The Story of Iqbal Masih Essay by David Parker
Each morning, six days a week, more than half a million
children between the ages of four and fourteen rise before
dawn and make their way along dark country roads leading to
Pakistan’s carpet factories. Most of these children must be at
5. work by 6:00 AM. If they are late, they may be punished-hit
with a wooden cane, or worse, hung upside down, their ankles
tightly bound with rope. The carpet weavers work 14 hours a
day, with only a 30-minute break for lunch.
Iqbal Masih was one of these workers. He started
10. wsorking in a carpet factory when he was just four years old.
His parents were poor farmers living near Lahore, the largest
city in Pakistan. Because they did not have enough money
to feed their children or buy them clothes, Iqbal’s parents
made a very difficult choice. In exchange for a small sum of
15. money, about $16, they agreed to send their son to work in
a nearby carpet factory until he had earned enough money
to pay back the loan. Iqbal was told he would be paid three
cents a day for his work.
A man named Arshad owned the factory. Inside, the only
20. light came from two bare light bulbs that hung in the middle of
the room like dragon’s eyes. Only a few flecks of paint dotted
the walls. The carpet looms looked as though they were a
hundred years old. Two strong wooden beams ran across the
top and bottom of each loom’s frame, which had been created
25. by driving four large stakes into the ground.
In front of each loom sat a small child on a piece of
wood scaffolding*. The young weaver would tie short
lengths of brightly colored thread to a warp* of heavier
white threads. To make just one carpet, workers had to tie
30. more than a million small knots into a colorful rhythm of
circles, squares, and other intricate* designs. In the United
States, hand-knotted carpets such as these sell for more than
$2,000 each.
The scaffold bench could be moved up or down as the child
35. worked on the rug, so the rug did not have to be moved. Except
(*Scaffolding, A kind of support, usually made of wood
* warp. Pile
* in-tri-cate(in tri ket) a. very complicated.)
for a rare and forbidden whisper, the children never spoke to
one another. “If I let them talk, I know they will start making
mistakes,” Iqbal’s boss said. “And when they make mistakes,
I lose money.”
40. If the children complained about how they were treated,
they were beaten. Over the years. Iqbal received many cuts and
bruises from Arshad’s punishments. And Iqbal found out what
would happen if he talked back or tried to force Arshad to stop
treating the workers so badly.
45. One night, when Iqbal was 10 years old, Arshad pulled him
out of bed at 3:00 AM and ordered him to repair some carpets.
Iqbal went to local police to complain. He told them that his
boss had beat him up and showed them the bruises on his arms.
One of the police officers glared at Iqbal. He told him had no
50. right to complain—he’s better stick to his work and do what
he was told. The officer grabbed Iqbal by his sore arm and led
him back to the factory. “If he tries this again, chain him to his
loom,” the officer told Arshad.
Arshad did chain Iqbal to his loom. Even when Iqbal hurt
55. so much he could hardly move, he fought back. He believed
that what Arshad was doing was wrong.
At 10 years old, Iqbal was just under 4 feet tall, the normal
size of a child who is two or three years younger. He weighed
less than 60 pounds. From years of sitting hunched in front of
60. the loom, his spine curved like that of an old man. When Iqbal
walked, his feet shuffled slowly, and though he were wearing
slippers that were too big. Arshad told Iqbal that the harder
he worked, the faster the loan made to his parents would
be paid off. But no matter what Iqbal did, loan just got
65. bigger and bigger. Iqbal’s father left home, and his mother was
forced to borrow more money from Arshad. By the time Iqbal
was 11 years old, his loan had increased to $419-more than
25 times the original amount. When Iqbal heard this, he knew
he would be trapped forever unless he found a way to escape.
70. In the summer of 1992, Iqbal heard about a meeting to be
held in a nearby town. A man named Essan Ulla Khan was
going to speak about a new law forbidding carpet factories to
employ children. Iqbal decided he must go to this meeting.
On the day of the meeting, Iqbal had worked almost
75. 10 hours. In Arshad’s factory there were no fans and no open
windows. In the summer, the heat climbed to 120 degrees
Fahrenheit. When Iqbal finally made it to the meeting, he was
exhausted and very hot. He managed to push his way through
the crowd to the front. He sat on the floor below the platform
80. where Khan was speaking.
Khan talked about an organization called the Bonded Labor
Liberation Front (BLLF). Its goal was to free Pakistan’s bonded
Laborers. Like Iqbal, they were treated as slaves. The companies
They worked for owned them just owned property.
85. or buildings. The workers were not free to leave their jobs.
Khan said that thousands of children worked in bondage in
Pakistan’s textile and brick factories, tanneries,* and steelworks.
