DANG: Amid a group of happy yet confused looking students coming out from an exam center for the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations in Harpur VDC on Monday, the face of Bimala Chaudhary beamed with satisfaction.

The radiant smile of this former bonded laborer clearly showed that the paper went well.With half of the exams over, Bimala, who hails from Basantapur village in Harpur VDC-2, is confident about passing the remaining tests with flying colors.

“I am living the happiest moment of my life. At one point I could not even dream of seating for the SLC exams,” said the ex-Kamalari with a grin. “I guess every dog has its day.”

And the credit for her new-found confidence goes to various social organizations and social workers in the district, who helped not only helped to secure Bimala´s release from the clutches of her master, but also continued to fully support her so that she could continue her studies.
 
Having to pay off their huge loan, Bimala´s poor parents were left with no option but to hand their only child to the landlord as a bonded laborer. Soon her tender hands got into household drudgery.

Even though she was not sent to school by the landlord, she would still not kill her passion for studies, and would go through any children book that she could get hold of.Working for 11 years at the landlord´s place, she was slowly losing all hopes of freedom.Bimala joined a school only after being freed from her master in 2007.

Even today she sometimes finds it hard to believe that she is attending the SLC exams. “I think God has given me another chance to prove my passion for studies, and I know I will give my cent percent,” says Bimala confidently.

Excited about the upcoming papers, she shared that the SLC was just a beginning of her long educational journey. “I have prepared for this exam in such a way that I will score high marks. Cheating is a crime and I always depend on my own efforts,” she adds.

However, Bimala is only few of the lucky children from her community while many others are stilled tangled in the web of bonded labor system for years.Though some of them have been appearing for the exams, they have to return to their masters.“I have to return to work after the exams. My parents are too old and feeble to earn their living, and I can´t let them perish in poverty,” says Sita Chaudhary, one of the examinees, who is also a bonded laborer.

Altogether 1,133 former Kamalaries in western Tarai have been appearing in the ongoing SLC examinations.As per the record obtained from various sources, the highest number of former Kamalari students -- altogether 472-has been recorded in Dang district.

Similarly, the number of Kamalari students stands at 66 in Banke, 331 in Bardia, 228 in Kailali, and 34 in Kanchanpur district.

source: republica,25 march 2014