Brandon Stanton, during his short visit, has captured breathtaking images of our Pakistanis, publishing their stories and managing to show the world another side of Pakistan.
The creator of Humans of New York (HONY) has, however, outdone himself this time, helping raise around $1.3 million through a remarkable seven-photo series depicting the struggle of a Pakistani female activist fighting against bonded labour.
Stanton set up an account for Syeda Ghulam Fatima, titled ‘Let’s help Fatima end bonded labour’, raising $1,302,440 for the Bonded Labor Liberation Front in just three days.
In the first post of the series, Stanton wrote, “Meet Syeda Ghulam Fatima. Described as a modern day Harriet Tubman, Fatima has devoted her life to ending bonded labor.â€
Describing her ordeal, he further narrated, “She has been shot, electrocuted, and beaten numerous times for her activism. Quite literally, she places herself between the workers and their owners. The organization she leads, the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, is small but determined. It is working to set up Freedom Centers throughout rural Pakistan so that every bonded laborer has access to advocacy and legal aid. Fatima operates on a very small budget.â€
Explaining how bonded labour works, Stanton wrote in the same post, “Throughout rural Pakistan, illiterate and desperate laborers are tricked into accepting small loans in exchange for agreeing to work at brick kilns for a small period of time. But due to predatory terms, their debt balloons, growing larger as time goes on, with no possibility of repayment, until these laborers are condemned to work for the rest of their lives for no compensation. If the laborer dies, the debt is passed on to his or her children.â€
Stanton pointed out that the practice is illegal in Pakistan “but due to the extreme power and wealth of brick kiln owners, the law is often unenforced in rural areas. It is estimated that well over one million men, women, and children are trapped in this modern feudalist system.â€
Done here:
life.indiegogo.com/fundraisers/let-s-hel...ima-end-bonded-labor