Iqbal+Masih

__ Iqbal Masih __ By:Zaighum Sattar & Lukman Memon 8-Hillesheim

​ __Introduction__ Iqbal Masih was born in the year 1982 in Muridke, a small rural village outside of Lahore, Pakistan. His father had abandoned the family while Iqbal was still an infant. Soon, his family became poor and wasn't able to afford the daily needs. But one day Iqbal's older brother was getting married and his mother wasn't able to afford the money. So, she took a loan for $12 and in exchange she had to give away Iqbal to a carpet factory owner.

__ In The Factory __ Iqbal was to be paid 20 cents a day. But, the food he ate and the tools he used was added to his loan. If he made any errors in creating a carpet then he would be fined and that money was added to his loan. The loan grew even more through the years because the owner added interest and Iqbal's family borrowed even more money from the owner which was also added to the amount of money Iqbal had to work off. Iqbal had to work 6 days a week and for 14 hours. Every day he woke up at 6:00 to start making carpets. The working conditions were quite horrible there were no windows for air and there were only two light bulbs above their head. Iqbal and many other children that were working weren't treated well. There were many strict rules. While working none of the children were allowed to talk to each other, If they made mistakes they were severly punished, the children weren't given enough food which caused them to grow very slowly. At the age of 12 Iqbal was the size of an average six year old due to the lack of food which caused stunted growth. One day Iqbal thought that he wasn't being treated well so he escaped from the factory and he went to the police station. At the police station he told the officers that his master wasn't treating him fairly. He also, showed them the bruises he had on his arms. Instead of helping Iqbal the officer took him back to the factory and told his master that if he doesn't obey your orders, then chain him to the loom. Since then, that is what his master did. Due to being chained to his loom and hunching on his back. Iqbal's back wasn't as straight. At the age of ten Iqbal's loan increased to $260. He knew that he wouldn't be able to pay off all of that loan.

__Bonded Labor Liberation Front__ One day he heard about an organization known as Bonded Labor Liberation Front (BLLF). This organization fought for the freedom of child labour. Iqbal escaped from the factory and went to the meeting. He heard about the rights that he had. Soon enough, he got a legal paper from BLLF which freed him from the factory. He showed the carpet owner the paper. The carpet owner didn't accept the paper, but Iqbal escaped from the factory and went to BLLF. Iqbal started to go to a school in BLLF. He worked really hard in school. His dream was to became a lawyer and fight for the rights of children. He didn't want children to suffer the same way he had suffered. In school Iqbal became more involved in meetings about child labor. He started to express his views towards the tortue of child labor. One day Iqbal had to go inside a factory and gather information about what the children thought about child labor. Iqbal sneaked through the guards of the factory because they thought he was one of the children who worked in the factory. When he got inside Iqbal started asking the children about what they thought about child labor. After gathering data he went back to BLLF. This was quite dangerous because if he got caught then the carpet owner wouldn't have let him go. Due to the information that was gathered the factory was closed down and all the children that worked in the factory were freed.

__ Iqbal Speaks Out Loud __ Later, Iqbal started speaking to actvists and journalists. He spoke to many people about his personal experiences at the carpet factory. Iqbal wasn't afraid of big crowds and he spoke out loud to many people. Soon people started to take notice in him. One day Iqbal had the oppurtunity to go to America and tell the Americans of the horrid activities that occured in the carpet factories. When the Americans found out about the mistreatment of children in Pakistan they stopped buying carpets from there. This caused many carpet owners a loss in profit and closures of many factories. Due to these incidents many owners started to hate Iqbal. In America Iqbal was awarded the Rebook Human Rights Award. But, Iqbal got many life threatening letters from "carpet mafia". Iqbal ignored these letters and focused on helping the childrenmedia type="youtube" key="t0D6K18wq8A" height="344" width="425" align="right" of Pakistan. __Iqbal's Death__ It was an Easter Sunday and Iqbal was visiting his aunt's house. While he was there his cousin had to deliver supper to Iqbal's uncle who was working in the fields. Iqbal wanted to go with his cousin. So they both rode off on their bycicles. While they were riding, they saw a figure up ahead. They started to go towards it. When they got there they saw a local land owner, Zaiki Hussain. The man was drunk and had no idea what he was doing. He picked up a gun and shot both the kids. Iqbal's cousin survived but unfortunately Iqbal had passed away. Iqbal recieved 72 bullets to his chest. While his cousin received 6 bullets on his left arm and 2 bullets on his right arm. But, it is still quite unsure how he passed away. Some beleive that he got shot by Zaiki Hussain, while others believe that he got shot by "Carpet Mafia". Iqbal got killed on 16 April 1995 at the age of 12. But, whoever he got shot by he was a brave boy that wanted justice and freedom for every person in the world.

__Bibliography __ __Internet Site__ Jennifer Rosenburg. Iqbal Masih biography of a 10-Year-Old-Activist. About.com. Monday January 11, 2010. []. Timothy Ryan. Iqbal Masih's life: a call to h​uman vigilance. June 2001. CYC-ONLINE. Wednesday January 6, 2010. []. Iqbal Masih's Heart-Rending Tragedy. 3 May 1995. STREET CHILDREN Asia and the Pacific. Friday January 8, 2010. []. Kelly Frost. Freedom Hero: Iqbal Masih. July 20 2007. FREEDOM HEROES. Sunday January 10, 2010. []

__ Video/DVD __ FREEDOM HERO: IQBAL MASIH. zixan. November 27,2008

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