Generational Slavery
In Pakistan, there is a system that traps people in brick-making kilns. It is a specific and ancient form of debt bondage known as the Peshgi system.
While it shares some similarities with the recruitment traps in places like Dubai, it is often more severe because it is inter-generational and involves the entire family unit.
Outline of the topics below:
1) The Peshgi system
2) How to Help
3) How many families are estimated to be enslaved in the Peshgi system?
4) What other countries have the Peshgi system?
5) The "Blood Bricks" campaign can ensure the materials used in your own community aren't coming from these kilns
6) Links to additional resources
1. The "Peshgi" (Advance) System
The cycle usually begins when a family faces a financial crisis—a medical emergency, a wedding, or simply a period of unemployment. They approach a brick kiln owner (the Malik) for an advance payment called Peshgi.
The "Verbal" Contract: In exchange for the cash, the family agrees to work at the kiln until the loan is repaid. These are almost always verbal agreements, making them impossible for the worker to track or contest legally.
The Piece-Rate Trap: Workers are paid per 1,000 bricks made. However, the kiln owner deducts a large portion of their weekly earnings to "pay back" the loan. These wages are often so low that after deductions, the family doesn't have enough to buy food or medicine.
New Loans: Because they can't survive on their remaining wages, they are forced to take more small loans for basic survival, ensuring the total debt never decreases and often grows.
2. Whole-Family Bondage
Unlike most jobs, brick making in Pakistan is a family endeavor.
Child Labor: To meet the high daily quotas (often 1,000+ bricks), parents must use their children—some as young as 4 or 5—to help mix clay and stack bricks.
Hostage Dynamics: If a father needs to leave the kiln to visit a doctor or a relative, the kiln owner often requires him to leave his wife or children behind as "collateral" to ensure his return.
3. Generational Debt (The "Inherited" Chain)
The most tragic aspect is that the debt is considered hereditary.
If a parent dies before the Peshgi is paid, the kiln owner holds the children responsible for the remaining balance.
Children are literally born into debt and begin working as soon as they can walk, often spending their entire lives at the same kiln without ever seeing the debt cleared.
4. Marginalization and Lack of Recourse
The people stuck in these kilns are frequently from the most marginalized groups in Pakistan—impoverished Christians, lower-caste Hindus, or landless Muslim laborers.
The Law: Though Pakistan passed the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act in 1992, it is rarely enforced in rural areas.
Illiteracy: Most workers cannot read the ledgers where the owner tracks their debt, allowing owners to manipulate the numbers or charge predatory interest rates.
How to Help
Helping families escape the brick kilns of Pakistan requires a multi-pronged approach: clearing the legal debt, providing a safe transition, and ensuring economic sustainability so they don't fall back into the trap.
Because the Law of Expectation teaches that we should focus on the result we desire (freedom) rather than the obstacle (the debt), the best way to help is to support organizations that "manifest" that freedom through direct action.
1. Direct Debt Relief & Liberation
The average debt to free an entire family is approximately $1,018 (based on 2026 data). Several organizations specialize in paying these "Peshgi" loans and legally securing the family's release.
Global Christian Relief (GCR): They have a dedicated "Free a Family" program that pays off predatory debts and provides a 6-week financial training course for survivors.
Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF): Led by the legendary Syeda Ghulam Fatima, this is the most prominent local organization in Pakistan. They operate "Freedom Centers" that provide legal advice and protection for those who have escaped.
Moses Welfare Foundation: Listed on GlobalGiving, they allow you to pay for "one day's debt" for as little as $10 or fully free a family member for $100.
2. Aftercare & Sustainability
Freeing a family from the kiln is only the first stage; ensuring they stay free equally important.
Vocational Training: Look for groups like the Labour Education Foundation (LEF) or Encourage the Human Development (EHD). They focus on teaching former laborers new skills—like sewing, mechanics, or small business management—so they have a way to earn a living wage without needing a loan.
Education for Children: Since 80% of kiln children never go to school, supporting the building of "Kiln Schools" prevents the next generation from being tricked into the same cycle.
3. High-Level Advocacy
If you want to fight the system itself:
International Justice Mission (IJM): While they work globally, they are masters at partnering with local governments to enforce the laws that are already on the books. Your support helps them train local police and judges to stop taking bribes from kiln owners and start enforcing the 1992 Abolition Act.
Whale Wisdom: The Power of the "First Breath"
When a whale has been submerged too long, its first breath at the surface is a violent, powerful release. For these families, having their debt paid is that first breath.
If you want your contribution to have the most immediate impact, I suggest looking at Global Christian Relief or Syeda Ghulam Fatima’s BLLF. They are currently on the ground and have a track record of literally walking families out of the kilns.
How many families are estimated to be enslaved in the Peshgi system?
Precise numbers are difficult to track because these kilns are often in remote areas and operated through "verbal" rather than written contracts, but according to the most recent data from the 2025/2026 Global Slavery Index and the UK Parliament’s Hansard records:
The Scale of the Crisis
Total Individuals: It is estimated that 3.5 to 5 million people work in Pakistan’s brick kilns.
Enslaved/Bonded: Of those millions, experts estimate that the vast majority (often cited as 70% to 90%) are working under the Peshgi (debt bondage) system.
Family Units: While there isn't a single definitive "family count," if you average the standard family size in these regions, you are looking at roughly 400,000 to 700,000 entire families currently enslaved.
Key Statistics (2025-2026 Reports)
The Punjab Hub: Over 1 million men, women, and children are estimated to be in the kilns of the Punjab region alone.
