Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or
peon
Peon (English , from the Spanish ''peón'' ) usually refers to a person subject to peonage: any form of wage labor, financial exploitation, coercive economic practice, or policy in which the victim or a laborer (peon) has little control over emp ...
age, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the person who holds the debt has thus some control over the laborer, whose freedom depends on the undefined debt repayment.
The services required to repay the debt may be undefined, and the services' duration may be undefined, thus allowing the person supposedly owed the debt to demand services indefinitely.
Debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation.
Currently, debt bondage is the most common method of enslavement with an estimated 8.1 million people bonded to labour illegally as cited by the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
in 2005. Debt bondage has been described by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
as a form of "
modern day slavery
Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 million to 46 mil ...
" and the
Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery
The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the full title of which is the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, is a 1956 United Nations treaty wh ...
seeks to abolish the practice.
[Article 1(a) of the ]United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
' 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery
The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the full title of which is the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, is a 1956 United Nations treaty wh ...
defines debt bondage as "the status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined".[The Bondage of Debt: A Photo Essay]
by Shilpi Gupta
The practice is still prevalent primarily in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, although most countries in these regions are parties to the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery. It is estimated that 84 to 88% of the bonded labourers in the world are in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
.
Lack of prosecution or insufficient punishment of this crime are the leading causes of the practice as it exists at this scale today.
Overview
Definition
Though the
Forced Labour Convention
The Forced Labour Convention, the full title of which is the Convention Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, 1930 (No.29), is one of eight ILO fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization. Its object and purpose is to sup ...
of 1930 by the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
, which included 187 parties, sought to bring organised attention to eradicating
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
through forms of
forced labor
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
, formal opposition to debt bondage in particular came at the
Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery
The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the full title of which is the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, is a 1956 United Nations treaty wh ...
in 1956.
The convention in 1956
defined debt bondage under Article 1, section (a):
"Debt bondage, that is to say, the status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined;"
When a pledge to provide services to pay off debt is made by an individual, the employer often illegally inflates interest rates at an unreasonable amount, making it impossible for the individual to leave bonded labour.
When the bonded labourer dies, debts are often passed on to children.
Usage of term
Although debt bondage,
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
, and
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
are all defined as forms or variations of
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, each term is distinct.
Debt bondage differs from forced labour and human trafficking in that a person consciously pledges to work as a means of repayment of debt without being placed into labor against will.
Debt bondage only applies to individuals who have no hopes of leaving the labor due to inability to ever pay debt back.
Those who offer their services to repay a debt and the employer reduces the debt accordingly at a rate commensurate with the value of labor performed are not in ''debt bondage''.
History
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
Important to both East and West Africa, pawnship, defined by Wilks as "the use of people in transferring their rights for settlement of debt," was common during the 17th century.
The system of pawnship occurred simultaneously with the
slave trade
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in Africa.
Though the export of slaves from Africa to the Americas is often analyzed, slavery was rampant internally as well.
Development of
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s like those in
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
in East Africa reflected the need for internal slaves.
Furthermore, many of the slaves that were exported were male as brutal and labor-intensive conditions favored the male body build.
This created gender implications for individuals in the pawnship system as more women were pawned than men and often sexually exploited.
After the abolition of slavery in many countries in the 19th century, Europeans still needed laborers.
Moreover, conditions for emancipated slaves were harsh.
Discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
was rampant within the labor market, making attainment of a sustainable income for former slaves tough.
Because of these conditions, many freed slaves preferred to live through slavery-like contracts with their masters in a manner parallel to debt bondage.
Americas
During the
colonial history of the United States
The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...
, persons bonded themselves to an owner who paid their passage to the New World. They worked until the debt of passage was paid off, often for years. Debt peonage was practiced as "an illegal form of contemporary slavery... well into the 1950s" in "Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and other parts of the Deep South." Civil authorities would arrest "colored men off the street and in their homes if they were caught not working," charge them with
vagrancy
Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
, assess fines equal to several weeks of pickers' pay, and compel them "to pick fruit or cut sugarcane to work off the debt.... Those captured were hauled to remote plantations ..., held by force, and beaten or shot if they tried to escape."
