Chapter Four

Bonded Labor

In order to fuel our compassion, I would like to expand on one aspect of world need mentioned in the introduction: bonded labor.

My sister is ten years old. Every morning at seven she goes to the bonded labor man, and every night at nine she comes home. He treats her badly; he hits her if he thinks she is working slowly or if she talks to the other children, he yells at her, he comes looking for her if she is sick and cannot go to work. I feel this is very difficult for her.  I don't care about school or playing. I don't care about any of that. All I want is to bring my sister home from the bonded labor man. For 600 rupees I can bring her home -- that is our only chance to get her back. We don't have 600 rupees . . . we will never have 600 rupees. - Lakshmi, nine-year-old beedi (cigarette) roller, Tamil Nadu, India.²²

     Six hundred rupees is the equivalent of approximately $17. There are millions of children in the world who toil countless hours in deplorable conditions for a few cents a day. When a desperately poor family has a financial need such as a medical emergency, a funeral or even just to put food on the table, they often have only one place to turn, the local money-lender whom we might call a loan shark. He will lend them money in exchange for their child's labor.  Because they usually can't read the contract, they often don't know what they are agreeing to.  The wages are so low and the interest rate so high that the loan can virtually never be repaid.  All the money earned goes only to the interest payment. Some children work 12 to 14 hours a day in horrendous conditions for years to pay off a $25 loan. 

In the beedi (cigarette rolling) industry, the long hours spent hunched over the basket of tobacco causes growth deformities, and the constant proximity to tobacco dust causes and exacerbates lung diseases.

In carpet weaving the occupational diseases are similar: the children sit in a cramped space all day long, inhaling wool fibers and dust. As a result, the carpet weavers are prone to emphysema and tuberculosis.

The silver workers suffer frequent burns on their hands and arms, the leather workers are exposed to toxic chemicals long banned in developed countries, and the gemstone polishers are subject to both cuts and toxic contamination.²²

     At the time of the above report, Sangeetha, the ten year old girl, had been in bondage to a beedi agent for one year in exchange for an advance of about $10. She worked fourteen hours a day, six and a half days a week, and earned about 8 cents a day.²²   What were you doing when you were 10? What if you had been born Sangeetha? Did you earn the right to be born where you were? The answers to these questions are found in the following passage:

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  

Acts 17:26 (emphasis mine)

 It is because of God’s grace that you were born in the U.S.  Try to imagine your life if you had been born Sangeetha.  How do you feel in the morning as you walk to work?  Through no fault of your own, you are about to spend 14 hours crouched over a basket of tobacco.  Your hands and wrists will hurt, and you will be beaten if you roll cigarettes too slowly or talk to the child sitting next to you.  You may have a matchbook put under your chin, so that if it falls, the manager will know you looked up and will punish you. You are likely to grow up deformed, unable to live a normal life.  You may actually be chained to the wall.  Think further:  if you knew there were people in another country who could free you, what would you want them to do? What if they choose not to free you? Jesus said,

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Luke 12:48b

     God has blessed the U.S. with more resources than any other civilization in history.  He is going to demand much from us.  So why has God blessed us?  

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

           2 Corinthians 9:11

     For $10 billion we could free millions of bonded laborers.  U.S. Christians spend $100 billion a year exchanging Christmas presents.¹³   Maybe we could include “setting the captives free” on our next Christmas list.  What do you think Jesus wants for His birthday?

Read Chapter Five 

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