On May 23, Justice Ventures International (JVI) and its partners helped to rescue over 80 victims of human trafficking –almost half of them children -held captive in a brick kiln in Bihar in Northern India.
JVI partners discovered the victims and the horrendous conditions under which they were held earlier this year and worked hard to secure sufficient evidence to convince local law enforcement officials to execute the recent rescue operation in accordance with India’s Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act. JVI had also established prior relationships with these officials and conducted trainings on India’s ant-trafficking laws.
Fourteen families who had lived in bondage are now free. The owners had forced them to labor without shelter in the blazing hot sun 13-18 hours per day for about a dollar – far less than promised and only 1/3 the legally-mandated minimum wage. Their shelter had been primitive and inhuman—one family of six lived in the four foot by six foot brick structure pictured above, with a “roof” slung so low that standing was impossible. JVI and its partners (including the International Justice Mission) worked with the local government to secure official “release certificates” which entitle the families to rehabilitation funds and other government benefits. They are also working with other partners to make sure that the rescued families receive proper aftercare and other support.
Please pray for these precious survivors and that others in similar conditions will be rescued soon.
