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Hemmed in by debt

Shahzad, 12, makes bricks at the kiln. He dreams of going to school instead.

Shahzad, 12, makes bricks at the kiln. He dreams of going to school instead.   (Shoaib Qureshi / For The Times)

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In Punjab province, bonded labor is a way of life at thousands of brick kilns that ensnare workers in a hopeless cycle of loans and advances that keeps them from ever leaving.

At rest

Komal, the 1-year-old daughter of brick kiln workers Mohammed Sadiq and Nazira Bibi, sleeps on a bed of bricks under the hot sun.   (Shoaib Qureshi / For The Times)

Family at work

Shahbaz, 10, unloads a cartload of mud that will be made into bricks by his mother, brother and father.   (Shoaib Qureshi / For The Times)

Bricks

Shahbaz helps form bricks. The family makes about $7.50 a day.   (Shoaib Qureshi / For The Times)

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Load of mud

Shahbaz unloads a cartload of mud for bricks.  (Shoaib Qureshi / For The Times)

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