Indian Government Frees Man Trapped in Forced Labor for 10 Years shield arrow-simple-alt-top arrow-simple-alt-left arrow-simple-alt-right arrow-simple-alt-bottom facebook instagram linkedin medium pinterest rss search-alt twitter video-play arrow-long-right arrow-long-left arrow-long-top arrow-long-bottom arrow-simple-right arrow-simple-left arrow-simple-bottom readio arrow-simple-top speaker-down plus minus cloud hb pin camera globe cart rotate star edit arrow-top arrow-right arrow-left arrow-bottom check search close square speaker-up speaker-mute return play pause love

LIMITED-TIME MATCH! Your gift doubles in impact to help send rescue and restore more lives.

give now.

Indian Government Frees Man Trapped in Forced Labor for 10 Years

ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA – On Feb. 25, government officials rescued a 23-year-old man from a construction site where he had been trapped for nearly half his life.

The rescue operation was spearheaded by the Ananthapuramu district government with support from one of IJM’s partner NGOs, Rural and Environment Development Society (REDS).

The officials who led this rescue had recently been trained by IJM on addressing bonded labor.

Armed with knowledge on the subject, the government responded speedily to the complaint, led an on-site interview to confirm the abuse this man had suffered, and released the victim from bondage by issuing a Release Certificate, which is a formal document that cancels all debts and frees him.

This was a much-needed breakthrough for this young survivor. He was only a sixth-grade student when he was pulled out of school to work and repay his parents’ loan of 15,000 rupees (about $183). The construction site owner had falsified this debt over time and claimed the family now owed 150,000 rupees ($607). The owner forced this young man to toil for about 14 hours every day, enduring physical and verbal abuse. But at the end of each week, he was “paid” only 500 rupees ($6) for the family’s living expenses.

After their timely intervention the government has promised to provide this survivor with IDs and will enroll him in benefit programs that will be immensely helpful as he begins his new life in freedom.

He will also receive rehabilitation support and counseling from one of IJM’s NGO partners to ensure that he is healed of all past traumas and is ready to thrive in freedom.

After the rescue operation, our partner NGO was in awe of the work done by the government. The Director of REDS, Mr. Bhanuja, said, “Never have we witnessed such seamless coordination between government officials from different departments before. In less than 24 hours, the victim stood free with a Release Certificate in hand, and the government had already made arrangements to ensure he receives rehabilitation support.”

###

You might also be interested in…

see more

Media Contact

We're here to answer your questions. Please fill out the form below and someone from our team will follow up with you soon.

More Information

Petra Kooman

Director of Marketing and Public Relations
pkooman@ijm.ca
519.679.5030 x.229

Make an Impact

Your skills, talents, and ideas are a force for change. From birthday parties to polar dips, your fundraising campaign can stop the violence.

Learn More

Thank you for signing up to learn more about starting a fundraiser. We will be in touch soon!

In the meantime, please take a look at our free guide: 25 Tips for the Novice Fundraiser.

Need Help?

Need more information?
We're here to help.
Contact us at events@ijm.ca

Test

Test