E-Kantipur

ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA, DEC 04 - On a recent Thursday morning like any other, a man was heading towards Chittoor district in this southern Indian state on a rescue mission. Phillip Holmes, a retired British army colonel who runs the Esther Benjamins Trust in Nepal, had received information that seven Nepali children were being kept against their will at Great Prabhat Circus, which was currently operating out of the district. His colleagues, Shailaja CM and Dilu Tamang, were already in Chittoor with the children's parents. A local NGO, Centre for Action Research and People's Development, was

coordinating with local authorities for the trust.

"Indian circus owners are attracted towards Nepali girls for their fair skin and beautiful looks," Holmes explains. "Rescue operations are much easier when the local authorities cooperate," he says.  Holmes' colleagues, meanwhile, had approached the district authorities with a letter from Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When Holmes met up with them, the local NGO thought the circus owners knew about the raid. The entire team then moved to the District Collector's office, where V. Sheshadri, the Collector, issued an order to the local police to coordinate the operation.

"We might succeed in rescuing the girls, even if the circus owners may not be arrested," Holmes says, as three jeeps with police personnel move towards the site where the circus has been operating from. The rumours about a forthcoming raid may have made the owners suspicious, Holmes says, and they might have already escaped.  At the circus, performers were getting ready for the first show. The Great Prabhat Circus, following the traditions of Indian circuses, had erected huge tents on a field 3km outside the city. Two elephants greeted the rescue team as they entered the compound. Within 40 minutes, the seven Nepali girls, along with 21 Indian children, were reunited with their parents.

"We will arrest the owners as soon as possible," Inspector Sudhakar Reddy, the chief of the rescue operation, comments. The children were brought back to Chittoor for legal processes and verifications. Shailaja seemed excited. She was brimming with smiles, but she knew there was one last thing left: the girls had to be brought back to Nepal.

Conservative estimates put the number of Nepali children working in Indian circuses at around 500. Like most victims of human trafficking, the children are forced to work under extreme circumstances and are paid very little. And in most cases, gullible children are encouraged by middlemen to go with them by offering them dreams of earning lots of money.

Such was the case of 17-year-old Sunita Lama* of Makwanpur district, who was one of the seven children rescued from the Great Prabhat Circus. Two and a half years ago, Lama was convinced by a person called Aakashe that a life in the circus would be exciting; the money would be good; and she would be educated. "My parents weren't home when I decided to go with Aakashe. I thought I could earn some money which would provide respite to my old parents," she says.

But Lama's dreams turned sour the moment she entered the circus. "We were not even allowed to talk to anyone inside the circus. We had to wake up at 5 am and work till midnight. The animals were treated better than us." Lama and the other children said they had been subjected to repeated physical and sexual assaults. "We did try to escape the circus, but we were beaten severely if they found out." She couldn't even walk out of the circus to visit a local market.

Lama used to perform tricks while riding a cycle on the net. She showed deep scars on her left leg, which was the result of wounds she got after she fell down during practice. "It was a very difficult job. We were continuously worried that something would happen to us."

A few months back, her parents—who had tracked her down after a girl from her village managed to escape and return—came to visit her. But during the visit, the circus owner always stood next to Lama and her parents while they spoke. "Yet, I managed to tell my parents in Tamang language about my life, and requested them to rescue me."

Though Lama was assured Rs. 500 a month, she never got paid even once during her stay at the circus. Pooja Tamang*, another girl who was rescued from the circus, seemed to have signed a 'contract'. The contract, which had been signed by her father, was signed on June 30, 2008, and mentions that Tamang would be paid Rs. 500 per month, with Rs. 5000 as advance. But her father, who was also with the rescue team, says he never signed such a contract. "Illiterate parents often end up making a deal with circus owners without knowing what is written on the paper," says Holmes. "Circus owners often end up not adhering to the contract, which makes the families worry and want to get their child back."

The entire rescue operation was planned by the Trust run by Holmes. It found out about the Prabhat Circus after Lama's father approached the Trust. "I was told my daughter was working in the circus by a girl who had managed to escape and come back home."

The Esther Benjamins Trust is a non-profit organisation that works in the rescue and rehabilitation of circus children. Since its establishment in 2004, it has already rescued 350 children so far, and currently trains 126 children at its Godavari rehabilitation and training centre. Yet, a lot needs to be done to end this form of human trafficking. "There are many more children out there who still have to be rescued," Holmes says.

* Names of all the victims have been changed to protect their identities.

 Rauniyar had travelled with the Esther Benjamins Trust on the Chittoor rescue mission.

Posted on: 2010-12-04 10:02

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