Slavery never disappeared?

Aadujeevitham (Goat Days / Goat Life, Malayalam,2024)
Director: Jessy

By the end of the 20th Century, many of Kerala's male population worked in the Gulf Countries. Poverty and unemployment were the push factors for the 'Gulf Boom' in the 1970s and 1980s. Business was booming on the other side of the Arabian Sea, and petroleum was hitting record levels. Soon, sob stories started appearing about the abuse and pathetic living conditions amongst the Kerala Gulf diaspora. 

In 2008, a Malayali writer, Benyamin, narrated the trials and tribulations of Najeeb Muhammad, a Malayali guest worker stranded in Riyadh airport. Not knowing Arab, Najeeb innocently followed an Arab man he assumed was his employer. His initial contract was for him to work as a cashier in a supermarket. Instead, he ended up herding hundreds of goats in the middle of the desert. He had no living quarters, time off, food, or pay. For more than two years, he had not seen any living soul except for his 'owner' and the owner's brother. He was scrutinised and beaten up every time they did something they did not like or tried to escape. In simple terms, he was a bonded slave. He had no dignity and lived with the goats. He was denied water to wash himself and even a change of clothes.

Before and after pictures.

The Malayalam true story became a bestseller and was translated into eight languages. It is currently in its 130th edition. Of course, it was banned in the Gulf States as it depicted Arabs as barbaric. Of course, an Arab also helped him to safety when Najeeb finally found the courage (and a friend) to escape.

Now, before jumping the gun and condemning Islamic clerics for never openly condemning slavery, one should remember that all Muslim countries, in accordance with the UN Charter, ban slavery in any form. All ancient belief systems have accepted the presence of slaves in their societies. It is common knowledge that slaves were given free status when they converted to the religion of the ruler or invading army. People are people everywhere; they want to dominate others. 

Author Benyamin and Najeeb

When the British banned the transatlantic slave trade, it was done under a different name. As the French benefitted immensely from the slave-intensive sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean, Napoleon even legalised slavery there. It ended with the Haitian slave revolt and their declaration of Independence in 1804. In the USA, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution effectively ended slavery in 1865.

Even in this age and time, we hear of maids enduring slave-like living conditions in both first-world and third-world nations. A sliver of hope suddenly convinces us that humanity has not died. We pacify ourselves; we all love our fellow humans, only to be slapped with gruesome stories of abused maids. Surprisingly, we treat our pets with more dignity. 

(P.S. I think the filmmakers were trying to make Prithviraj, the main actor, do a Tom Hank role—as in 'Cast Away'—to emphasise the desolation and hopelessness of being stuck in the vast desert. Unfortunately, it did not turn out as such. The director thought it was necessary to include song numbers to drive home the point of what a good time he had back home with his wife. I do not think it worked here. By the way, Najeeb would not have left if it was all hunky dory back home.)

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