Two days ago, a ten year-old boy’s arms were severed by the son of an influential landowner in Gujarat. Although one suspect has been arrested by the police over the incident, any hope of justice being upheld is slim. Pakistan’s agro-based economy is dependent on landlords that own huge swathes of land and workers that do the brunt of the work in exchange for just enough to survive on, but never enough to break free from the system. Tenants tend to the lands, but do not reap any profit from the crops themselves. Entire generations of families have been oppressed by this modern version of serfdom, with children and parents equally enslaved by the overlord for his/her benefit. Bonded labour is yet another form of slavery in which the landowners grant loans to workers who cannot pay them back, thereby ensuring that the worker swears his unswerving loyalty to the landowner.
To most feudal lords, the people that work for them are objects of fancy and amusement, to be punished at will. The dismemberment of this child and other heinous crimes such as the rapes and murders for which landlords walk free, reflect that mindset, and is repeatedly fuelled by Pakistan’s socio-political structures. Child labour laws are non-existent, and the survival of children depends on them working from an early age. This culture has been allowed to thrive for various social and political motivations; the landowner is the master, the provider, the judge, jury, and in many cases the spiritual leader. Entire villages are willing to lay down their lives for these wealthy, exploitative feudals, who then use this support for political clout. These people comprise much of parliament, and hence ensure that the feudal system and power stays intact. In January, JUI-F’s Sardar Ahmed Kethran was charged with torturing five policeman in his own private prison. On the 21st of this month, over a 100 people were freed from a private prison of a landlord in Hafizabad after information was received from an escaped inmate over four years ago. How many more of these barbaric acts have to surface, before reforms become necessary, before the government stops being complicit and actively works to end this oppression occurring in plain sight?
Friday, July 25, 2014
Pakistan: Serfdom
Two days ago, a ten year-old boy’s arms were severed by the son of an influential landowner in Gujarat. Although one suspect has been arrested by the police over the incident, any hope of justice being upheld is slim. Pakistan’s agro-based economy is dependent on landlords that own huge swathes of land and workers that do the brunt of the work in exchange for just enough to survive on, but never enough to break free from the system. Tenants tend to the lands, but do not reap any profit from the crops themselves. Entire generations of families have been oppressed by this modern version of serfdom, with children and parents equally enslaved by the overlord for his/her benefit. Bonded labour is yet another form of slavery in which the landowners grant loans to workers who cannot pay them back, thereby ensuring that the worker swears his unswerving loyalty to the landowner.
To most feudal lords, the people that work for them are objects of fancy and amusement, to be punished at will. The dismemberment of this child and other heinous crimes such as the rapes and murders for which landlords walk free, reflect that mindset, and is repeatedly fuelled by Pakistan’s socio-political structures. Child labour laws are non-existent, and the survival of children depends on them working from an early age. This culture has been allowed to thrive for various social and political motivations; the landowner is the master, the provider, the judge, jury, and in many cases the spiritual leader. Entire villages are willing to lay down their lives for these wealthy, exploitative feudals, who then use this support for political clout. These people comprise much of parliament, and hence ensure that the feudal system and power stays intact. In January, JUI-F’s Sardar Ahmed Kethran was charged with torturing five policeman in his own private prison. On the 21st of this month, over a 100 people were freed from a private prison of a landlord in Hafizabad after information was received from an escaped inmate over four years ago. How many more of these barbaric acts have to surface, before reforms become necessary, before the government stops being complicit and actively works to end this oppression occurring in plain sight?
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