On January 27, the weekly Time reported that Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest suggested Pakistan’s authorities a plan that he hopes will put an end to slavery. In return, Forrest is proposing to introduce to Pakistan an Australian invention, a new technology called biomass gasification.
The technology converts lignite coal into diesel fuel. The magazine writes that Pakistan has deposits of lignite coal in abundance. However, currently its mining is economically unprofitable. If successful, the move could alleviate the power outages that have stalled Pakistan’s textile and manufacturing industries. Besides, as Forrest believes that could mean the creation of thousands of new jobs.
According to the Time, Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of the key province of Punjab, has pledged to free all bonded laborers within Punjab’s borders and to introduce new tough laws outlawing child labor and imposing a minimum wage in exchange for the new technology.
The Global Slavery Index 2013 ranks Pakistan as the third worst place in the world for debt bondage and forced labor. The Walk Free Foundation, Australia’s human rights watchdog estimates that over 2 million people in Pakistan are being kept under modern forms of slavery.
The Time reports that 1.8 million people work mostly in Pakistan’s brickmaking sector. Moreover, the slave status could be inherited by a younger generation. When a laborer dies, the rest of the family has to cover the debt. The source also notes that the conditions at brickmaking factories are appalling: barefoot laborers toil next to blasting-hot furnaces. Beatings and abuses are the common thing.
Andrew Forrest told the Time, “I hope another five years from now, slavery will be considered abhorrent by every person in Pakistan, and certainly repugnant as a feasible solution to making bricks.” On the flip side, Shakira Hussein, a researcher of the Pakistani origin at the University of Melbourne, is not as optimistic as Andrew Forrest. She lists a series of antislavery measures dating back to early 1990s. However, none of the efforts has delivered tangible results.
For your reference, Andrew Forrest is ranked second on the list of the richest people in Australia. His wealth is estimated at $5.7 billion. He runs Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, an Australian iron ore company which sells its products to China. Besides, Forrest is also well-known as a benefactor and human rights activist for Australian aborigines. In particular, he co-launched the Australian Employment Covenant to create jobs for indigenous Australians.
