by Susantha Nanayakkara

Created on: October 14, 2009   Last Updated: October 15, 2009

Around 5000 years ago, in Syria, a slave known as Dabasir was serving for his master's wife Sara and looked after her camels. Sara noticed that Dabasir was different from other slaves and he had soul of freedom in contrast to soul of slavery. Later, he told his entire bitter story to her.

Dabasir's story is with full of bitter experiences as well as with full of guidance to escape from debts. As a young married person, he was doing extravagant expenses and he was in a miserable situation since he didn't find no way to pay his debts. He trapped in slavery in Syria along the way to escape from his creditors in Babylon. Although he was a slave, later, he became a rich camel trader and free of all his debts.

On November 7,1936, Professor Franklin in Mesopotamia received a letter from a lecturer in archeology department of an England university whom he sent his clay tablets carrying Dabasir's story. In the letter, he wanted to be grateful to Dabasir. As the clay tablets that was found from Babylon and sent to him in the year 1934 by Prof. Franklin had changed his life on this earth from a 'Hell'.

At the time of receiving clay tablets for him to translate, creditors of that lecturer frightened and humiliated him and tried to divulge heavy default of his debts to the authorities to remove him from the job. He was always on debts although he paid them as hard as possible to him. The debt load turn to a worst situation. He paid his old debts while went on new debts for his consumables. He could not pay his house rent for a long time.

Subsequently, he followed the financial plan of Dabasir. Dabasir, after his re-arrival to Babylon, wanted to be an independent man with free of humiliations and he was determined to live a respectable life among Babylonians. A Gold lender, Marthon, advised him. He had three fixed financial plans and spent his money according to plans.

First, he paid himself from his income to save with him. It was 1/10 of his income. He wanted to accumulate that fund into gold and silver. He thrilled by jingling sound of them.

Second, he spent only a 7/10 of his revenue for his expenditure on his family. When he had lesser income he did not buy extra items and ate on herbs. When his 7/10 portion was adequate to pay for cloths and sandals and meat foods, then, he spent on them. He determined to live within his means.

He always paid his debt from 2/10. It was his third plan. He wrote down all his debts against the name of his creditors. He showed it to all

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