Iqbal : a novel

When young Iqbal is sold into slavery at a carpet factory, his arrival changes everything for the other overworked and abused chidren there. It is Iqbal who explains to them that despite their master's promises, he plans on keeping them as his slaves indefinetely. But it is also Iqbal who inspires the other children to look to a future free from toil...and is brave enough to show them how to get there. This moving fictionalized account of the real Iqbal Masih is told through the voice of Fatima, a young Pakistani girl whose life is changed by Iqbal's courage.

"You see, for Iqbal I was not invisible. I existed, and he made me free."

For Fatima and the other unseen children of Hussain Khan's carpet factory, Iqbal Masih's arrival is the end of hope and its beginning. It is Iqbal who tells them that their family's debt will never be cancelled, no matter how many inches of progress they make in their rugs, no matter how neat the knots or perfect the pattern. But it is also Iqbal who is brave enough to talk about the future. "Fatima," he promises, "next spring you and I are going to go and fly a kite. Remember that, whatever happens."

This is the story of the real Iqbal: a courageous thirteen-year-old boy who knew that his life was worth more than a rug, that chaining children to looms to work hours without rest was not right, and that there was a way to stop the abuse.

This moving, fictionalized account of the life of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani boy who brings hope to child workers in a carpet factory, is told through the voice of Fatima, a young Pakistani girl whose life is chanced by Iqbal's courage.

A true story about a real person, Iqbal, and a reality for thousands of children in today's Pakistan. Iqbal, from a poor Pakistani family, was sold as a child to work in a carpet factory. Living with other desperate and exploited children, Iqbal decided to take action. He organised brilliant acts of resistance and sabotage, until he finally escaped. I read this book 10 years ago, but I think of it with respect every time I pass a carpet shop. by anonmynm A fictionalized account of the Pakistani child who escaped from bondage in a carpet factory and went on to help liberate other children like him before being gunned down at the age of thirteen. A fictionalized account of a Pakastani child who escaped from bondage in a carpet factory and went on to help liberate other children like him until his tragic death at the age of thirteen. A fictionalized account of a Pakistani child who escaped from bondage in a carpet factory and went on to help liberate other children like him until his tragic death at the age of thirteen The house of our master, Hussain Khan, was in the outskirts of Lahore, not far from the dusty, dry countryside where flocks of sheep from the north grazed.