Esther Benjamins Trust

Transforming the lives of marginalised and disadvantaged Nepalese children


Circus children walk free after a court hearing in Lucknow		Misery inside the circus

January 2004: The first children released to us by the circus		Older circus returnees learn bee-keeping skills

It is widely believed that several thousand children and teenage girls are trafficked each year from Nepal into India to be sold into bonded labour or brothels. A tip off in 2002 led to us investigating an aspect of child trafficking that had until then been totally overlooked, that of the sale of children to Indian circuses.

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Research into the problem
We did this by commissioning a six month long undercover survey of the 29 major circuses providing for the first time hard data on the scale and nature of the problem. Our report revealed a horrendous catalogue of physical and sexual abuse of over 200 children who were working a punishing seven day a week routine engaged in dangerous and humiliating acts with little food or rest. Serious injuries and death through accidents were frequently described by the children and older girls that our researchers managed to interview. But they were slaves to the circus, imprisoned there by "contracts" of up to ten years duration that had been signed by poor, illiterate or, it has to be said, in some cases irresponsible and greedy parents. The trafficking agent's promise of a meagre regular income and a good life for the children would not be fulfilled and a child's parents would often receive little beyond an up front payment of around Ł20 to Ł30.

Nearly all of the children in the circuses are Nepali, either from Nepal itself or ethnic Nepalis from the northern Indian border states. 83% of them were girls, their performance in revealing costumes being one of the tacky circuses' few "attractions" in an age that has become used to more sophisticated forms of entertainment. Of the children who originated from Nepal itself the vast majority came from one District, Makwanpur (south of Kathmandu), this being a region that has a trafficking tradition going back for several generations. The second most important District was Morang District further to the east. The children came from both impoverished remote villages and from the poorer quarters of the main towns in Makwanpur and Morang Districts, Hetauda and Biratnagar respectively.

Our immediate response to the survey findings was to establish an initial presence in Hetauda in June 2003. A small team of staff members (including one former circus girl) started to build on the research that had been conducted in India. Through this it came to our attention how difficult circus returnees found life to be if they managed to get home on completion of their contracts. They found themselves shunned as having been engaged in the lowly profession of "show girl" or worse to be unfortunately linked with other "trafficked girls" who had been in brothels. So desperate were the girls to be accepted or just to eke out a basic living that they would even return to the circuses in an attempt to renew their contracts. So as well as tackling the problem of agents' trafficking we had to do something to close down this secondary trafficking route. In 2004 we extended our presence to Biratnagar, establishing an NCWF office there also. At both Hetauda and Biratnagar we formed support groups for returned girls under the title of "The Nawa Jagaran Club" which became not only a vitally important social focus but also a forum for us to hear from the girls how they felt we could best assist them in returning to mainstream life.

The aim of the Project
In designing our Circus Children Project, which we launched formally in 2004, we selected as our overall aim the end to the use of children in Indian circuses by 2007 and the retrieval and rehabilitation of as many children and girls as we could in the meantime.

Retrieval
By the end of 2005 well over 150 girls had been returned to Nepal through our efforts either directly or indirectly. Direct measures involve visits to the circuses by our partner organisation (NCWF) staff members accompanied by parents. In India they link up with one of our Indian partner organisations, Pravasi Nepali Mitra Manch, who carry with them a letter of request from the Nepalese embassy in Delhi asking the local authorities to cooperate with the team. After some heated discussions and initial resistance by the circus owners the children are almost invariably handed over to start the long journey home and to freedom. Alongside these direct actions, some parents have been so influenced by our campaign that they have made their own way to the circuses to retrieve their children. Also former trafficking agents have come under pressure from the communities and the police in Nepal to bring back children that they once trafficked and they too have been making trips south to see their erstwhile clients and retrieve children.

Rehabilitation
Once the children are back in Nepal our management of them varies according to age but we of course take individual circumstances into consideration. The very youngest children who are of school age are given in house educational bridging courses that allow them to return to school or go to school for the first time. This is underpinned with school scholarship and other educational support to them and to their vulnerable siblings. By the end of 2005 118 children (48 returnees and 70 siblings) had received such support. On the other hand, teenage girls who are either too old or who are unwilling to resume education are offered non formal education linked to training that leads to real employment opportunities. Training is conducted at all centres including in Kathmandu where we opened a training centre in March 2005. Some training consists of agricultural initiatives such as mushroom cultivation and bee-keeping that are directly transferable to village areas while in Kathmandu we have been running courses in baking, cooking and tailoring. In a major initiative we have partnered with a new UK-based company Hatti Trading Ltd., which was set up by former EBT Kathmandu volunteer Emma Triplett. Hatti Trading Ltd sells suede leather bags, purses and wallets that have been made at the Kathmandu Centre under Fair Trade terms of employment. More recently, goods have been purchased from us by a similar US-based organisation, The American Emancipation Net organisation.

The media
In tandem with all of this we have been raising awareness nationally in Nepal and India as well as internationally including the BBC about the circus children problem effectively blowing the whistle on the dangers of the circuses. The goodwill of the local communities is also being developed through income generation schemes and capital development projects at the poorest schools in Makwanpur district. This approach pays dividends in that the local population see an improvement in their daily lives through our initiatives and are therefore willing to support us in resisting the lies and empty promises of the agents. This has worked very effectively with three major child trafficking agents now behind bars at our instigation - agents who up until 2004 had been operating freely within Makwanpur District. Beyond this we will take top level legal action within India itself to ensure that a line is firmly drawn under the problem by outlawing child labour in the circuses.

It is already illegal to use wild animals in Indian circuses and we will see that the same legislation is applied to the use and abuse of children.

Fundraising target
We still need to raise Ł50,685 towards our 2006 Circus Children Project budget of Ł127,403. This covers the retrieval and rehabilitation of children, educational and income generation projects and the legal action we need to take both against the agents and the circuses. To donate specifically towards The Circus Children Project please use the button below.

(PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR ONLINE DONATION FACILITY WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE BETWEEN 5PM AMD 5 AM ON SATURDAY 12TH JULY AND BETWEEN 6PM AND 6AM ON SUNDAY 13TH JULY).