Survivors of Slavery by Laura Murphy

Author:Laura Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: -
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2014-02-12T16:00:00+00:00

Azad Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, November 2, 2004

CALLAHAN: Ramphal, now I see you in your new village. And your life has changed a whole lot. Tell us about your life today.

RAMPHAL: Today? You want me to talk about today? You know the very fact that I am sitting here and I’ve been able to take time from a hectic day’s work speaks about today. I can do what I want to do. I am free. Today I am free to not only live as I want to live, but hope for a better tomorrow. And I dream that tomorrow we’ll be able to continue the unity we have built up. And take this unity toward a more progressive future for us and for everyone in my village

[Interview moves to new location.]

CALLAHAN: Does he know the original debt that held him in slavery?

RAMPHAL: I had personally taken a loan of about 5,000 rupees [about U.S.$100]. Initially my parents had also taken a loan, but when I was a child, we sold some gold to the moneylender, and in that deal that loan had got wiped off. I personally had taken a loan of 5,000, but in the entire tussle that happened between me and the landholders, even that has basically been forgotten, so today I’m a debt-free man.

CALLAHAN: What special thing does he think Sankalp did for his village?

RAMPHAL: Sankalp has done a whole lot for us. The more and more I congratulate them, the less it seems. Sankalp has already got us freedom, but when I was in Naini prison, they moved every single rock to get me freedom. People who didn’t even know me, complete strangers, got together to free me. They went to court; they approached authorities; they got together money for my bail application. When I was in prison, I had no hope that I would see the earth again, that I would be free. It’s only because of the striveless [tireless] effort of the Sankalp staff, Mr. Ramphal, the other volunteers, fellow members of my village, that today I am sitting in front of you. The more I say, the less it seems. They’ve just done so very much, worked so hard.

There’s one person or one thing I forgot to mention. There’s Justice Amar Singh. Now he’s a judge; earlier he was a lawyer. Mr. Amar Saran, he also helped me a lot in obtaining my freedom.

CALLAHAN: Now we’re almost done. What does he hope and dream and pray for?

RAMPHAL: My dream is now to start some kind of business. You see, the lease is already working, and mining operations are on. But I now want to move away from that and start some business so there’s running income, the business goes on. This will be better for me because I’ll have earnings, some savings, for myself and for a better future for my children. So that new business, to start something, is nowadays my plan.

CALLAHAN: What does he hope and dream and pray for for his children?

RAMPHAL: The dream is very big.

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