate that 10 to 15 million are enslaved throughout India and the number is growing. Poor people are forced or tricked into slavery through the practice of debt bondage. Slave owners offer loans that can be paid off through labor, and once the loan is accepted, the owners charge the worker for all kinds of living expenses and set insurmountable interest rates to ensure that even small loans can never be repaid. An individual's family can be forced to assume the debt, which becomes a vicious cycle that enslaves entire families for generations. Debt bondage has been outlawed in India for more than 30 years, but very little is done to enforce anti-slavery laws. |
Muthu pays his employees fair wages and has been able to put 20,000 rupees ($500 USD) into savings. “I am a free man now. If I am not well, I can stop work and take rest. I am my own boss,” he says. |
International Justice Mission
PO box 58147
Washington DC 20037
USA
703.465.5495
contact@ijm.org
www.ijm.org |
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