Brutalised Brick Kiln Workers
On 21st November 2015 seven Christian brick kiln workers were detained and mercilessly beaten by local police after they were stopped and searched during
their rickshaw journey home. Police officials allegedly snatched the impoverished workers’ salaries for the week which amounted to just 16700 rupees
(£100) in total. The men were then illegally arrested without any charges and had to be bailed out on the guarantee of local community leaders.
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Allah Rakha (47 years), his sons Asif (25 years) and Khurram (17 years) along with four other co-villagers Sittar Masih (38 years), his son Naeem (25
years) a serving army personnel, Tariq Masih (30 years) and Nadeem Masih (28 years), had all been working at Allah Towaqal Bricks Company located
at Adha Sukhaira in the district of Sumandri.
Allaha Rakha told BPCA representative Shamim Masih that they were travelling home by rickshaw late at night after a hard day’s toil when three police
officials: Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Barkat Ali, ASI Allah Dita, and constable Mohammad Razaq stopped them for no apparent reason, citing routine
inspection. The officers asked them their personal details and the details of their journey. The seven men provided all they were asked, but noticed
a change in the police behaviour on sharing their Christian names. The officers suddenly turned more aggressive and conducted a search during
which they found the pittance of weekly wages paid to the hard working brick kiln labourers which amounted to a measly £100 between them. Despite
remonstrations that the money was their weekly wages, the police officers starting beating the innocent men accusing them of being Christian drug
dealers and robbers. They then proceeded to arrest the men illegally and detained them at Thirkani Police Station in Sumandri.
Painful wound caused by baton blows
Allah Rakha said:
“We pleaded with them for mercy explaining we were just poor bricklayers returning to our homes at Chack 226. We told them that our employer
could explain where we obtained our money, but they still beat us with their batons extremely severely. Even when we cried and lay on the
floor they continued to beat us, filled with hatred that we were Christians with some money. We were put in a cell and despite our severe
wounds they provided no medical aid and we sat in pain, bleeding, our wounds open to infection. I led everyone in prayer believing God would
release us just as He did with Paul. God answered our prayers after a couple of hours when police staff allowed us to call our community
leaders Irfan Masih and Riaz Masih who were able to act as guarantors for us enabling our release and return home.”
He added:
“When we all eventually arrived home our women wept as they saw our wounds. They tended to us and helped us recover, however we have all been
badly traumatised and have not yet been back to work. We hope to start back on Monday if our employers have not already given our work away.
The police officers have not yet returned our money and we do not know if we will ever get our wages back. We are already poor but this attack
destroys our already hard to manage finances. I have seven children, two daughters and five sons. Two of my sons work with me in the brick kilns
to feed our family, none of my children ever went to school as we could not afford it. Our lives have been worthless but we thank God for
them even then.”
Irfan and Riaz have appointed a lawyer Akmal Bhatti who has now submitted an application to the Central Police Officer (CPO) against the ‘inhumane
behaviour’ of the police authorities. Initially there was no response from the local police station so many Christians staged a mass protest
rally outside the station on Monday calling for an end to the discriminatory attitude of police authorities towards religious minorities.
Irfan Masih, a local human rights activist, told the BPCA:
“The Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Malik Shahid has ordered that an inquiry be held against the police officials involved in this inhuman attack.
As a community we will fight against the discrimination and brutality of police authorities towards Christians.”
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the BPCA, said:
“Police brutality towards Christians is no secret. We have reported on four suspicious deaths of Christians within police custody during our
tenure as a humanitarian NGO, and sadly expect that many others will occur (click here).
Lack of interest towards complaints by the Christian minority has created a recognised level of impunity that has exacerbated the situation.
The current refusal by police officers to even register an FIR in most cases raised by Christians illustrates that western nation assessments
of ‘sufficiency of protection’ are flawed at best, yet without the influence of Pakistan’s big sponsors i.e. Britain, the European Union and the
USA the current status quo will continue or reach a nadir. People across the globe simply have to challenge their politicians to intervene
on behalf of Pakistani Christians or eventually this attrition will lead to the eradication of Christians in Pakistan.”
The BPCA wishes to help this community by taking on the legal costs which are estimated at £400. We would also like to cover the seven
men’s lost wages and to help with other losses, an amount of £100 each would help them stabilise their finances. We would also like to take on
the cost of schooling any young children of these victims who have previously been denied the chance due to the extreme poverty they are living in.
This will cost around £30 per month for each child and we would love committed donors to come forward to sponsor them and keep in touch with their
progress.
Painful lascerations
Undeserved wounds
We will continue to do all we can to help Pakistani Christians, but we can’t do it without you. Please pray and give what you can to enable them move to on to a life free from harassment and religious hatred.
Your gift can be sent using these bank details:
Payee: BPCA
Sort Code: 20-44-22
Account number: 43163318
Bank: Barclays
Ref: Love for Pakistani Christian Brick Kiln Workers
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IBAN: GB62 BARC 20442243163318
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Alternatively you can use the PayPal, our email address is info@britishpakistanichristians.org.
Cheques should be made payable to the BPCA to our address: 57 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1XG.
BRITISH PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION is a trading name for BRITISH PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS LTD which is a charity entered onto the Register of Charities with the Registered Charity Number 1163363.
Thank you.
With your support we hope to change the lives of millions of Pakistani Christians.