Freedom at a Rice Mill

One story from the International Justice Missions web site.

 Freedom at a Rice Mill  

Families rescued from slavery from a rice mill hold government-issued release certificates, certifying their freedom. They now live in a village together where they have their own houses, visible in the background of this picture.

After trying for several months to gain access to the mill and meet some of the “second generation victims,” IJM’s lead investigator designed and executed an intricate mission that arranged for IJM agents to speak with the owner and to meet the new victims while the owner was occupied.

The owner made outrageous admissions to undercover IJM agents, boasting about how he trapped this new group through the bait of illegal monetary advances. He described how he would track down victims that escaped his facility, how he could not be touched and how there was nothing anyone could do to change the system. IJM agents believed otherwise and remained committed to bringing the owner to justice.

The second raid saw another eleven people receive release certificates from the government, certifying their new-found freedom. During the raid, the owner had to be physically restrained after trying to hit a police officer who had blocked him from harassing the victims. IJM’s intervention team, which has facilitated the rescue of hundreds of slaves, said they had never seen a group of slaves pack so quickly to leave a facility.

In recent raids to emancipate slaves, IJM staff members have been assaulted, their vehicles have been damaged by rioting slave owners and death threats have been hurled against both victims and IJM staff. These are the obstacles that give cruel slave-masters a false assurance that no one can touch them—that the system will never change. But the system is changing.

For the rest of the story, please go here.