ESTHER BENJAMINS TRUST (EBT) is committed to ending the trafficking of
Nepalese children, into abusive and exploitative Indian Circuses. EBT Retrieval
teams regularly visit circuses to rescue trafficked children, upon returning the
children to safety they reunite them with their families and provide long term support.
The EBT rehabilitate the returnees providing psychological support, education and
training. The training leads to work for the older girls, setting them on a path to
independence, and also educates villages on how traffickers operate; this has
already put two leading agents behind bars with others awaiting trial.
topAbout the Country
Nepal is the twelfth poorest nation in the world, thousands of children and teenage
girls cross the border to India each year, most are trafficked into the sex trade,
however many children will be sold to Indian circuses to work as performers.
Tamang and other ethnic communities in Southern Nepal see many children
trafficked due to their paler skin and distinctive features. With a high divorce rate
there are many nuclear families in Nepal, in these situations children often become
'excess baggage', there are no safety nets for them when this happens.
The average age for children to be recruited for the circus is age eight to nine, when
their bodies are still flexible enough for gymnastic training, but some can be as
young as four. Once in the circus, there is no escape from the punishing routine of
training, performance and violent beatings. Far from home they are totally at the
mercy of the cruel circus staff until they complete their ten to fifteen year contracts.
When they return to Nepal they are often stigmatised as having been 'show girls' or
seen as being 'tainted' by sexual abuse.
Case study
Laxmi was 18 when EBT rescued her; she had spent eight years in a circus in
Southern India. A trafficking agent had tempted her mother with promises of good
food, training and a job that would make her 'like a Bollywood heroine'. The family
being desperately poor delighted in these good prospects for their daughter.
After two days of decent treatment at the circus owner's house, Laxmi was
transferred to the reality of circus life. The working routine was gruelling, with three
shows per day plus hours of rehearsing, there would be little time left for rest at
night. Laxmi regularly performed 'Starkiss', a terrifying act whereby she would be
suspended high in the tent by a rope gripped between her teeth to then be rotated
like a windmill; serious and fatal accidents were commonplace. Laxmi's food was
paltry and worm-ridden, beatings were part of daily life, if anyone tried to run away
they would be stripped and beaten in public.
Having not heard from her daughter, Laxmi's mother travelled across India twice to
try and see her, only to be denied access; Laxmi only knew this after she was
released, by this time her mother had died. Laxmi's father accompanied the rescue
party to secure her freedom, at first they did not recognise one another but when
they did they were overwhelmed with joy and there were many tears on the two day
journey home. We are now supporting Laxmi as she reintegrates into village life.
topThe Project
We aim to end permanently the use of children in circuses by 2008. Project elements
are:
- Retrieval of circus trafficking victims
- Family reunification and residential care
- Education and training
- Psychological and emotional support
- Advocacy and schools' capital developments
- Punitive action against trafficking agents
topHistory of the project and Organisation
Since its establishment in 1999 EBT has become the largest registered charity that
works solely for Nepalese children. Their vision is to focus upon the most
marginalised of Nepalese children – indeed so marginalised that they are often
totally out of the public eye. The Circus Children Project is typical of this approach.
In early 2002 they received evidence that children were performing in a circus near
Calcutta and, darkly, that 'private arrangements' were often made for after the show.
Subsequent research revealed absolutely no information on child performers in
Indian circuses so they commissioned the first ever circus survey.
During the latter half of 2002 they funded undercover researchers visiting 29 major
circuses, collecting data as best they could from suspicious and at times hostile
circus owners. The final report, delivered in January 2003, represented a catalogue
of physical, mental and sexual abuse alongside exploitation of young children and
their vulnerable families.
In 2003 EBT established an office in Hetauda, the principal town in Makwanpur
District, south of Kathmandu, a district identified by our survey as the prime source of
trafficked children. This office was the focus of their early project work and they
successfully closed down trafficking to the circuses from this region (two leading
agents were jailed in May 2006). Moreover, over 200 children and teenagers have
been rescued through their retrieval programme. Most are now back with their
families, whilst others are learning to look after themselves with gainful employment.
Take Action!
Commission your own mosaic
This year marks the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. The Esther Benjamins Trust is marking this event with a mosaic exhibition by victims of child trafficking. The exhibition opened on 25th March (Freedom Day) in Kathmandu, Nepal but you can preview it online at www.ebtrust.org.uk/site/mosaics and commission your own mosaic to help our work. The mosaics have been made by Nepalese girls rescued by the Trust from modern day slave labour inside Indian circuses.
We have retrieved over 230 Nepalese children and girls from circuses and put 11 child trafficking agents behind bars, but much more needs to be done. Help us to end this modern day slave trade and to rehabilitate its victims by visiting our website.
Ways for children to get involved:
1
Make a mosaic out of recycled materials and see if you can sell it to an
adult relative to fundraise for EBT.
2
Try a sponsored event of any description to raise 10p (or £1!) for each
child currently trapped in a circus – current estimates are that there could
be as many as 500.
WAYS FOR SCHOOLS TO GET INVOLVED:
1
Set up a circus skills/face painting stall at a school fair and charge for
participation. You may be able to find a performer who is willing to donate
their services for a day.
2
Design some mosaics – then raise the funds to commission a returnee to
make one to order. A commission can range from £50 to £1000
depending on size, the final piece can be mounted in a children's home,
school or disabled day care centre in Nepal. The funds raised will give the
returnee work and a decent income.
3
Maybe there's a Nepalese restaurant in your area that might be willing to
help lay on a cultural event/buffet at the school as a fundraising event!
WAYS FOR ADULTS TO GET INVOLVED:
1
Set up a standing order for a few pounds per month – every little bit helps
2
Sponsor the education of a child returnee at our Kathmandu centre – £15
per month
3
Sponsor the residential care of a child returnee at our Kathmandu centre – £25 per month
4
Take a sponsored trek to Nepal and come to visit us
5
Help us save lives by remembering EBT in your Will.
WAYS FOR CHURCHES TO GET INVOLVED:
1
Adopt our Circus Children Project for one year's fundraising – a collection
plate for brass coins by the door can raise in excess of £1000. That could
even fund one of our large mosaics
CORPORATE SUPPORT NEEDED FOR THE ESTHER BENJAMINS TRUST:
1
Help us reduce our costs by corporate sponsorship of our core activities
2
Encourage regular giving of your employees through matching their
monthly tax efficient Give As You Earn (GAYE) donations
3
And of course, commission a mosaic!