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The stories of Kolkata that I have stumbled upon are marked by movement—for some this is done by faith, falling in love with the city and letting this foreign culture become their family. For others, the move is made out of desperation, the city becoming a place of survival, where they take whatever work is possible. Perhaps one of the most joyful experiences in Kolkata has been working for Freeset, a fair trade bag and apparel business offering employment to 170 women that have been trapped in Kolkata’s sex trade through trafficking and poverty.
The factory is a multi-story building. There is much activity happening throughout the day and a whole lot of NOISE. Chaos reigns, especially when orders need to be met. Despite the chaos, there is always time to be in community and feel this sense of peace from the simple sounds of sewing machines, the children laughing in the crèche, and the women signing and gossiping as they get on with work. The loud voices of staff screaming across the factory for fabric and other needs is also a constant reminder that we are all working to rewrite new stories of faith. Life at Freeset is marked by Freedom. From the moment I enter and glimpse the countless colorful saris hanging and see the hard work of the men cutting jute and the beautiful skills of the women creating handles out of saris, I realize that this is where I encounter the goodness of God.
In life, we come across mentors or spiritual guides, people that teach us important values that shape our understanding of life. The women at Freeset have taught me that friendship is mutual and that we are not simply blurry faces to each other that we will eventually forget. They are women that I call sisters and aunties. When I arrived to Freeset, my desire was to practice honest love, actions that would present to them their humanity and dignity. In the process, the women began to teach me that sharing life together meant having the willingness to also receive actions of love even if that meant sacrificing some of their earnings to bring me a bag of mangoes the next day. The women demonstrated actions of love when they invited me to their homes and communed with me during evening meals, cups of chai, and moments of laughter and joy.
Trust and respect were also earned—this was essential in order to become part of their lives. Eventually, a few shared their stories of vulnerability marked by poverty, deception, social exclusion and brokenness. These violations also create a sense of hopelessness and marginalization. Women in the sex trade are psychologically broken into working on the line. These women suffered beatings, starvation, and brutal rape; violence that takes away courage. One friend shared of being taken to a brothel with the false promise of being returned to her village. When she arrived, she saw many young girls from Bangladesh. These girls told her not to believe in the false promises of the pimps. They would never return her to the village and there was nothing she could do. In the end, these girls had given up and every dream of escape was squeezed out of them.
Freeset is about restoring courage, relationships, and hope. Women are employed not based on their skills, but on their desire to be free. For long, they have been forced to believe and see themselves as the nobodies, the unwanted and good for nothing. Making the choice to take employment at Freeset takes boldness. It is not an easy process as many lack confidence and are often afraid of not succeeding through the training process. In addition, the women have to get used to the Freeset culture of community, hard work and determination. They learn discipline and the structure of the business. One of the woman argued that learning the discipline at Freeset was difficult. As an independent sex worker, she was not used to having a schedule, working with others, and the importance of reporting back to supervisors and senior staff. When she began working at Freeset she gained new skills and a community; the mental oppression of working the sex trade was also gone. They have gained respect for themselves and co-workers. They return home not earning a few rupees in the red light area, but from an employment that provides them with dignity and worth.
In the time that I spent at Freeset, I was able to see the continual growth and strength of these women. Their teachings of love, compassion, and boldness will forever remain. I leave India knowing that their lives are not easy, but that they wake up each morning aspiring to re-sew a new life of hope full of light, pride, and creativity. At Freeset, we are all part of the lives of these women and we walk with them on their journey to freedom.