June 11, 2014
Preet Vihar, Delhi, India – Twenty-two children were rescued from harsh, bonded labour conditions in ten different bakeries. These children came to Delhi from Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in search of a better life, but were deceived into working in unhygienic and hazardous conditions for more than twelve hours per day. With a burning oven by their side (raising the temperature of the bakery’s interior even higher than 107.6 ° F, the average outside temperature at the height of summer in Delhi), these children were forced to toil in this inferno to bake products for local purchase.
One survivor shared that “[a]fter hours of physical labour in the blistering heat, my friends and I would crash in a corner of the bakery to sleep.” Once the children were rescued, officials acted swiftly to seal the bakeries. The children were given the opportunity to share the details of their suffering with Labour Department and Administration officials. Afterwards, they were taken to a government home for rest and aftercare.
This rescue was a joint effort spearheaded by local goverment officials, local police, Salaam Balak Trust, and Justice Ventures International.
*This rescue was conducted with the generous support of IJM under the Google Intervention Project.
All content and images are the property of JVI © 2014.
