Background: Pakistan has 180 million people.
Christians are 1.5 percent of the total population. The country got its
independence from British rule 64 years back. The Christian leaders
were promised during freedom movement that they shall be provided equal
opportunities of shelter, food , job and other social development.
Christians were assured by its founder that they will be free to
practice their faith. However, the founder did not live for long after
independence, and the rulers after him took initiatives that led series
of persecution with Christians. Rulers made big statements to get favor
of Christians but never took practical steps to change the plight of the
Christians in Pakistan rather in the name of Islamization; Christians
were neglected in every sphere of live.
Various forms of laws
were introduced which were used by the Islamic fundamentalists to kill
the innocent Christians to occupy their land or settle personal grudge.
School Curriculum was made in a way which promoted stereotypes about
Christians, like Christians are untouchables, weak and inferior to
Muslims etc. The biased approach has been developed over the decades
which have made poor Christian vulnerable. Christians are deprived of
their basic rights.
The following story of
a poor Christian labor of brick kiln shall give you an idea how hard
Christian labors are living in Pakistan. Education, healthcare, shelter
or recreation is a dream for these poor Christian labors that live under
extreme oppression.
This afternoon,
Khalida Parveen 48, a poor brick kiln worker visited me and told her
story and asked me to help her to get justice.
She said, “I am Khalida Parveen a mother of eight children, seven
daughters and one boy. My husband Akram Masih is 52 and a patient of
Tuberculosis and Asthma. We are living in Village Number 328 J.B,
District, Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, Pakistan. Mian Muhammad Sabir and
Chaudhry Saeed Jaat a brick kiln factory owner of Village # 478 G.B,
Sumandri, District Faisalabad, offered my husband to work at their brick
kiln factory in 2009. They promised to pay fare wages and a house for
the family. My whole family worked on a brick making unit. We worked
whole day from dawn to dusk and succeed to make one thousand brick
daily. We were paid Rupees two hundred and fifty for per thousand
bricks” (One US $ is equal to Pakistani Rupees 90. US 2.7 $s were paid
for one thousand bricks.
Khalida kept on
saying, “We demanded the owner to pay the government notified wages
which is Rupees 518 (US 5.75 for per thousand bricks). Every time, the
owner asked your money is saved with us and you will be paid at the end
of the year. You manage with Rupees two hundred and fifty”
Khalida told me, “She was very much concerned for
not been paid the fixed wages and it was very hard to manage two times
meal for the family. I wanted the full wages as I wanted to send my
children to school. Whenever, I spoke to my husband to speak to the
owner, he stopped me, saying, the owner is very powerful and
influential. He asked me to remain silent as we might lose our work”
Akram Masih, husband
of Khalida told me, “During three years inflation has increased hundred
percent. Milk, sugar, wheat, grains, vegetables and utility bills have
been redoubled; however, our wages remained the same. No changes were
made in it. We were never paid the government notified wages. Medication
and education was a like a dream for us. We remained starved for not
been able to eat at least for twice. My children and wife become sick
for acute shortage of food. It was almost become difficult to survive
with the wages we were paid. So we decided to speak strongly against
this injustice”
Akram Masih told, “My
wife and I was shocked to hear when the owner told me, you owe me Rupees
125000 (US 1388.88 $S). He threatened if you will not pay the money,
we cannot move anywhere and if we kept on demanding government notified
wages, we shall be put behind the bars. We told the owners none of us
(neither my wife nor I owed the money). He replied, if we will demand
fare wages, he will file a false against us and will bribe the police to
put us behind the bars and teach a lesson”
Khalida told. “Upon
hearing this news, our whole family get worried and decided to escape.
We shared this story with one of our relative who is living in Village
328 J.B. Toba Tek Sing who suggested us to somehow manage to get out
from the factory and they will provide us shelter. We managed to escape
however, our clothes, furniture, crockery and other things are in the
house we were provided by the owners”
Khalida told, “two days
back, Mian Muhammad Sabir and his partner Saeed Jaat sent his armed men
to the place where we are living in Village 328 J.B, Toba Tek Singh to
kidnap our family on gun point to take back on their brick making
factory. However, due to hue and cry of the local people, we were saved
and kidnappers ran out from the village”
Khalida told me with
tears, “Since we have been saved from the kidnappers, our relatives with
whom we are living have asked us to vacate their house. They said, the
kidnappers may come again and their family members can also be targeted.
So they are terrified for this situation. They said, they cannot face
the enmity of the powerful people like Mian Muhammad Sabir and Saeed
Jaat, the owners”
Khalida told me, a
human rights activist told us about you (me, Rafia Salomi) to speak to
her about urgent shelter and get justice”
I have urgently shifted the family to my native house which was not in
use. It is quite a safe place. Two young volunteers are there to protect
them and in case of any uncertainty they will report to me and the
police.
I have prepared an
appeal to police and Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan to take
Sue Motto action against the culprits. The labor department has also
been requested to take action against the factory owners who have been
violated the rights of poor Christian labors.
Urgent Appeal from US brothers and sisters,
US brothers and sisters are requested to help through the following,
· Please pray for the family and human rights activist· A lawyer’s fee is required to file a case to pay the notified wages and return the equipment of the family.
· Ration & clothing has to be provided to the family and the husband needs medication.
· Five Children has to get admitted in Christian hostels to get education
Your sister in Christ,
Rafia Salomi,Pakistan
