Harsh lives of indentured women

IN NATAL, the local labour force, unhappy with the conditions of service on the sugar cane plantations, refused to work, resulting in the importation of East Indians as bonded labour on five-year contracts, renewable for another five years. From November 1860 to 1917, 152 000 Indians migrated as bonded workers to work mainly on the cane fields. For newly arrived Indians, adjustment to the harsh environment was difficult. Feelings of alienation, helplessness, depression, inability to cope, loneliness and hopelessness were rife. Suicide rates were high.

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