child slavery

Amal Unbound, a novel

Linda J

Life is precarious for many girls around the world – and education is not always freely available. For Pakistani girl Amal, school has been a wonderful privilege which she was lapping up, until things go frightfully wrong – her plans study to be a teacher in ruins.

Amal Unbound echoes some of the realities for many girls around the world:

  • bound by traditional roles in their remote community
  • suffering for their low status
  • caught in their family’s debt spiral
  • extorted by people in positions of power

Amal also echoes the bravery and strengths of girls like Malala Yousafzai, whose desire for girls’ education lead to her being shot at point-blank range in 2012 by Taliban extremists. Like Malala, Amal yearns to better her position in life beyond accepting a traditional subservient female role. When things go awry for her, this desire becomes even more heightened – but what can a young girl do?

Malala’s story

Aisha Saeed is a Pakistani-American writer, teacher, and attorney. She is one of the creators of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks social media campaign. Her book, Amal Unbound, raises the issues of inequalities and indentured servitude (i.e. slavery for debt) which affects millions of people worldwide. It also recognises the need to be brave and take a stance against this – like Malala, and those who support the Malala Fund.

In most cases, education is a vital key, worldwide. For those caught in the tragic circumstances poverty sometimes deals them, it helps them strive for more; and for those in privileged positions, education aids understanding of the difficulties faced by many, and invites us to support ways to break down the barriers that hold girls back.

As Aisha Saeed states in her notes, Amal is relatively lucky in her servitude conditions – others suffer far worse. However, her loss of family life is her cruelest punishment, with lots for YA readers to consider. It would be interesting to know if the author plans a follow-up story…

For more detail about how she wrote the story, and why, read this interview – Q&A with Aisha Saeed.

This book is about resistance and about not giving up. That’s a message that a lot of people are connecting to as well. – Aisha Saeed.

We learn a bit about Pakistani culture from Amal Unbound. Was there anything which surprised you?

Did the beautiful cover portray the contents?

# Recommended for 10-15 year olds.

Another world – ‘Mountain Wolf’ by Rosanne Hawke

Linda J

‘Abdur-Razaq Nadeem felt the rumble in the earth, like a truck rushing underground.’ So begins the events which turn Razaq’s life upside down – an earthquake which wipes out much of his mountain village, including his family.

Set initially in a mountain village in Pakistan, Rosanne Hawke’s book , ‘Mountain Wolf’, reveals the precarious situations of many children following a natural disaster. The loss of his immediate family in the earthquake leaves 14 year old Razaq in the doubtful care of a lonely neighbour, Mrs Daud, who is experiencing her own shock and losses. In her disoriented state, she claims him as her son, then misguidely hands Razaq over to a stranger, who promises to help him find his uncle – in exchange for a paltry sum of money.

Thus, begins a tragic journey of  trading, as Razaq is taken to the city and sold into slavery. At first, he is a virtual slave to a restaurant owner; then from there he is exposed to an even more seedy side of life of child abuse and prostitution. His only hope remains in finding his uncle, who in a parallel story begins a relentless search for Razaq.

Rosanne Hawke writes from the heart. With the experience of participating in aidwork in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, her stories are informed and real. The reader can truly imagine the places she describes, and empathise with each of the young, abused children. And the children she portrays are also real. Razaq’s growing understanding of his situation reflects the innocence of many real children who are caught in child slavery; thus, the story opens our eyes to the tragic situation of many children caught in the web of the child trafficking in many places around the world.

In ‘Mountain Wolf’, Rosanne Hawke also successfully blends differing points of view, with muslim Razaq being exposed to the Christian beliefs of Tahira, a girl similarly entrapped and abused. Together, they give each other hope in the most desperate of times, and their friendship is a tiny glimmer of happiness which keeps them going. Their friendship is also Razaq’s Achilles heel, as his captor knows he can control Razaq via Tahira. Meanwhile, the strength of family ties is clear as Uncle Javaid continues to search for Razaq.

‘Mountain Wolf’ is a challenging story, since it exposes a subject matter many would rather not know about. It’s probably a bit uncomfortable and a little too descriptive for younger readers, but the confronting tale tells an important story for a mature reader. (The author acknowledged this at its launch at the 2012 CBCA conference in Adelaide.)  Graciously, Rosanne has donated proceeds from the book to help children whose lives have been traded, and there is a list of resources used by the author that readers might like to follow up. (#I was unable to find out more detail…)

Other books by Rosanne Hawke, such as ‘Marrying Ameera’, are also commended for their gritty realism and the strong determination of her characters. For an understanding about how her writing and her life interests see: http://www.rosannehawke.com/