Brick Kiln Labourer Demands Right to Education

Brick by brick: Narrative of a bonded labourer who made bricks and studied alongside

By Aoun Sahi

He is not the man next door as you may like to think in your first meeting. Liaqat Javed, 29, of Bhobattian, a suburban Lahore village, is the son of a debt-slave brick kiln labourer. He has worked with his family at different brick kilns for more than a decade. Though, unlike his brothers and friends, he did not miss his school. Till the time that he passed matriculation examination in 1997, he went to school in the mornings and worked at the bhatta in the evenings.

He always dreamt of getting rid of that terrible life. His friends at the kiln used to make fun of him. They thought he had no right to dream about getting out of there because they had all been sent to the world 'to serve as slaves'.

Not everyone around was discouraging though, least of all his parents, especially his father, who had to pay a price. They worked extra hours to manage his education expenses but never forbade him from pursuing his studies.

Fighting against all odds, he finally managed to do his Masters in Political Science from Forman Christian College Lahore. "My father had to borrow money on interest to pay my college fee. During my college days we lived in Landianwala Vara, a village situated on Multan Road, some 50 kilometres away from the college. I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning to reach the college in time. Throughout the day I did not eat because I couldn't afford it and had my meal after getting back home around 5 in the evening. I have spent days when I had only one or two rupees in my pocket but never missed the college" he says.

Javed now runs an organisation, Backward's Rehabilitation and Improvement Commission (BRIC) aimed at educating the children living at brick kilns with their families.
Before doing his matriculation Javed wanted to become a doctor, but one incident changed his entire life. "In 1990 an international NGO opened a school at the bhatta where we used to live. My younger sister Shahnaz and her friend Amina started going to that school. In 1995 a Swedish television channel made a documentary 'My Life is Mine' about that school with special focus on Shahnaz and Amina. In 1997 that NGO took both Shahnaz and Amina to Sweden where the media portrayed them as heroines and leaders of change. We still have copies of many Swedish newspapers and magazines that gave special coverage to both of them. But when they returned to Pakistan after one month the NGO closed that school and these girls were again forced to work at brick kiln with their families."

Javed was shocked at how the heroines of yesterday were pushed back to square one -- helpless brick-kiln labourers. That was the time when he promised himself to help them get rid of this slavish existence.

This was the beginning of his struggle. By now he had started thinking about all the children of brick kiln labourers. "I started teaching Shahnaz and Amina in the night and within one year both of them succeeded in passing their matriculation exams as well."

In 1997 they (Javed, Shahnaz and Amina) also started visiting different brick kilns on their own to motivate people to educate their children. "We also started giving basic education to these children. It was a challenging task as nobody was ready to help us. Even the international NGO that had publicised Shahnaz and Amina was not ready to listen to us. But we did not lose hope and confidence in ourselves," he says.

In a few years some youth brick workers became part of their struggle but they were unable to finance them and that was the reason they started raising funds by visiting different schools, madrasas and churches. "We used to ask for one rupee from each student and in this way our struggle continued. But it was not enough to meet all the needs. In 1999 we opened a primary school at a brick kiln near Manga Mandi but most of the time we were unable to even pay the salary to the only teacher of the school. He was a very nice person and did not demand a salary every month. But before Eidul Fitr he asked for salary and was justified. At that time I had no money. I borrowed 400 kg wheat from a woman in a village and sold it to pay him Rs 3300 as salary. So these were the conditions under which we were working," he continues.

In the year 2000 they decided to establish the BRIC and for the first time also hired an office for the organisation. "This was the year when I left living at a brick kiln for the first time in my life," he recalls. In 2003 the organization was registered as an NGO and the same year Rotary Club Mozang Lahore provided BRIC funds to establish 23 literacy centres on different brick kilns. "We ran a literacy centre for six months on a brick kiln and all the people from ages 10 to 24 were given basic education. The Rotary Club was even ready to fund us for 100 literacy centres but we were not content with the curriculum they wanted us to teach because we thought it was not appropriate for brick workers. In 2005 after having consultation with experts and keeping in mind the brick workers' psyche, economics and atmosphere we developed our own syllabus."

From 2003 onwards the BRIC has run 74 literacy centres with the financial support of Rotary Club, Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) with Pastor Stanley Sjoberg of Stockholm Sweden at different brick kilns of Lahore, Kasur, Chiniot and Jhang districts. So far they have been able to educate 1604 brick kiln workers. "This year 16 students will appear in primary level exams and that is a big achievement for us," Javed announces proudly.

According to him funds are still the basic problem for BRIC. "So far none of the members is getting a salary. This year for the first time that we have received Rs 20,000 per month as structural expenditures from Pastor Stanley Sjoberg," he says. The entire staff of BRIC resides in the office of the organisation because none of them has his own house (as they come from families of brick workers).

One of Javed's student, Azeem Rashid, a 13 year old brick worker at Madina Brick Kiln will appear in primary examination this year. He says he has been working as brick worker that since his childhood and now he can make more than 700 bricks a day. "But I want to study and live a normal life."

"Javed bhai and other people came to our place in 2005. I was also a student at literacy centre. After completion of literacy centre duration of six month, I requested him that I want to study and since then BRIC has been providing me complete guidance and this year hopefully I will pass primary level," he says. Rashid too wants to liberate his family from this 'terrible' life "like Javed bhai".
He does not know that Javed has not succeeded in getting his whole family out so far. "It is right that I am now living a life many times better than brick workers and have succeeded in arranging education for one of my younger brother and sister but one of my elder brother still works as brick worker." Two brothers of Amina, his early day colleagues at BRIC, are also working as debt-slaves at the bhattas. "If we want to free them, we need to pay a heavy amount which they took as advance from the owners. Majority of them are illiterate. The brick kiln owners most of the time pay them upto Rs 2,000 but instead get signatures on a receipt of Rs 5,000."

He says the prime focus of his effort is to give the brick workers have basic education to get rid of this unjustified practice. "I know that my effort may have a minimal effect on the working conditions and lives of brick workers but one thing is clear that more than 90 per cent of those 1604 brick workers whom we have given basic education will at least educate their children. And that will be a huge contribution, " he says. Along with educating the brick workers BRIC also provides health facilities and legal aid to them.

The most beautiful day in Javed's life came in 2005 when he paid Rs. 23,000 to the brick kiln owner to free his father. "I still have that receipt with me that mentions that my father has paid all the amount that he took as advance and now he is a free man." It took his father more than 30 years to become a free man again. "I am working hard and hopeful that in coming June I will also succeed in paying the debt of my brother. I wish every brick worker family has a Javed. This is what I am striving for."

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