Slaves in Rice Mill

Late on a hot, August afternoon, IJM assisted local authorities in raiding a
rice mill for the second time in less than two years. This was the first time
IJM helped raid the same slave-facility more than once to rescue different
groups of slaves and to press criminal charges again against its owner.
In March 2004, IJM and local authorities rescued 35 people from slavery
and sexual harassment at the mill. The owner pled guilty in a summary
trial, but was released immediately upon the conclusion of his court hearing
—held virtually unaccountable for the enslavement and gross abuse he had
inflicted. Emboldened by impunity, the slave owner “restocked” his mill
with new slaves and began to brag openly about how he would continue his
operations using forced laborers and that no one could stop him.
After trying for several months to gain access to the mill and meet some
of the “second generation victims,” IJM’s lead investigator designed and
executed an intricate mission that arranged for IJM agents to speak with
the owner and to meet the new victims while the owner was occupied.
The owner made outrageous admissions to undercover IJM agents, boasting
about how he trapped this new group through the bait of illegal
monetary advances. He described how he would track down victims that
escaped his facility, how he could not be touched and how there was
nothing anyone could do to change the system. IJM agents believed otherwise
and remained committed to bringing the owner to justice.
The second raid saw another eleven people receive release certificates from
the government, certifying their new-found freedom. During the raid,
the owner had to be physically restrained after trying to hit a police officer
who had blocked him from harassing the victims. IJM’s intervention
team, which has facilitated the rescue of hundreds of slaves, said they had
never seen a group of slaves pack so quickly to leave a facility.
In recent raids to emancipate slaves, IJM staff members have been assaulted,
their vehicles have been damaged by rioting slave owners and death threats
have been hurled against both victims and IJM staff. These are the obstacles
that give cruel slave-masters a false assurance that no one can touch them—
that the system will never change. But the system is changing.
(continued on next page)
Freedom at a Rice Mill
Families rescued from slavery from a rice mill
hold government-issued release certificates, certifying
their freedom. They now live in a village
together where they have their own houses, visible
in the background of this picture.
* In order to protect the individuals IJM serves and those who carry out the work, faces of sex abuse victims and particular IJM
investigators have been blurred. To further conceal the identities of victims and safeguard ongoing IJM casework, pseudonyms
have been used though the accounts are real. Actual names and casework documentation are on file with IJM.
All text and images © 2006 International Justice Mission
The slaveowner at the rice mill has again been charged by police with
crimes relating to slavery and currently awaits trial. As a documented
recidivist, he is now likely to gain much less favor now with local criminal
justice authorities.
IJM social workers continue to follow-up with the former victims to ensure
they are able to care for themselves and their families as they embrace
new lives of freedom. Many of the rescued victims have been provided
with monetary compensation from the local government and are capitalizing
on their freedom by starting new businesses, breeding goats and
investing in their childrens’ education.
Many of the former slaves have built brick houses for their families. Their
new homes are set in a beautiful, open landscape with the barbed wire
fence that held them captive in the mill barely visible far in the distance.
Reflecting on the juxtaposition, one IJM agent remarked, “[s]eeing how
their lives have changed makes everything we do worth the effort.”
IJM attorneys continue to monitor the criminal case against the slaveowner
and are hopeful that he will receive an appropriate sentence for his crimes,
thus deterring future abuses. However, if the slaveowner is again released
with impunity, IJM agents will continue to help authorities raid his facilities
every time he holds even a single slave, until justice is secured.
The rice mill case is a poignant reminder of why criminal accountability
for the perpetrators of abuse is an essential element in IJM’s holistic approach.
The steadfast work of standing for justice, going back again and
again, one case at a time, one raid at a time, will break the back of slavery,
changing the equation for both the perpetrators and the victims.
* In order to protect the individuals IJM serves and those who carry out the work, faces of sex abuse victims and particular IJM
investigators have been blurred. To further conceal the identities of victims and safeguard ongoing IJM casework, pseudonyms
have been used though the accounts are real. Actual names and casework documentation are on file with IJM.