Man Who Was Tortured As A Child Labourer Is Now Helping Draft India's Anti-Trafficking Bill
Khem Lal Khaterji was just six years old when he started off as a child labourer. He was forced to break coal and pack mud into brick moulds.
Khem Lal Khaterji was just six years old when he started off as a child labourer. He was forced to break coal and pack mud into brick moulds.
"We used to work for 18 hours a day and even then, we would struggle to get two meals a day," he told The Better India.
¡°The first home I knew was the jhopdi (hut) I was born in. My parents were both construction site workers and worked for a daily wage. At a time when they thought their life was getting better, they were sold from one contractor to another. Thus, we found ourselves in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), enslaved to another contractor,¡± he added.
The Better India
Khem's father was in debt and could not buy their freedom and they were bound to the contractors.
At 13, Khem began to skip work and attend school but soon the contractor came to know.
¡°As much as I try to forget that experience, I am unable to. The contractor heated up a large spoon and stuck it on my cheek. I remember howling in pain begging him to let me go. But he didn¡¯t,¡± he recalled.
Finally, an NGO in the area rescued them.
Khem got a taste of what being treated like a human was like, something he had not experienced since he started working.
The Better India
Khem decided to help others and that helped him heal as well. In 2020, he along with a group of survivors like himself got together to form an organisation called SAANS (Shramik Adhikar Aur Nyaya Sangathan).
Now 27, Khem is working closely with the government to draft an anti-trafficking bill. He too could have been trafficked, but was one of the lucky ones.
¡°It¡¯s been a decade now, but when I think about how my childhood was taken away from me, I break down. I may never be able to put the torture behind me, but knowing that I¡¯m working towards a better future for my people puts me at ease. When we know better, we have to do better ¨C that¡¯s the mantra I live by," he added.
He is a champion in his own life and is now being a champion for others.
