"My grandfather and father were bonded labourers, so when they died they passed on their debt to me.
The landlord beat us and forced us to work. I worked for him for 14 years, but the longer I worked the more I owed. He just kept on adding interest to my debt. In that life we had no place to live; we had to live at the water pumps on the farm. We were forced to work around the clock. We had no time to rest. When I heard about Volunteers for Social Justice, and went straight to them and they found a solution to get rid of this bondage. Now I'm a free man. I work as a construction worker. I go to work at labourer 8am and come back at 5pm. Now we decide when we want to sleep. We send our children to school and life is good." Bhola Singh | "I worked as a bonded labourer for 25 years. We were paid a tiny sum, about £100 a year, but even then our debt just got bigger.
When I tried to escape, the local landlord caught us and forced us back into slavery. They caught two friends and I, tied us up and beat us. Then they burnt our homes down. Then I went to Volunteers for Social Justice and they helped us escape from slavery. Since we were released, no one has bothered us. Now life is better. I have re-built my house and my children have found work. We are not controlled by anybody now." Ghurmal Singh |