Throughout the summer of 2006, IJM investigators documented the cases of 13 forced laborers trapped in a rice mill in South Asia. The owners of the rice mill kept more than 20 slaves, both adults and children, some of whom were born into a life of slavery. IJM staff had secured the cooperation of local police, who planned to raid the facility on August 10.

Early in the morning of August 10, 2006, IJM staff departed for the local police station, several hours away, to provide information for the raid. About an hour before arriving, IJM received a call from a government official informing them that the police officers were no longer willing to infiltrate the facility that day. Some staff members believed that the mission would have to be aborted, as they knew from experience that when the police said that they were not going to come, a facility raid would be impossible.

A few calls to local police contacts went unanswered, and there was only one choice left – to call the superintendent of police directly. There was little chance that the superintendent would reverse his subordinates’ decisions. As minutes passed, the possibility increased of a tip off that would threaten the raid and scatter the victims who would be quickly moved to another location. Phoning the superintendent was a risk, but as IJM staff drove to the police station, it was their only recourse.

The superintendent answered the phone, and an IJM attorney described the plight of the slaves. He acknowledged that the police were the trusted servants of the people, emphasizing the superintendent’s earlier commitment to IJM and extending his gratitude for such a commitment. He then made a plea for the superintendent to continue with the raid. The superintendent made no promises, but asked IJM staff to call him back in half an hour.

Thirty minutes later, IJM arrived at the local government building and called the superintendent, who reported that the police would assist in any way needed. That day, the local police successfully raided the facility. Seventeen former slaves received official government release certification, stating that they had been forced to work but that they were now legally free. Five of the 17 victims were children. Other children, dependents of slaves but themselves not yet forced to work, were released from the rice mill that day.

All the families were overjoyed— all but one. Staff discovered that 22 people had left the rice mill, but there should have been 23. It was discovered that one young boy was not at the rice mill when it was raided, but was in fact with the slave owner. During the raid, the boy’s mother protested that her child had been left behind, so IJM staff promised to wait with the local police for the return of the mill owner and the boy. On the truck leaving the rice mill, the young child’s mother sat in silence, overwhelmed by mixed emotions on her long ride to freedom.

Finally, the news she longed for arrived. When the boy had returned with the slave owner, the police took custody of him and reunited the child with his mother.