Twin brothers Qaiser and Nadeem were sold into slavery to a feudal lord when they were five-years-old by their parents to pay for the wedding of their daughter. In Pakistan, parents absolutely must provide a dowry for the daughter’s wedding so this poor family had no other option.
The parents however were trying to buy their sons’ freedom back from the landlord and were paying the debt in installments, but because the twins were resold to three different landlords over the last 17 years, the debt was reset to its original amount by each successive landlord, irrespective of what the parents had paid to the previous one.
The last sale had been about two years ago to two landlord brothers. The parents contacted RAM and asked for help securing the freedom of their boys. We were able to arrange a donor for their debt.
At this point, the biggest issue was to locate the boys since there was no legal record of them: in the eyes of the law, the boys did not even exist as they had no birth certificate.
It took RAM’s team 10 days to locate the boys despite encountering fierce opposition from brick kiln owners who did not welcome any questioning. We had to travel to distant villages even at night, which was unsafe, but we had no other option.
Finally, we found the boys, but the landlords refused to hand over the boys until we paid the money. They threatened us by showing us their goons with guns and blunt weapons. Later on we learned that they had already been involved in several murder cases.
RAM was going to file a case to recover the twins, but the parents were very worried that the landlord would kill the whole family given that they knew their addresses. Further, a case would likely be unsuccessful given they had no legal existence. The only option left was to negotiate with the feudal lord.
After three meetings with the landlords, RAM finally was able to pay the debt and secure the release of the boys.
Their parents were quite happy to see their boys again and they thanked RAM for our assistance.
RABIA’S STORY | SEWING WITHOUT GLASSES
17-year-old Rabia* belongs to a very poor family. She is the eldest of five children, and her father is very sick. She enrolled in the sewing program to try to help her family and is very grateful to RAM for the opportunity. However, she has weak eyesight that makes...
SIMRA’S STORY | DIABETES & THYROID DISEASE
Simra* is a young Christian student in our sewing class. However, she always felt tired and irritated and did not show much interest in sewing. She was often absent from class due to sickness. She frequently took medication prescribed by a quack doctor at the...
NABILA’S STORY | THE BURDEN OF DAUGHTERS
Nabila* is an 18-year-old villager girl who lives in a mud house without any facilities. She has 6 sisters, but her parents have always considered them a burden. In Pakistan, a woman’s parents are expected to pay her groom’s family a significant dowry. Three of her...
