Pandidurai (28 years) and his wife Gowri (27 years) live in a small, neatly maintained house at the corner of the street in their village Adhiaamankottai in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. The laughter of their 8-year old daughter Mamta is infectious, drawing a smile in return. “Life is ‘jolly’ for me. I choose how my day looks like and I can spend time at home, with my family and daughter whenever I want to. No more 6:00 am – 6:00pm days of back-breaking work for me,” says Pandidurai smiling.
However, not too long ago, life was very different for Pandidurai and his family. In September 2016, the Sub Collector of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu, accompanied by a team of government officials, rescued 14 labourers from a brick kiln where they had been in bondage for between 3-6 years. The rescue was supported by local organization Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD), and took place in the Thadagam area, which is well-known for brick kilns and attracts workers from across the state seeking employment opportunities.
Officials found that the labourers from this particular kiln had been working tirelessly for less than minimum wages in often deplorable conditions, trying in vain to repay loans they had taken but unable to. Ten of the 14 rescued survivors, 5 of whom were minors, received Release Certificates (RCs) the day after the rescue. Government officials disbursed an initial rehabilitation amount of Rs 1000/- to each of the survivors and assured them that their basic entitlements, such as land and housing would soon be provided as well.
“When we say we did not have any hope, we really mean it,” says Pandidurai, describing the conditions of their time as bonded labourers. The Rs.30,000 he had taken as an advance led to the 3 years of bondage for him and Gowri and even Mamta his daughter. “We lived in constant fear and could not trust anyone,” he recounts the physical and verbal violence which they experienced at the hand of the owners of the brick kiln. They had to buy the groceries they needed from the owner themselves. If any one of them raised any arguments or questions, they were told that they were free to leave if all their advances were paid back with all the accumulated interest amounts.
“We lived with the constant fear that our lives would end right there in the brick kiln,” Pandidurai says simply. Their make-shift homes could not protect them from the rains or the frequent elephant stampedes which were common in the area. “Being rescued by the government officials and the FSD staff from those horrifying circumstances has changed everything for us,” says Gowri, Pandidurai’s wife.
Early in 2017, the 10 survivors with RCs received the government rehabilitation benefits due to them. Pandidurai and Gowri have made a few important decisions about the use of the money they have received, one of the main ones being that a major portion has been kept away for Mamta’s education. “I had always dreamt of becoming a policeman, but when I was 13 years old, my father passed away, and I was stuck with a huge debt which had to be cleared. So I had to start working after completing the 10th standard. Mamta’s life will be different from mine,” he says.
With the rest of the rehabilitation benefits, Pandidurai and Gowri have begun reconstructing their house in the village. “I enjoy painting and when I go for daily wages here in Dharmapuri, I get Rs 400-450/-, but if I go on a contract project outside the village, I can easily get Rs 600/- per day,” Pandidurai explains. They also have Gowri’s monthly job as a saleswoman in a textile shop to depend upon for the comfortable life they now have. Through the support by the FSD staff during the rehabilitation process, they have begun to understand the importance of savings and are applying that to their finances.
The group of survivors still stay close knit, supporting each other as they see their lives changing. They look forward to the Released Bonded Labourers Association (RBLA) being formed in their village. It will give them access to government loans which can be used for the different initiatives they plan to start. “There were nights I have cried myself to sleep worried about Mamta, my daughter, who was made to work at the kiln – carrying bricks on her head. Now that we have been rescued, I know for sure that her life will be very different from mine. We have seen the kind of lives we dreamt about only now,” Gowri explains.
Most evenings, Pandidurai who was a volleyball champion in school still loves to play with other friends in the village. “We are now able to eat rice which costs Rs 45 per kg, which used to be a dream earlier on. We will never go again even if someone makes us an offer for ‘better’ employment anywhere else,” says Gowri.
There were some weddings in the village recently, and Pandidurai recounts the one image that he will not forget. “I saw my wife actually dancing with happiness, after a very long time. The past is truly behind us now,” he concludes.