Under the new law, bonded laborers did not have to work if
They did not want to.
90. When Khan finished speaking, several people jumped up to
ask questions. Finally Khan noticed Iqbal’s small raised hand
and told the audience to let the boy speak. After a pause, Iqbal
asked quietly, “How can I stop working and go to school?”
Khan explained that Iqbal had new rights under the law. He
95. could show Arshad some legal papers and Arshad would have
to let Iqbal go. Khan also told Iqbal about the schools that the
BLLF sponsored for children who had been bonded laborers.
(The next morning, when Iqbal returned to the carpet
Factory, he took the legal papers with him. He told Arshad he
100. would no longer work, nor would he pay his debt, because
bonded labor was illegal. Arshad’s face grew red with anger.
He cursed at Iqbal and beat him. But Iqbal escaped and ran out
of the factory.)
Two days later, Arshad came to Iqbal’s home, demanding
105. that Iqbal return to the factory or pay the money he said the
family owed. Iqbal stood his ground. He knew he could count
on his new friend for help.
(* tanneries. A place for making leather)
Khan did help Iqbal get away from the factory. He threatened
to have Arshad arrested if he protested Khan greatly admired
110. Iqbal’s courage and perseverance he found Iqbal a place in a
BLLF primary school in Lahore.
Iqbal told his teachers that he wanted to become a lawyer
and fight for children’s rights. He did not want any child to
suffer the way he had. Some of the other kids at school teased
115. him by calling him “Chief Justice,” but he didn’t care. He
worked hard at school and was a good student. Every night after
school, he brought a book to bed and read late into the night.
Other children were not as lucky. Many did not hear about
the new law. Factory owners kept workers from talking to
120. people from the BLLF. The police did not enforce the labor
law*, and factories just ignored it.
Iqbal and Khan started traveling together to talk about the
new law and to free young bonded laborers. One day Khan took
Iqbal to visit a carpet factory in a village called Kasur. Because Iqbal
125. was so small, the guards let him in the gate, thinking he was just
another worker. But once he was inside, Iqbal started asking the
children questions. How often were they beaten? How often did
they have to work overtime? How were they treated?
Khan used the information that Iqbal gathered to write an
130. investigative report*. Because of the report, police raided the
Factory and found 300 children who had been tortured and
beaten. They were all between the ages of four and ten.
When Iqbal was 12 years old, he began speaking to huge
demand better working conditions. People in Europe and the
United States heard about Iqbal and invited him to come speak
in their countries. He told audiences that the colorful carpets
some of them had in their homes were made by children who
140. lived as slaves. In the United States, Iqbal was featured on
ABC news as Person of the Week.” The Reebok Corporation
honored him with an award for his work.
(* labor law. A law that covers people who are working
* investigative report. A document that provides information about a
controversial topic
* masters. The people servants work for)
When people learned how their carpets were being
made, they did not want to buy any more. In 1992, factories
145. in Pakistan sold fewer carpets to foreign countries than in
previous years. At first, the decline was slight, but two years
later sales fell sharply.
Carpet factory owners and managers were furious. The
150. blamed “subversive organizations” and “the child revolutionary.”
Threats were made on Iqbal’s life.
*On Easter Sunday in 1995, Iqbal went to visit relatives in
a rural village. After spending some time with his aunt, he and
two cousins rode their bicycles to see Iqbal’s uncle, who was
155. working in a nearby field. As the boys bounced along the dirt
path, someone suddenly fired a shotgun at them from a short.
distance. Iqbal was instantly Killed. He was 12 years old.
No one knows exactly what happened or who killed Iqbal.
Some people say it was an accident. Others say it was a murder
160. arranged by the carpet manufacturers. The real facts may never
be known. Many human rights groups accused the police of
failing to investigate the crime thoroughly.
At Iqbal’s funeral, 800 mourners crowed into the small
village cemetery. A week later, 3,000 protesters—half of them
165. under the age of 12-marched through the streets of Lahore.
For many children working under harsh conditions, Iqbal
Masih provided a voice. He gave them the courage to follow
him out of bondage. His story brought attention to the plight of
the world’s working children.
(*Easter Sunday. A Christian holiday)
ABOUT THE STORY
“The Story of Iqbal Masih” describes the experience of
a young boy named Iqbal Masih and his determination
to stop child labor in factories around the world.
Iqbal was forced to work in a carpet factory to help pay
his parents’ debt. With the help of a man named Essan
aula Khan, the young boy was able to make other
people aware of the child workers in his country. Read
the essay to find out what Iqbal did to help thousands
of other Pakistani children.
MAKE CONNECTIONS
Describe a time you worked hard for a good cause.
How did you deal with the situation?
