Four million Pakistanis working in slave-like conditions

By: Kate ROUSSEAU | Sylvain LEPETIT | Taha SIDDIQUI 1 min

Pakistan is home to some four million de-facto slaves, one of the highest figures in the world. Most of them are poor farmers working in servitude for wealthy land owners, or bonded labourers struggling daily in brickyards. The downward spiral to slavery is almost always the same: bosses incite workers to borrow a sum of money from them, usually in case of a medical emergency or to pay a dowry. But exhorbitant interest rates mean the borrowers end up working for free for years to come.