In Pakistan, a priest frees slaves from brick factories
"Christians and Hindus, who belong to the poorest sections of the Pakistani population, are often victims of the system: they are 'debt slaves', a mechanism that condemns them to abuse, harassment, mistreatment, to an entire existence at the mercy of unscrupulous masters."
There are 50 million modern slaves in the world today. 2,3 million of them live in Pakistan, which represents 1 in 100 inhabitants of this South Asian country.
In the diocese of Faisalabad, a priest tries to free these slaves. Emmanuel Parvez, 72, priest of Pansara, rubs shoulders with slaves who work in clay brick factories. Among them, five Christian families who fell into servitude following the contracting of a debt.
A common practice in Pakistan called "peshgi", an advance on salary granted to a person or a member of his family. In exchange, these people must work for their creditor, sometimes without pay, for a period that may be indefinite.
As theAgenzia Fides, Pakistani Christians most often belong to the poorest sections of the population in this country influenced by the old caste system. They are among the victims of this mechanism of debt slavery. This is explained by Emmanuel Parvez.
"Christians and Hindus, who belong to the poorest sections of the Pakistani population, are often victims of the system: they are 'debt slaves', a mechanism that condemns them to abuse, harassment, mistreatment, to an entire existence at the mercy of unscrupulous masters. It all starts with a loan or an advance from the employer. They ask for it because they need medical care, since in Pakistan, health care is financed entirely by individuals, or even to finance a girl's wedding party. To repay the amount due, it takes years of work without rights, without certainty, without pay, forced to live in dilapidated housing. In many many cases, the worker is not able to repay the debt, which does not end with his death but passes on to the next generation, thus creating generations of slaves".
So, "to break the chains of slavery, which can no longer be tolerated, and to restore dignity and freedom to these families oppressed by a yoke that conditions their lives forever", the priest organizes himself. Debts are on average 500 to 1000 dollars. Emmanuel goes to meet creditors, asks for the amount of a family's debt and turns to donors in Europe or the United States to obtain it and thus free the slaves.
He welcomes them to a small village called "Christ the King Colony" in the Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad. This village will welcome 300 Christian families freed from slavery.
MC
