Koral, Pakistan, 2009
Pakistan PK
"Muhammad, 68, has a large family, yet no matter how hard they toil in the scorching sun and dirt of Pakistan's Punjab province, he cannot keep up with the medical bills, food costs and other expenses. "I start work before dawn and stop when the sun disappears... only to wait for another day to make bricks I pledged to make against the loan I took," said Muhammad, who initially borrowed 200,000 rupees (2,422 dollars) two years ago. He is among perhaps several million Pakistanis under bonded labour: poor families who accept cash advances from landlords, but in return are expected to work, often for no wages, from morning till nightfall. Human beings treated like commodities, the bonded labourer can then be sold on to another employer in what activists decry as modern-day slavery." To read entire article, go to: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h1KDhC0DgpukA33WQQPLaTJFaB4A