Modern-Day Slavery
writer: Adam Hanson
photographer: Ted Haddock
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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, freed after five years of slavery, prepares bricks in his own kiln. "I never dreamt that i would ever return to my
village as a free man. Even now it is like a dream," he says. |
| There are 27 million slaves in the world today. People are forced to work without pay,
under the threat of violence and are unable to walk away.
-Free the Slaves |
| 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. |
Families freed from slavery approach the brick kiln where they now work together earning fair wages. |
| Since 2000, International Justice Mission (IJM) has
been fighting to free slaves in India. After uncovering
evidence of slavery, it reports and litigates these cases
and assists local officials in raids to liberate forced
laborers. Once the former slaves are free, IJM assists
them to obtain official government release certificates
and receive the aid needed to rebuild their lives. |
| "The problem of slavery is obviously massive. There is much work to be done - but we
believe that change is occurring. Ensuring that the millions of men, women and children
held in slavery receive the protection that they are guaranteed by their country's own laws
will create the structural change that will bring this brutal form of oppression to an end."
-Sean Litton, Vice President of Field Operations
International Justice Mission |
Former slave families carry flags and banners in a mock olympic ceremony organized in part by IJM. "Many sang their national
anthem for the first time ... as free citizen[s]," says IJM Communications Manager and photographer Ted Haddock. |
IJM staff works undercover to find and document
conditions of slavery. In doing so, they have been
threatened by mobs and chased while working to end
slavery. IJM staff then presents evidence of slavery to
local police and officials encouraging them to enforce
the laws against this practice, prompting local officials
to conduct raids to free the slaves. Upon their release,
IJM works to meet victims' immediate needs, providing
food, temporary lodging, transportation and other
vital support. The staff ensures that victims of forced
labor receive the assistance that is available through the
government. Children are enrolled in school, and adultsreceive the support they need as they begin to rebuild
their lives. IJM monitors former slaves for several years
after their release to ensure they stay free and secure.
The huge scale of India's slavery problem complicates
IJM's efforts. Historically, the Indian caste system
resulted in the population overlooking slavery as a
moral injustice. Today many officials are committed
to helping IJM free individual slaves and to eradicating
slavery altogether. |
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