In
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, a
peon
Peon (English , from the Spanish ''peón'' ) usually refers to a person subject to peonage: any form of wage labor, financial exploitation, coercive economic practice, or policy in which the victim or a laborer (peon) has little control over emp ...
age system existed from the 16th century until
land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
in the 1950s. One estate in Peru that existed from the late 16th century until it ended had up to 1,700 people employed and had a prison. They were expected to work for their landlord a minimum of three days a week and more if necessary to complete assigned work. Workers were paid a symbolic two cents per year. Workers were unable to travel outside their assigned lands without permission and were not allowed to organise any independent community activity. In the Peruvian Amazon, debt peonage is an important aspect of contemporary
Urarina
The Urarina are an indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon Basin ( Loreto) who inhabit the valleys of the Chambira, Urituyacu, and Corrientes Rivers. According to both archaeological and historical sources, they have resided in the Chambira Basi ...
society.
Asia
The
ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
Severe personal debt was widespread in the
ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
. Debtors who did not pay up could become their creditors' chattel, as could other members of their families. The problem of debt bondage, in conjunction with the state's ability to levy
serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
s for labour, led many to flee their homes.
Some of these fugitives formed bands of roving warriors called
habiru
Habiru (sometimes written as Hapiru, and more accurately as ʿApiru, meaning "dusty, dirty"; Sumerian: 𒊓𒄤, ''sagaz''; Akkadian: 𒄩𒁉𒊒, ''ḫabiru'' or ''ʿaperu'') is a term used in 2nd-millennium BCE texts throughout the Fertile C ...
''-men', especially in the Levant of the late second millennium. (Although not himself a fugitive from debt bondage, the story of
Idrimi
Idrimi was the king of Alalakh c. 1490–1465 BC, or around 1450 BC. He is known, mainly, from an inscription on his statue found at Alalakh by Leonard Woolley in 1939.Longman III, Tremper, (1991)Fictional Akkadian Autobiography: A Generic and Co ...
suggests that these groups could be a considerable threat.) As a result, many new kings annulled debts on ascending to the throne.
From the 19th century
In the 19th century, people in Asia were bonded to labor due to a variety of reasons ranging from farmers mortgaging harvests to drug
addicts
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...
in need for opium in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
When a natural disaster occurred or food was scarce, people willingly chose debt bondage as a means to a secure life.
In the early 20th century in Asia, most laborers tied to debt bondage had been born into it.
In certain regions, such as in
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, debt bondage was far more common than slavery.
Many went into bondage to pay off interest on a loan or to pay taxes,
and as they worked, often on farms, lodging, meals, and clothing fees were added to the existing debt causing overall debt and interest to increase. These continued added loan values made leaving servitude unattainable.
Moreover, after the development of the international economy, more workers were needed for the pre-industrial economies of Asia during the 19th century.
A greater demand for labor was needed in Asia to power exports to growing industrial countries like the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Cultivation of
cash crop
A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...
s like coffee, cocoa, and sugar and exploitation of minerals like gold and tin led farm owners to search for individuals in need of loans for the sake of keeping laborers permanently. In particular, the
Indian indenture system
The Indian indenture system was a system of indentured servitude, by which more than one million Indians were transported to labour in European colonies, as a substitute for slave labor, following the abolition of the trade in the early 19th ce ...
was based on debt bondage by which an estimated two million Indians were transported to various colonies of European powers to provide labor for plantations.
It started from the end of slavery in 1833 and continued until 1920.
Europe
Classical antiquity
Debt bondage was "quite normal" in
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
. The poor or those who had fallen irredeemably in debt might place themselves into bondage "voluntarily"—or more precisely, might be compelled by circumstances to choose debt bondage as a way to anticipate and avoid worse terms that their creditors might impose on them. In the
Greco-Roman world
The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...
, debt bondage was a distinct legal category into which a free
person
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, ...
might fall, in theory temporarily, distinguished from the pervasive practice of
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, which included enslavement as a result of defaulting on debt. Many forms of debt bondage existed in both
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
and
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
.
Ancient Greece
Debt bondage was widespread in ancient Greece. The only
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
known to have abolished it is
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, as early as the
Archaic period under the debt reform legislation of
Solon
Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...