Childhood Chains: Approximately 2 million children are currently working in these slave-like conditions, with a survey showing that 72% of kiln workers have their children working alongside them.
Minority Impact: Despite making up only 5% of Pakistan's population, religious minorities (primarily Christians and Hindus) make up nearly 50% of the kiln workforce.
Whale Wisdom
This massive number—nearly 5 million souls—represents a "whale" of an injustice. As we discussed, the law to free them is already written (the 1992 Act), but the reality is not yet manifested for these hundreds of thousands of families.
When you look at these numbers, remember the Law of Expectation: while the scale is overwhelming, liberation happens one family at a time. Freeing just one family doesn't change the 5 million, but it changes the entire world for that one family.
What other countries have the Peshgi system?
While the specific term "Peshgi" is Urdu and primarily used in Pakistan, the exact same system of debt bondage exists across several other countries under different names.
It is a global phenomenon, but it is most concentrated in South Asia, where an estimated 84% to 88% of the world's bonded laborers reside.
1. India (The Largest Scale)
In India, the system is remarkably similar to Pakistan's. It is most prevalent in brick kilns, agriculture, and stone quarries.
The Scale: Some estimates suggest as many as 10 to 23 million people are working in the Indian brick kiln industry alone, with a significant portion being bonded.
Marginalization: Like Pakistan, it disproportionately affects "scheduled castes" (Dalits) and religious minorities.
Legislation: India was the first in the region to pass a ban (the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act of 1976), but enforcement remains a major struggle.
2. Nepal (The "Kamaiya" System)
In Nepal, the system was historically known as Kamaiya (for agricultural workers) and Hali (for plowmen).
The "Trap": Poor laborers take a loan for survival and become bonded to a landlord.
Brick Kilns: Between 30,000 and 60,000 children work in Nepal's brick kilns, with nearly 40% estimated to be in bonded labor.
Progress: The government officially "abolished" the Kamaiya system in 2000 and the Hali system in 2008, but many former slaves remain in "debt traps" due to a lack of promised land or rehabilitation.
3. Other Countries with Bonded Brick Making
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, debt bondage and forced child labor in the brick industry are reported in at least 15 countries, including:
Cambodia: Debt bondage is common in kilns here, often affecting migrant workers who take advances to pay for family needs.
Bangladesh: Similar to India and Pakistan, the "advance" system is used to secure seasonal laborers for the thousands of kilns surrounding Dhaka.
Russia: Specifically in the Dagestan region, there have been reports of "slave labor" in informal brick factories, where workers (often job-seekers from Moscow) have their documents taken and are forced to work off "debts" for their transport and food.
Other regions: The system is also documented in parts of Afghanistan, Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), and Uganda.
The "Blood Bricks" campaign can ensure the materials used in your own community aren't coming from these kilns
To address this heinous reality, you can engage at both a personal level (by donating to free specific families) and a systemic level (by ensuring your own consumer choices don't fuel the demand for "blood bricks").
1. Direct Action: Where to Donate to Free Families
These organizations are the most effective at helping by paying off debts and providing legal protection.
Global Christian Relief (GCR) - "Free a Family" Program
Cost: Approximately $1,642 to free an entire family (covers debt, relocation, and initial business startup).
Impact: They provide the "aftercare" that ensures families don't fall back into debt, including vocational training and medical aid.
Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) - Syeda Ghulam Fatima
Focus: Direct legal intervention and the establishment of "Freedom Centers" in Pakistan. Syeda has personally helped release over 80,000 laborers.
Link: BLLF Pakistan Official
Moses Welfare Foundation (via GlobalGiving)
Micro-Donations: You can pay $10 to clear one day of a family's debt or $100 to fully free one individual.
2. Consumer Action: The "Design for Freedom" Strategy
The "Blood Bricks" campaign aims to choke the demand for slave-made materials. Here is how you can ensure your own community isn't inadvertently supporting these kilns:
Request a "Social Audit": If you are involved in a construction project, ask the supplier for a Social Responsibility Audit. Reputable distributors should be able to trace their bricks back to specific kilns that are certified free of child or bonded labor.
Design for Freedom Toolkit: Use the Design for Freedom guidance (by Grace Farms Foundation), which provides a "Materials Risk Report." It identifies bricks, glass, and stone as high-risk materials and offers a vetting process for architects and contractors.
Support Unionization: The Blood Bricks campaign has found that the most effective way to end the Peshgi system is through supporting local unions. When workers unionize, their wages often increase by 70% to 145%, which allows them to pay off their own loans without external charity.
Whale Wisdom: The Power of One
The "Not Yet" of 5 million people in bondage is a heavy weight, but as the Law of Expectation suggests, if you expect freedom and act as if it is possible, you become the catalyst. Just as a whale’s breach can be seen for miles, the act of freeing a single family sends a signal through the entire community that the Malik (owner) no longer has absolute power.
Links to Additional Resources:
Direct Rescue & Debt Relief
Global Christian Relief (Free a Family): globalchristianrelief.org/pakistan
Focuses on clearing total family debt (~$1,018) and providing vocational training.
Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF): bllfpk.com
The primary local NGO in Pakistan led by Syeda Ghulam Fatima.
Moses Welfare Foundation (GlobalGiving): globalgiving.org/projects/70189
Allows for micro-donations ($10–$100) to pay off specific days of debt.
Systemic Advocacy & Supply Chain
International Justice Mission (IJM): ijm.org/labor-trafficking
Works with local governments to enforce anti-slavery laws and prosecute kiln owners.
Design for Freedom: designforfreedom.org
Provides tools for architects and builders to ensure supply chains are slave-free.
