A Christian family in Pakistan whose eldest daughter was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam have found a glimmer of hope through freedom from bonded labor and access to education.
Photo shows Pakistani Christian Salomia Faqir, 11, before and after her family was freed from bonded labor in Punjab province through the support of Christian Solidarity International. Photo: CSI
For three decades, Faqir Masih and his wife Rasoolan Bibi lived in bonded labor, toiling at a brick kiln in the city of Kot Radha Kishan in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
The Christian couple and their four children endured exhausting work, poverty and an unsafe home, which had no proper door or lock.
“I used to stay awake all night holding my daughters out of terror because of our doorless shack,” said Rasoolan.
The family’s suffering deepened this year when their eldest daughter, Neha Faqir, was abducted.
On March 24, Neha left home to go to her new sewing apprenticeship, but she never came back from work.
The family reported her missing to the police, but they later found out Neha had been taken to a madrassa in Lahore and registered as a Muslim on March 26.
On June 9, the Lahore High Court dismissed a petition from Neha’s parents to have her freed from the madrassa and returned to them.
They asked to be allowed to speak with Neha alone for 10 minutes, but the judge refused.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has taken up Neha’s case in its advocacy work with the campaign, ‘Pakistan: Bring Neha Home!’
On June 25, CSI International President Dr. John Eibner wrote to Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, requesting an investigation into the case and that Neha be provided the opportunity to express her will, and renounce Islam if she so chooses, in a neutral and protected setting.
In parallel, CSI began working to address the needs of Neha’s family, namely housing, livelihoods, education and medical care.
The first step was to pay off the family’s outstanding debts, enabling them to leave bonded labor.
At 63, the family patriarch Faqir carries the physical effects of decades of heavy labor.
He confided to CSI that he had thought he would die a slave in Pakistan’s brick kilns.
Leaving the kiln means he can finally rest without facing the daily demands of making bricks.
CSI has arranged medical attention for his chronic pain.
He was deeply moved and with his eyes shining with tears of gratitude as he shared that for thirty years, his body felt like it was trapped in stone.
“When CSI paid off our debt and handed me the keys to our freedom, I felt like a young man again,” he said.
“Finally resting, healing, and watching my children smile without fear. God truly heard our cries.”
To help the family support itself and reduce the risk of returning to debt bondage, CSI provided an auto rickshaw for their 21-year-old son, Badal.
He can now earn an income through transport work and help support his parents.
Their 20-year-old daughter, Saneha, is living in a CSI-supported training center, where she receives vocational education.
This provides her with a secure place to learn and prepare for greater independence.
Rasoolan received a sewing machine and an initial supply of fabric to begin tailoring from home.
The family also received five hens with a secure cage.
Establishing reliable livelihoods will take time, but the family now has opportunities that were unavailable to them at the kiln. These resources offer a foundation for greater independence.
Eleven-year-old Salomia’s schooling was repeatedly disrupted by poverty and concerns for her safety.
CSI provided a school uniform, shoes, a school bag and stationery to support her return to the classroom.
She can now begin to recover some of the childhood that bonded labor took from her.
And when the family goes to sleep at night, Rasoolan can now sleep with a measure of security.
CSI supported the family’s move from their doorless shack to a home with locking doors.
Even as the Faqir family begins to rebuild their lives outside the kiln, the enforced absence of Neha remains a source of anxiety, anguish and grief.
Faith is an important source of strength for the family.
With greater freedom, they hope to attend church regularly and take part in worship.
CSI provided Bibles to the family, suited to the ages of the parents and children.
Their prayers now hold both gratitude and sorrow: gratitude for release from bonded labor and the support they have received, and sorrow over Neha’s absence.
Freedom has changed their circumstances, but it has not made their family whole again.
As they rebuild, the hope of bringing Neha home remains at the heart of their concerns.