. Both enslavement for debt and debt bondage were practiced in
Ptolemaic Egypt.
[Ste. Croix, ''The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World,'' p. 165.] By the
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
, the limited evidence indicates that debt bondage had replaced outright enslavement for debt.
The most onerous debt bondage was various forms of ''paramonē'', "
indentured labor
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...
." As a matter of law, a person subjected to ''paramonē'' was categorically free, and not a slave, but in practice his freedom was severely constrained by his servitude.
[Ste. Croix, ''The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World,'' p. 169.] Solon's reforms occurred in the context of
democratic politics at Athens that required clearer distinctions between "free" and "slave"; as a perverse consequence,
chattel slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
increased.
The selling of one's own child into slavery is likely in most cases to have resulted from
extreme poverty
Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
or debt, but strictly speaking is a form of chattel slavery, not debt bondage. The exact legal circumstances in Greece, however, are far more poorly documented than in ancient Rome.
Ancient Rome
''Nexum'' was a debt bondage contract in the early
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
. Within the
Roman legal system, it was a form of ''
mancipatio In Roman law, ''mancipatio'' (f. Latin ''manus'' "hand" and ''capere'' "to take hold of") was a solemn verbal contract by which the ownership of certain types of goods, called ''res mancipi'', was transferred.
''Mancipatio'' was also the legal proc ...
''. Though the terms of the contract would vary, essentially a free man pledged himself as a bond slave ''(nexus)'' as surety for a loan. He might also hand over his son as collateral. Although the bondsman might be subjected to humiliation and abuse, as a
legal citizen he was supposed to be exempt from
corporal punishment. ''Nexum'' was abolished by the ''
Lex Poetelia Papiria
The ''lex Poetelia Papiria'' was a law passed in Ancient Rome that abolished the contractual form of Nexum, or debt bondage. Livy dates the law in 326 BC, during the third consulship of Gaius Poetelius Libo Visolus,Livy, ''History of Rome'' VIII. ...
'' in 326 BC, in part to prevent abuses to the physical integrity of citizens who had fallen into debt bondage.
Roman historians Roman historiography stretches back to at least the 3rd century BC and was indebted to earlier Greek historiography. The Romans relied on previous models in the Greek tradition such as the works of Herodotus (c. 484 – 425 BC) and Thucydides (c. ...
illuminated the abolition of ''nexum'' with a traditional story that varied in its particulars; basically, a ''nexus'' who was a handsome but upstanding youth suffered sexual harassment by the holder of the debt. In one version, the youth had gone into debt to pay for his father's funeral; in others, he had been handed over by his father. In all versions, he is presented as a model of virtue. Historical or not, the cautionary tale highlighted the incongruities of subjecting one free citizen to another's use, and the legal response was aimed at establishing the citizen's right to liberty ''(libertas)'', as distinguished from the
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
or
social outcast
An outcast is someone who is rejected or cast out, as from home or society or in some way excluded, looked down upon, or ignored. In common English speech, an outcast may be anyone who does not fit in with normal society, which can contribute to ...
.
P.A. Brunt
Peter Astbury Brunt FBA (23 June 19175 November 2005) was a British academic and ancient historian. He was Camden Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford from 1970 to 1982. During his career, he lectured at the University of St ...
, ''Social Conflicts in the Roman Republic'' (Chatto & Windus, 1971), pp. 56-57.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
considered the abolition of ''nexum'' primarily a political maneuver to appease the common people ''(
plebs
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizenship, Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both ...
)'': the law was passed during the
Conflict of the Orders
The Conflict of the Orders, sometimes referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the plebe ...
, when plebeians were struggling to establish their rights in relation to the hereditary privileges of the
patricians
The patricians (from la, Wikt:patricius, patricius, Greek language, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Roman Rep ...
. Although ''nexum'' was abolished as a way to secure a loan, debt bondage might still result after a debtor defaulted.
European Middle Ages
While
serfdom
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
under
feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
was the predominant political and economic system in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
in the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
, persisting in the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
till 1848 and the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
until 1861 (
details Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film
* ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film
* ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series
* "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...
), debt bondage (and slavery) provided other forms of unfree labour.
