Defending Christian Man Beaten, Publicly Shamed, and Forced into Illegal Bonded Labor in Pakistan

By 

Shaheryar Gill

|
July 1, 2016

3 min read

Persecuted Church

A

A

On June 19, 2016, Nadeem Masih, a Christian worker at a brick kiln, had his eyebrows, head, and beard forcibly shaved under orders from his boss, Muhammad Moosa. Nadeem’s crime: asking Moosa for the wages they had originally agreed on and refusing to continue working until he was justly compensated.

On June 20, 2016, our international affiliate, the European Center for Law and Justice’s (ECLJ) office in Pakistan, the Organization for Legal Aid (OLA), sent a team to the local Police Station after receiving information about the incident. The team met with the police officer in charge who informed us that Nadeem had submitted an application against Moosa. However, the officer said that a written compromise agreement had been reached by the two parties. While the officer admitted that Moosa had committed an illegal act, he also said that Moosa had told him that Nadeem had a relationship with a Muslim woman; therefore, Moosa’s actions were understandable.

Brick kiln owners in Pakistan are usually powerful people who force men, women, and children to work as bonded laborers. An advance payment is given as a loan to the worker, which is deducted every month from their pay. But most brick kiln owners keep dishonest accounts records and exploit poor, uneducated people. As a result, the debt only increases instead of getting paid off. Thus, entire families are forced to work for years in an effort to pay off the debt. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1992 prohibits employers from making these loans and outlawed forced labor. But the brick kiln owners give such loans in total disregard of the law and the authorities don’t fully enforce it.

After getting the police’s side of the story, the OLA team met with Nadeem’s family. According to Nadeem’s uncle, Munir, Nadeem first started working for Moosa to help repay his father’s debt that he owed to Moosa. One day, Moosa offered to pay Nadeem some extra money if he would help unload a salt truck. Nadeem agreed to the terms and, with the help of another man, completed the job. After completing the job, Moosa told the pair to split half the amount that each was originally supposed to receive. Instead of accepting a quarter of what he was owed, Nadeem returned Moosa the money he had received and refused to work for him again until the whole amount was paid.

The next day, Nadeem was dragged from his home and forced to stand for hours while Moosa and his men berated and beat him. They said, how could a “chura” (a derogatory term used for Christians) refuse to work. Unsatisfied, Moosa brought in a barber who shaved Nadeem’s beard, hair, and eyebrows—an act of publically shaming someone.

Nadeem went to the police station and informed the police about the incident. The police decided not to take any action against Moosa. The following day, Moosa threatened Nadeem that if he didn’t retract his accusation, Moosa would file a false rape case against the Christian man. Moosa also pressured Nadeem’s family to force Nadeem to settle the dispute. Succumbing to Moosa’s pressure, Nadeem signed the compromise agreement prepared in advance by Moosa.

Fearing for his and his family’s safety and in hopes of getting justice, Nadeem contacted the OLA and asked for assistance. Our team of attorneys is planning to file a petition in the court to bring charges against Muhammad Moosa and his accomplices. We will continue to update you as the case progresses.