EMANCIPATION OF DEBT BONDAGE IN PAKISTAN

Background Information/Statement of the problem/Justification:

Pakistan is signatory to 36 conventions of ILO, including two fundamental conventions on forced labor (no 29 and 105). A national legal and policy framework that protects and promotes the rights of bonded laborer has been in place since 1992. A National policy and Plan of Action on Bonded Laboure was formulated in 2001.

The policy and plan of action approved restructuring and revitalization DVCs (district vigilance committees) under the District Nazim to help release and rehabilitate bonded labor with the assistance of local judiciary and other authorities.

There are laws and rulings of the Supreme Court which forbid owners from paying peshgi (advance) of more than 15 days to workers but owners do not abide by it.

After the 18^th Amendment, Punjab province has adopted Bonded Labor System Abolition Act, 1992 but lack in capacity to implement it.

Millions of workers in Pakistan are held in contemporary forms of slavery, throughout the country. Business owners forcibly extract labor from adults and children, restrict their movement.

In Pakistan, forced labor primarily is in the form of debt bondage and is more prevailing in the sectors of agriculture, brick kilns, domestic service (particularly women and child labor), carpet weaving, mining, and handicraft production. Bonded laborers suffer a range of violations of human rights.

It is also a ground reality that owners of almost all setups that utilize bounded labor or force children & families to work for them are influential people, implementation of law is a major concern.

Contributing Factors – Qualities that are exploited

• The fabric of the Pakistani Society is a close nit family system.
• The children, especially the male members, feel proud to stand accountable for the debt of the Father.
• Every member of the family, feels responsible to extend hand to reduce misery of the family.
• Generally, the people trapped in this cycle are illtreat, unable to read or write.
• The segment of the society that is targeted is the poorest of the poor.
• The majority of the people that are trapped are from lower cast, minorities, the ones that are financially the weakest, merely seeking for shelter and food but at the same time used to and willing to do hard physical work.

Tactics used and the Resultant Realities:

• These outfits are always at the outlook for laborers desperately in need of work.
• Normally these Laborers do not have their own houses and have to live in rented houses.
• These workers are offered jobs with minimum wages and shelter with the expression that they are helping them in their miserable circumstances.
• The living quarters often resemble huts or sheds that lack every facility, still these poor workers are happy to find a place to live, though in sub human conditions.
• These workers have to work in very harsh conditions, and there is no concept/consideration of workers safety and usually have to work long hours.
• These workers live in poor living conditions and enjoy poor health. If a worker or his family member falls ill, he has to bear all medical expenses on his own, the business owners do not provide or contribute towards medical expenses.
• With low wages, poor living and working condition they are always in need to borrow to meet their expenses, for that they approach the employer.
• As they do not have any saving, for every social need/responsibility such as wedding of a relative or their own children or to attend to funeral of a relative, again they have to take loan from the business owner.
• On such occasions, some owners even use a tactic to get their signature or thumb impression on a blank paper. All the records are kept by the business owner and laborer are expected to trust their integrity.
• With the intention to get better output from the worker, sometimes the business owner encourage workers to buy mobile phone or motorcycle and offer loan to them.
• Once the loan amount reaches to an amount that the business owner feels that worker would never be able to return, they start putting pressure on the worker, start demanding more output and often start insulting, abusing and sometimes beating the worker for being lazy and useless.
• Under this situation, wife and children are compelled to assist the father to keep the business owner happy; thus, the business owner enjoys work of multiple workers for the wage of one person.
• As the children start to help the father, this ensures that the business owner will have next generation of trained slaves also.

Conclusion:

There are millions of people that are trapped in this vicious cycle of debt bondage. Living in poor conditions, without sufficient basic facilities, almost captive, still striving all the time to keep the business owner happy to survive. They have lost all the hope and have accepted this as their fate. They are so depressed that even refuse to think about educating their children or prosperity of their future generation.

The project:

This project is to reach out to the families that are prone to fall in to debt bondage or are already under bondage, increase awareness and create hope. Provide moral, financial and legal assistance to come out of bondage. Create alternate job opportunities. Ensure that children go to school and the families have sufficient facilities to live normal life.

Strategies:

The strategy would be to study individual case and devise a suitable plan for each case based on their situation and requirements but in generally the activities would involve:

• Raise awareness and creating Hope
• Paying debt and release individuals
• Legal Assistance as required
• Providing Shelter
• Find suitable occupation – creating job opportunities:
• Getting the children to School:

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan:

Regular Monitoring of this project will be done by Organization with the involvement of the Executive Members. Reports of each and every case will be provided to the Donor and financial reports long with necessary and through pictorial.

Expected Results:

This project will provide opportunities to debt bondage victims to raise their standard of life and they will be able to educate their children. It will be a contribution in poverty reduction because debt bondage victims will be free to start their career with themselves.

Appeal for Contribution:

It’s a gigantic task. It involves lot of efforts, dedication and huge finances. No individual can do it all but every drop counts. Your generous support can change the life of a family, create hope for a child.