Modern practice
Though the figures differ from those of the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
, researcher
Siddharth Kara
Siddharth Kara is an American author, activist, and expert on modern-day slavery and human trafficking, child labor, and related human rights issues. He is a British Academy Global Professor, an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Kennedy S ...
has calculated the number of slaves in the world by type, and determined that at the end of 2011 there were 18 to 20.5 million bonded laborers.
Bonded laborers work in industries today that produce goods including but not limited to frozen shrimp, bricks, tea, coffee, diamonds, marble, and apparel.
South Asia
Although
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
all have laws prohibiting debt bondage, it is estimated by Kara that 84 to 88% of the bonded laborers in the world are in South Asia.
Figures by the Human Rights Watch in 1999 are drastically higher estimating 40 million workers, composed mainly of children, are tied to labor through debt bondage in India alone.
Brick kilns
![Child Labour in Brick Kilns of Nepal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Child_Labour_in_Brick_Kilns_of_Nepal.jpg)
Research by Kara estimates there to be between 55,000 and 65,000 brick kiln workers in South Asia with 70% of them in India.
Other research estimates 6,000 kilns in Pakistan alone.
Total revenue from brick kilns in South Asia is estimated by Kara to be $13.3 to $15.2 billion.
Many of the brick kiln workers are migrants and travel between brick kiln locations every few months.
Kiln workers often live in extreme poverty and many began work at kilns through repayment of a starting loan averaging $150 to $200.
Kiln owners offer laborers "friendly loans" to avoid being criminalized in breaking bonded labor laws.
Bonded brick kiln laborers, including children, work in harsh and unsafe conditions as the heat from the kiln may cause heat stroke and a number of other medical conditions.
Laborers are discouraged from defaulting on loans through fear of violence and death from brick kiln owners.
Rice harvesting
![Storing rice, India, 1956 (16795758519)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Storing_rice%2C_India%2C_1956_%2816795758519%29.jpg)
An essential grain to the South Asian diet, rice is harvested throughout India and Nepal in particular.
In India, more than 20% of agricultural land is used to grow rice.
Rice mill owners often employ workers who live in harsh conditions on farms.
Workers receive such low wages that they must borrow money from their employers causing them to be tied to the rice mill through debt.
For example, in India, the average pay rate per day was $0.55 American dollars as recorded in 2006.
Though some workers may be able to survive minimally from their compensation, uncontrollable life events such as an illness require loans.
Families, including children, work day and night to prepare the rice for export by boiling it, drying it in the sun, and sifting through it for purification.
Furthermore, families who live on rice mill production sites are often excluded from access to hospitals and schools.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Though there are not reliable estimates of bonded laborers in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
to date from credible sources, the
Global Slavery Index
The Global Slavery Index is a global study of modern slavery published by the Minderoo Foundation's Walk Free initiative. Four editions have been published: in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
The 2018 edition builds on the Global Estimates of Modern S ...
estimates the total number of those enslaved in this region is 6.25 million.
In countries like
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, it is estimated that 85% of people enslaved are tied to labor.
Additionally, this region includes
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
, the country with the highest proportion of slavery in the world as an estimated 20% of its population is enslaved through methods like debt bondage.
Fisheries
The
Environmental Justice Foundation
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded in 2000 by Steve Trent and Juliette Williams that works to secure a world where natural habitats and environments can sustain, and be sustained by, the com ...
found human rights violations in the fisheries on the coasts of South and West Africa including labor exploitation.
Exporter fish companies drive smaller businesses and individuals to lower profits, causing bankruptcy.
In many cases, recruitment to these companies occurs by luring small business owners and migrant workers through debt bondage.
In recruiting individual fishers, fees are sometimes charged by a broker to use ports which opens the debt cycle.
Domestic labor
After countries began to formally abolish slavery, unemployment was rampant for black people in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
pushing black women to work as domestic workers, largely to other black people.
Currently, estimates from the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
state that between 800,000 and 1.1 million domestic workers are in South Africa. Many of these domestic servants become bonded to labor in a process similar to other industries in Asia.
The wages given to servants are often so poor that loans are taken when servants are in need of more money, making it impossible to escape.
