Working in a Carpet Factory

Iqbal lived Muridke, Pakistan until he was only 4 years old when his mother and father Inyata and Saif Masih sold him as a slave. He was what is called a debt slave which is when children are forced to work to pay off a debt for their family. Iqbal became a slave to pay off only a 12 dollar debt for his brother’s wedding. He worked in horrible conditions working 14 hours a day, 6 days a week tieing carpets and rugs together with his tiny little fingers. They would only pay Iqbal 1 rupee a day which is equivalent to only 3 cents. There was no talking allowed, they sat in silence all day and worked. There was always dust and lint floating in the air and if it was inhaled they had to quietly cough it up. The problem was that the conditions led to many diseases like tuberculosis and emphysema. If children complained of the conditions or of not feeling well they would be hung upside down in a dark closet. Imagine being sick and now feeling faint because you were locked upside down in a closet? It happened to Iqbal when he started working at a young age and he learned not to do it again the hard way. There was no light and Iqbal and the other children worked painfully in the darkness. The carpet masters; the people who controlled the children, would not feed or give water to the children. They wanted to keep them small so they would not have large fingers or grow. That way they wouldn't be prone to making mistakes and smaller fingers were supposedly easier to tie knots with.

“According to the ILO, 168 million children worldwide are engaged in child labor” (Berg). 85 million of those children are involved in dangerous work. Some of that work is the mining industry and being forced into war, which is dangerous enough for adults which gives children an even bigger risk at death. 22,000 children a year die from the harsh conditions of where child laborers work.

He was chained to the carpet loom not allowed to get up, move, or stretch. If his work was ever slow and not as fast as the carpet master wanted it to be, whippings, beatings and cuttings were the result. After every day of work, Iqbal was always so tired he would just go straight to bed. Imagine never being able to play your favorite game and always being so tired you would set a curfew for yourself? And always having blisters on your fingers? That is a normal day for Iqbal Masih.

Iqbal did not believe that working was right. He would speak up and talk back to the carpet master to get his point across. That would often result in very severe beatings and even fines. Which was almost worse because it meant he had to be a child slave for even longer.

While Iqbal was at work one day, he was so tired and he fell asleep while using the sharp, metal, weaving tool. It sliced his finger and instantly he screamed in pain. The carpet master screamed at him to keep it away from the precious carpets and not to get blood on them. The carpet master put hot oil on the wound which sealed the cut, but left him in even more pain than before. When Iqbal screamed in pain, he was slapped on the head and told to go back to work.

Those weren't the only types of punishment. If they made small mistakes they would be put into dark torture chambers. They would be threatened to be thrown in hot oil, some even were. Imagine being severely punished for any mistake you have ever made? It doesn't feel human, and Iqbal wanted to stop it.

At ten years old Iqbal had enough and tried to escape from the carpet factory. He was almost successful, he did escape, but when he told the police about him being a slave and the harsh beatings, they brought him back to the carpet factory. The police brought them back because they did not see what was wrong. It is very normal at the time for child laborers in Pakistan and they thought it was wrong for Iqbal to escape, and saw nothing inhumane about being beaten. It wasn't until two years later that Iqbal went to a Freedom day celebration, on his day off, at the Brick Layer Union. He spoke of what it was like at the carpet factory; the harsh conditions, beatings and stories. He even spoke about other children he was with. One was a boy his age named Sailm. He was not very skilled with the weaving and often made mistakes. The carpet master would stand over him and beat Sailm for the slightest mistake. One a mistake the carpet master grabbed his hand. He took out a knife and dug it deep in between his fingers. He was too scared to scream and had to hold everything in.The union leader at the time named Ehsan Ullah could not believe it, he wanted to help people in that situation. He freed him and other slaves that Iqbal was with.