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South Asia, January, 2026 — A family is starting the new year together – in freedom.
At the end of 2025, local authorities led a rapid operation to bring a young mother and her four children to safety from a rural cattle farm in South Asia, where they had been trapped in forced labor for almost three years.
In 2022, the mother, her husband, and their three children had moved to the farm after being promised secure work and a better life. Instead, they were isolated, unpaid, and forced to work under the constant control of the farm owner.
The parents were closely monitored as they tended cattle and other livestock. Their young son and two daughters were made to clean sheds, shovel manure, scrub feeding troughs, and complete household chores from early morning until late evening. The work was dangerous and exhausting, leaving the children with frequent cuts and injuries. Any attempts to slow down were met with threats or violence.
In early 2025, the family welcomed another baby, who spent the first months of their life on the farm.
After nearly three years, the husband managed to escape. Traveling for days, he reported his family’s situation to local authorities who immediately began locating the farm. Soon after, they conducted an operation to bring the family to safety, arrest the farm owner, and secure the unpaid wages.
The mother and children were safely escorted home and issued release certificates, formally breaking their links to the farm owner and granting long-term legal protection.
Throughout the case, IJM staff supported government efforts by providing legal expertise, liaising with state authorities, and coordinating the family’s safe return home, where they were connected with local NGOs for ongoing care.