The hours of working for domestic servants are unpredictable, and because many servants are women, their young children are often left under the care of older children or other family members.
Moreover, these women can work up to the age of 75 and their daughters are likely to be servants in the same households.
Prostitution
A 1994 report of Burmese prostitutes in Thailand reports compulsory indebtedness is common for girls in
forced prostitution
Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" ap ...
, especially those transported across the border. They are forced to work off their debt, often with 100 percent interest, and to pay for their room, food and other items. In addition to debt bondage, the women and girls face a wide range of abuses, including illegal confinement;
forced labor
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
;
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
;
physical abuse
Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or wo ...
; and more.
Consequences
Revenue
The
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(ILO) estimates that $51.2 billion is made annually in the exploitation of workers through debt bondage. Though the employers actively take part in accruing the debt of laborers, buyers of products and services in the country of manufacturing and abroad also contribute to the profitability of this practice.
Global supply chains that deliver goods throughout the world are most likely tainted with slave labor. The reason for this includes convoluted supply chain management that crosses many international borders, ineffective labor laws, corporates claiming plausible deniability, global political-economic restructuring and well-intended consumers. This effort to eradicate modern day slavery resonates with well meaning individuals who purchase fair-trade items, hoping they are making a difference. The fair trade industry is estimated to exceed $1.2 billion annually (Davenport & Low 2012). Unfortunately, this is barely a dent into the global economy. International labor laws need to be created by various authorities such as the International Labor Organization, World Trade Organization, Interpol and the United Nations that have teeth to adequately punish the wrongdoers.
On-going cycle
In many of the industries in which debt bondage is common like brick kilns or fisheries, entire families are often involved in paying of the debt of one individual, including children.
These children generally do not have access to education thus making it impossible to get out of poverty.
Moreover, if a relative who still is in debt dies, the bondage is passed on to another family member, usually the children.
At the International Labour Organization Convention, this cycle was labeled as the "Worst Forms of Child Labor."
Researchers like Basu and Chau link the occurrence of
child labor
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
through debt bondage with factors like labor rights and the stage of development of an economy.
Although minimum age labor laws are present in many regions with child debt bondage, the laws are not enforced especially with regard to the agrarian economy.
Policy initiatives
The United Nations
Debt bondage has been described by the United Nations as a form of "modern day slavery"
and is prohibited by
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
. It is specifically dealt with by article 1(a) of the United Nations 1956
Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery
The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the full title of which is the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, is a 1956 United Nations treaty wh ...
. It persists nonetheless especially in developing countries, which have few mechanisms for credit security or
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
, and where fewer people hold formal title to land or possessions. According to some economists, like
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...
, this is a major barrier to development in these countries. For example,
entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
do not dare to take risks and cannot get credit because they hold no
collateral
Collateral may refer to:
Business and finance
* Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan
* Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Collate ...
and may burden families for generations to come.
South Asia
India was the first country to pass legislation directly prohibiting debt bondage through the
Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act, 1976
Under Article 23 of The Constitution of India
The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of ...
.
Less than two decades later, Pakistan also passed a similar act in 1992 and Nepal passed the
Kamaiya
Kamaiya and Kamlari (also called Kamalari) were two traditional systems of bonded labour practised in the western Terai of Nepal. Both were abolished after protests, in 2000 and 2006 respectively.
Origins
The system of bonded labour existed in ...
Labour (Prohibition) Act in 2002.
Despite the fact that these laws are in place, debt bondage in South Asia is still widespread.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Employment of the Government of India, there are over 300,000 bonded laborers in India, with a majority of them in the states of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, and
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
.
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, the rise of
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
activism, government legislation starting as early as 1949, as well as ongoing work by NGOs and government offices to enforce labour laws and rehabilitate those in debt, appears to have contributed to the reduction of bonded labour there. However, according to research papers presented by the International Labour Organization, there are still many obstacles to the eradication of bonded labour in India.
[Ravi S. Srivastav]
''Bonded Labor in India: Its Incidence and Pattern''
InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work; and International Labour Office,(2005). Forced Labor. Paper 18
Sub-Saharan Africa
In many of the countries like
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
, and
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
in which debt bondage is prevalent, there are not laws that either state direct prohibition or specify punishment.
