[Survivor Series] I was held in bondage at a rock quarry for 18 years

I was only five-years-old when I began working with my parents, who were bonded labourers, at a rock quarry in Jigani in South Bengaluru. Both my brothers, my sister, our parents, and my uncle’s family worked at the quarry for 18 long years.

We are originally from Krishangiri District in Tamil Nadu. Our ordeal began when my parents took a Rs 5,000 loan from the quarry owner’s father. They forced us to start working at the quarry to repay the loan. Over the years, the owner and his son would not let us leave, and told us we now had to repay Rs 50,000 because of the interest that had collected on the loan.

When I began working as a child, my main job was to break rocks into small pieces. My parents worked in the main quarry manually breaking the larger masses of rock. In addition to breaking and cutting the rocks, we had to load the rocks onto the vehicles for transportation. We were paid only about Rs 100 a day depending on the number of rocks we cut. We were often cheated on this wage as well. The labourers were forced to buy provisions only from the owner’s shop next to the house. We were constantly watched and never allowed to go out as a family. Only the men could go out now and then.

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Living in a nightmare

Most of the children worked at the quarry during the day and in the owner’s home at night. We were forced to clean the house, wash the clothes and the dirty dishes. My family and I lived in inhumane conditions in a shed in the same compound as the owner’s house, so we could be called to work at any time. As children, we were not even paid wages for this work. 

As I grew older, I worked at the quarry from 7 am till 6 pm seven days a week. We never got any breaks. I remember once when I was around 10 years old, my mother asked the owner to settle our accounts and let us return home. She had even arranged Rs 10,000 from her father in the village to repay the advance to the owner with interest. But he did not accept it and said that we now owe him Rs 50,000 with interest added. 

When my mother protested this injustice, the owner beat her up in front of all the other labourers. I will never forget the brutal assault on my mother that day. It took several days for her to recover. Over the years, he continued to beat us if we ever said we wanted to leave. He once told me that if we oppose him, we will not be able to survive in Karnataka. 

Hope at last

This continued till 2017 when some of our relatives from Krishangiri came to Jigani to meet us. They witnessed what we were going through and assured us that they would get us help on returning to Krishnagiri. This was our first ray of hope in a long time. They spoke about our plight to a social worker, who then contacted the police.  

15th December 2017... I will never forget that day! I think of it as the day my second life began. In the morning, the police and other government officials came to the quarry while my family and I were busy at work. We were confused and afraid. They asked us many questions about our work and life at the quarry. They had taken the owner away, so we were all able to answer honestly. It was only when we were asked to sit in the police vehicles and our things were also loaded, that I began to believe that we will actually be free.

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We were taken to the police station where we recounted our experience to the officials and police. We were happy to know that the owner was being arrested. We were brought to Bengaluru where we stayed in a government hostel for a few days. We were then given Release Certificates and Rs 20,000 each as initial compensation by the government for our immediate needs and taken home to Krishangiri. 

It was a joyful occasion for me and my family to be able to return home feeling like we could start over and live a normal life. After my rescue, I first worked as a daily-wage worker in vegetable and rose farms near my village. Then I worked in a water packaging unit for some time, and at a medical company in Bengaluru as a delivery person.

I have managed to build a small house on some land my family had in our village in Krishnagiri. I have decided to move back to my village and look for work so I can be with my family. The difference in my life now and while we were at the quarry is the difference between heaven and hell. 

(Story courtesy: International Justice Mission)