Rebuilding lives after slavery

Abbas Ali (50) was a slave. Working at a brick kiln, his tiny wage made it inevitable that he would become trapped in debt to the owner. He and his family were enslaved for a loan worth the equivalent of just €256.

“We had been asking if we could settle our loan", he says. “My son asked to know how much we still owed.”

This led to painful punishment. His son was forced to walk on hot coals until he begged for forgiveness. After this, events worsened beyond their greatest fears.

“One day I wasn’t well and I couldn’t go to work. The owner sent one of his representatives to get me. My son went out to tell them that I was sick and couldn’t work. They started shouting abuse at him, saying he was a bad worker. My son protested saying, "We are not lazy, we are hardworking. If you have so many problems with us, why don’t you let us go?"

With that they shot him. He died before Abbas could get him to a hospital.

Abbas contacted the police to report the murder. Illiterate, he used his thumb print as his signature. The family then fled for their lives, packing nothing but their grief. “I left in such a hurry. I left all my belongings and even livestock,” he recalls.

The only eyewitness to the murder was abducted by the kiln owner. The police found him locked up eight days later in poor health.

Abbas and his family sought shelter with an organisation funded by Trócaire. He is now seeking justice through the legal system with its support.

“I am sixty years of age,” he says. “This is the only time in my life where I have seen efforts by other humans to bring justice or to tell the truth. I have never before experienced truth.”

Trócaire’s supporters have helped 5,000 bonded labourers like Abbas gain freedom from slavery since 2006.

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