In addition, though many of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have laws that vaguely prohibit debt bondage, prosecution of such crimes rarely occurs.
See also
*
Coolie
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
*
Coolie trade
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
*
Debtor's prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Historic ...
*
Indenture
An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercia ...
*
Involuntary servitude
Involuntary servitude or involuntary slavery is a legal and constitutional term for a person laboring against that person's will to benefit another, under some form of coercion, to which it may constitute slavery. While laboring to benefit another ...
*
Predatory lending Predatory lending refers to unethical practices conducted by lending organizations during a loan origination process that are unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent. While there are no internationally agreed legal definitions for predatory lending, a 2006 ...
*
Serfdom
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
*
Trafficking of children
Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour and exploitation. ...
*
Usury
Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is ch ...
*
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
The Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, known in short as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1 ...
Contemporary:
*
Bonded Labour Liberation Front
Bandhua Mukti Morcha (BMM) ( hi, बंधुआ मुक्ति मोर्चा, or Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) is a non-governmental organisation in India working to end bonded labour. Based in New Delhi, it was founded in 1981 ...
, India
*
Modern day slavery
Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 million to 46 mil ...
*
Chukri System
*
Debt bondage in India
Debt bondage in India or Bandhua Mazdoori (बंधुआ मज़दूरी) was legally abolished in 1976 but remains prevalent due to weak enforcement by the government. Bonded labour is a system in which lenders force their borrowers to ...
*
Debt-trap diplomacy
Debt-trap diplomacy is an international financial relationship where a creditor country or institution extends debt to a borrowing nation partially, or solely, to increase the lender's political leverage. The creditor country is said to extend ...
*
Syeda Ghulam Fatima
Syeda Ghulam Fatima is a Pakistani human and labour rights activist, known for her work in ending bonded labour in brick kilns, and is General Secretary of Lahore-based Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLF).
Biography
Fatima holds a mast ...
*
Siddharth Kara
Siddharth Kara is an American author, activist, and expert on modern-day slavery and human trafficking, child labor, and related human rights issues. He is a British Academy Global Professor, an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Kennedy S ...
, Author
*
Restavek
A restavek (or restavec) is a child in Haiti who is sold by their parents to work for a host household as a domestic servant because the parents lack the resources required to support the child. The term comes from the French language ''rester a ...
, Haiti
*
The State of Bonded Labor in Pakistan
''The State of Bonded Labor in Pakistan'', by Shujaat Ali Rahi,The State of Bonded Labor in Pakistan', Shujaat Ali Shah (Rahi), (National Coalition Against Bonded Labour, Islamabad, Pakistan; 2009) is a treatise that reflects the status of bonded ...
*
References
* Giri, B.R. (2012)
The Bonded Labour System in Nepal: Musahar and Tharu Communities’ Assessments of the Haliya and Kamaiya Labour Contracts’ Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 4(2): 518–551.
* Giri, B.R. (2010)
The Bonded Labour Practice in Nepal "The Promise of Education" as a Magnet of Child Bondedness?’ South Asia Research, 30(2): 145-64
* Giri, B.R. (2010) The Haliya and Kamaiya Bonded Child Labourers in Nepal, in G. Craig (ed.)
Child Slavery Now pp.227-241, Bristol (UK): Policy Press.
* Giri, B.R. (2009)
The Bonded Labour System in Nepal Perspectives of Haliya and Kamaiya Child Workers,’ Journal of Asian and African Studies, 44(6): 599–623.
* Giri, B.R. (2007) 'Modern Slavery,’ in: R. Ennals (ed.
West Sussex, UK: John Wiley and Sons, pp. 257–261.
Organisational Reports
* International Labour Office. (2005)
- ILO
ILO
ILO/SAP-FL
ILO/SAP-FL
*
External links
Official websiteof
Anti-Slavery International
Anti-Slavery International, founded as the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1839, is an international non-governmental organisation, registered charity and advocacy group, based in the United Kingdom. It is the world's oldest interna ...
Profile on forced labor, modern slavery and human traffickingfrom the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
, with links to statistical data and other information
International legal instruments
ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Debt Bondage
Child labour
Commercial crimes
Slavery by type