Rescue from the Kilns

273 people. 273 slaves. 273 men, women, and children who had been robbed of their lives were forced to do hard labor every day for up to 17 or 20 hours, seven days a week. Never allowed a break. Never allowed to leave.

 273 people were freed Monday evening as we sat in the 

 training session of IJM's advocacy summit through the desperation of one official from Chennai, India when she learned of their entrapment. Originally she understood there to be 32 workers enslaved and reached out to IJM to help free them. When they went in, they found two brick kilns owned by the same remorseless man, and not 32, but 273 slaves begging to be set free.

Please tell me: how can we turn deaf ears to the millions of people in the same straights?
Tell me.....I want to know.

The Endless Supply of Forced Brick Kiln Labor

Sometimes I wonder if brick kiln owners ever actually employ people. Perhaps the practice finds roots in the Egyptians’ enslavement of the Israelites to make their bricks. Or maybe the job is so onerous, no one volunteers for it.

Whatever the reason, International Justice Missions (IJM) has pulled off yet another rescue operation at a brick kiln. This time they rescued 36 families encompassing 149 people, out of slavery. The youngest slave was a three-year-old.

A three-year-old brick-making slave. That defies a sense of reality, let alone a sense of decency. Yet in this brick kiln, the owners forced a small, bumbling three-year-old to work day in and day out.

An NGO in south India, Jana Jagriti Kendra (JJK), asked IJM for help after an escaped slave told them about the kiln. Together they worked with the district government and local police to free those enslaved inside the factory. They entered after nightfall and found people still working. A pregnant woman had been kicked when she begged for rest. A man had been beaten so severely, his bones showed through still bleeding wounds. Sunken cheeks and bellies attested to the lack of food supplied to the slaves. The kiln owners would not even allow them a full night’s sleep.

To read IJM's article, please go here