Manoj*, 13, from Chatra district, Jharkhand, rescued by Kailash Satyarthi's Bachpan Bachao Andolan, tells dna's Gargi Gupta how a contractor duped him in the name of providing him with education. He's so happy at Mukti Ashram that he doesn't want to return home. Here he explains it all:
I came to New Delhi with the 'thekedar' two years ago. It was the first time I was travelling by train; I had never even been to Patna or Ranchi before.
I am not sure whether the 'thekedar' gave my father, who sells vegetables for a living, any money. All I heard him telling my father was that he'd educate me, take care of me.
The reality in Delhi was very different. I was made to work in the thekedar's roadside dhaba in Jahangirpuri. I would wash dishes, make rotis in the bhatti, chop vegetables, and serve customers from 9 in the morning to 12 at night. Every time something went wrong, he would scold us, slap us and punch us even if it wasn't out fault.
There was never any question of payment. Every month he would show me a register and say, see this is how much you've been paid. I never got any cash ever.
"Only once he sent Rs5,000 to my parents in the village. That's all. And then he would say you've been given so much money, now you have to pay it back.
At night, I slept at the dhaba, ate leftover food and wore the hand-me-downs that Maalik gave me when I first came. Often my arms got burnt in the oven or I cut my finger; they would swell up at night and in the morning, he would carelessly tell me to have some medicine.
In all the two years, I only had one holiday and we went to see a nearby mela. The thekedar would even stand guard when I spoke to my parents, so I couldn't tell them anything.
I was rescued on August 19 this year. I have been at Mukti Ashram since, waiting for the legal formalities to be completed before I can go home.
I like it here. I have friends, regular food, clean clothes, a bed to myself, a comb. I can oil my hair, watch TV, play. Some angrez had stayed here for 10 days. They taught us many new things, like how to paint on the walls. I have learnt how to read, I now know the difficult spellings and sums. In the village, I only went to school for one day — there was just one class and the teacher would sleep. I have friends here, I can play cricket, volleyball. I don't think I want to go home."
* not his real name
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