ANALYZE LITERATURE: Setting
The setting of a story is the time and place in which the
story happens. As you read the essay, point out the details
that provide a clear picture of the story’s setting.
USE READING SKILLS: Make Inferences
When you make inferences, you connect the clues given in
the text with what you already know to come up with a new
idea. As you read, pay close attention to the important details
and write your inferences about what the writer is trying to
communicate.
Inference Chart:
1.Text or Details
2.What I Infer
PREVIEW VOCABULARY
intricate (a. very complicated)30
stick to his work (idiom, continue doing one’s work)45
bondage (n. condition of being bound to someone)85
perseverance (n. moving on despite difficulties)110
plight (n. difficult or unfortunate situation)165
DURING READING
1-5
--Analyze Literature
Setting How would you describe the setting of the story?
1-10
--Note the Facts
Why did Iqbal have to work in the carpet factory?
10-35
--Note the Facts
Why were the children not allowed to speak to each other
while working? 35-40
--USE READING SKILLS: Make Inferences
Why do you think the police officer did not try to help Iqbal?
Write your Inference in your chart.
40-50
--Build Vocabulary
Idioms What do you think the police officer meant
when he told Iqbal to stick to his work?
40-50
--Culture Note
Usury is the illegal lending of money at a very high rate of interest.
Borrowers often end up borrowing more money to pay their debts,
As Iqbal’s family did. Even though usury is illegal, in some countries
it is often overlooked.60-70
-- USE READING SKILLS: Make Inferences
Why do you think Iqbal wanted to go to the meeting?
Write your inference in your chart.50-70
--Read Aloud
Read lines 98-103. Why was Arshad angry?
--Build Vocabulary
What other words are related to the word perseverance?
115
--Note the Facts
What did Iqbal want to be when he grew up?90
--Note the Facts
What did Iqbal do in a carpet factory in Kasur?
120-130
--Note the Facts
Why was Iqbal honored by ABC News and Reebok Corporation?
120-140
--Build Vocabulary
What other word or phrase could you substitute for
plight in the last sentence?
MIRRORS WINDOWS
Do you think Iqbal died in vain? How did Iqbal’s life
inspire you? What do you admire most about the boy?
AFTER REDAING
Reading Check
Circle the letter of the correct answer.
1.Why did Iqbal end up working in the carpet factory?
A. because he needed to help pay his parents’ loan
B. because he refused to attend his classes
C. because he wanted to buy a new pair of shoes
2. How old was Iqbal when he started working
In the carpet factory?
A. three
B. four
C. five
3. Who was Essan Ulla Khan?
A. He was the owner of the carpet factory
b. He was the president of the Bonded
Labor liberation front
C.He helped Iqbal get away from the carpet factory
4. What honor did Iqbal receive from ABC News?
A. Person of the Month
B. Person of the Week
C. Person of the Year
5. How did Iqbal die?
A. from a gunshot
B. in a bicycle accident
C. from a serious illness
(1.A, 2.B, 3.C, 4.B)
VOCABULARY CHECK
Circle the letter of the correct answer.
1.Carpet designs are very intricate. You have
to tie more than a million small knots into a
pattern of circles, squares, and other designs.
What does intricate mean?
A. colorful
B. complicated
C. creative
2.The officer told Iqbal that he had no right?
to complain and that he’d better stick to his work.
What does stick to his work suggest?
A. continue doing his work
B. put stick tape on his hands
C. change his attitude toward work
3.Khan told Iqbal that thousands of children
work in bondage in different Pakistani companies.
Someone who is in bondage feels
A. responsible
B. powerful
C. controlled
4.Khan admired Iqbal’s courage and perseverance.
What other word has the same meaning as
perseverance?
A. bravery
B. determination
C. intelligence
5.Iqbal’s story brought attention to the plight
of the world’s working children. What does
plight mean?
A. Issue
B. problem
C. solution
(1.B, 2. A, 3.C, 4.B, 5.B)
USE READING SKILLS: Make Inferences
Look at the chart of inferences that you created.
As you read the story, what details in the story
supported or confirmed the inferences that made?
BUILD LANGUAGE SKILLS: Adverbs
Adverbs answer such questions as when,
Where, and how an action takes place.
Examples
I will visit Grandpa on Saturday. (when)
The students are playing outside. (where)
She happily accepts my job offer. (how)
Identify which question is answered by the
underlined adverbs in the following sentences.
1. The officer held Iqbal in the arm tightly.
2. Iqbal goes to work every day .
3. Khan willinglyanswered all the questions.
4. Iqbal returned to the factory the following day .
5. Iqbal visited his relatives in a rural village.
1. (how) 2.(when) 3.(how) 4.(when) 5.(where)
