Two brave bonded labourers aid in rescue, turn messiah for others

CHENNAI: Two of the rescued bonded labourers - Suresh and Kuppammal have turned messiah for the community. After being rescued from the clutches of the bonded labour system, the two have aided government machineries to free several bonded labourers.

“I want people like me to taste freedom and voice their mind and thoughts and enjoy the basic human rights. But the devastating fact is that they are unaware that they are under bondage and they have no knowledge about the rights,” Suresh, a native of Poiyur in Ariyalur said.

Fighting his emotions, the youngster recalled his life under bondage in brick kiln. “I want to study and pleaded with my father to allow him to complete at least Class 10. I stayed with my grandmother to continue my studies, while my parents went to work in a brick kiln. I lost the only support system after the demise of my grandmother, but I remained determined to finish Class 10. I stayed alone at my house and went to school. I worked three days to feed myself and attended school two days until I completed Class 10,” he said.

Life turned “miserable” for Suresh as he ended up as a bonded labourer along with his parents. He worked for nearly five years. After mustering courage, he reached out to a civil organisation in 2019 and sought help to free him and 40 others who were working in the kiln. Suresh enrolled in the Home Guard and helped the rescued bonded labourers to avail government welfare schemes.

Kuppammal faced a similar fate in a rice mill in Tiruvallur district until a few years ago. Her marriage to Thirunavukarasu, who was a victim of generations of bondage, at a very young age, pulled her into the vicious circle. “I lost my first child and several years of life behind the walls of the rice mill. There were several families facing untold miseries. Fearing for my children’s future, I reached out for help. When officials came for inspection, the owner locked us inside a room. But I managed to escape by climbing a tall wall and jumped in front of the official,” she recollected the day of her rescue in 2006. Her brave act saved nearly 60 families from five rice mills from bondage and embracing freedom.

Now, she is the face and voice of the community. She was a member of the district surveillance committee constituted by Tiruvalluvar Collector Alby John Varghese and also part of the Rescued Bonded Labourer Association. She mentored many to emerge as entrepreneurs.