Catholic nun rescues Odisha family from bonded labour in Karnataka
Staff Reporter - July 2024
“I can finally breathe freely. I thank Sister Sujata profusely,” says Deepthi Singh, who was held in bondage along with her husband in a brick kiln in Karnataka state’s Mallur district.
The 22-year-old pregnant woman told Matters India July 17 that they had spent “countless nights crying out for help, feeling bitter about my circumstances and even blaming my parents.”
Sister Sujata Jena’s initiative has helped Deepti, her husband, father, mother and stepmother to return to Gandhinagar, their village in Odisha’s Gajapati district, on July 11 after toiling in the Karnataka brick kiln for a total of nine years.
Sister Jena, a lawyer and a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, said she heard about the family on July 3 during her visit to villages in Gajapati district to conduct awareness programs for migrant workers.
One of the participants of an awareness program was Deepti’s mother Subasini Singh, who told the nun how her family – husband, daughter, son in law and another member – was held in bondage in Karnataka.
On her return to Bhubaneswar, Odisha capital, five days later, Sister Jeana appealed to the Labour Commissioner of Karnataka to get the family released from the illegal bondage.
“The family’s rescue highlights the demeaning conditions of migrant laborers in India,” Sister Jena, who has worked among migrants for more than five years, told Matters India.
The bonded labour system was abolished throughout India from October 25, 1975, under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. It freed generations of labourers held in bondage. Although the law made the practice a cognizable offence punishable by law, many are still held as bonded laborers in various parts of the country, laments Sister Jena.
At the awareness program, Subasini told the nun that some agents had lured her and her husband to work in the Karnataka factory six years ago.
When her father-in-law died, the brick kiln manager denied their request to return home. “So, Deepthi and her husband were coerced into taking their place to repay a debt of 140,000 rupees,” Sister Jena said.
Subasini also told the nun that her family worked from 6:30 am to 6 pm without weekly off. Initially, the entire family was paid 3,000 rupees a week. The manager restricted pregnant Deepthi from moving from the factory.
Desperate to save her daughter and son in law, Subasini pleaded Sister Jena for help. The nun, with the support of the Vatican’s Migrants Dicastery, appealed to the Labour Commissioner of Karnataka. Sister Jena’s efforts caught the attention of Shabhana Ajmi, the Mallur District Labour Officer, who intervened and rescued the family.
The labour department provided the family with tickets and 2,000 rupees for their journey home. “If Sister Jena hadn’t appealed on our behalf, my daughter would never have been released and we could have remained as bonded laborers forever,” the mother said.
She also said they had sought help from many, but none knew how to free them.
When Sister Jena initially contacted Manjunath, the factory manager for the family’s release, he demanded 300,000 rupees. Sister Jena refused and persisted with the state labor department until the family was liberated.
Sister Jena said the manager threatened her when she spoke about recovering the family’s wages. “Every day the owner calls them to go back to work,” she said and added that she suspects that even the labour department is frightened of the company.
The nun says she hopes to receive the labor department’s support to recover the overdue wages for the family
Suhasini expressed relief that they are liberated from the chains of slavery finally. “My heart ached endlessly for my daughter, especially knowing she was pregnant and yearning for freedom from this relentless hardship. I searched tirelessly for help, but it was Sister Sujata who became our savior.”
Deepti said with relief, “Now, as I await the birth of my child, I am filled with relief knowing that we are out of that agonizing ordeal.”
(Courtsey: mattersindia.com)
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