Changing the Perspective

            There are many reasons that a family – a mother – would send her child away to work. Most times, it stems from love, a desire for a better life for the child. Traffickers promise poor families that their children will be provided an education, food and water, a safe environment. But unfortunately, that is not always the case, and conditions are worse than their parents could even imagine. Conditions are much worse than what pampered first world residents can imagine. The hardest part is the return, if the children even return to their families and integration back into society. It is particularly worse for girls who return because of the stigmas of the work they were probably forced to do.

            It takes strength to own what you have done, what you once were and put it out there for everyone to see, but that is exactly what Circus Kathmandu is doing. 

Circus Kathmandu is formed of 13 professional performers, and they are growing in fans and audiences across the world. The most significant part of this circus is the performers’ stories. They were all once trafficked as children into different circuses or they were living on the streets. These young adults are taking those talents and changing not only the perception of circuses in Nepal but the perception of trafficking survivors. They empower themselves and take back their lives, and simultaneously they empower other trafficking survivors, especially other children who are trafficked into circuses, that there are possibilities on the other side of the trafficking.

            According to Freedom Matters, it is estimated that 12,000 children and girls are trafficked from Nepal into India each years. Some go to brothels or into labor sites but many go to the Indian circuses. Nepali children are wanted in Indian circuses for their “lighter skin and exotic appearances.”  The children are worked tireless, beaten when they do not correctly learn an act, and many of the girls are sexually abused. Shailaja CM was quoted by Fox News saying that some “young girls are forced to carry out privateperformances to groups of men.”  These children go through so much, and it is the similar experiences of some of the performers of Circus Kathmandu that give them the strength to keep performing.

As they continue to train, perform, and improve in their arts, they are creating a dream for other kids. They are also changing the perspective of trafficking victims. They are taking back their agency in one of the best ways: through the arts. They inspire audiences around the world. It is our job to help make sure they continue because they are changing the world and the perspective one show at a time. The performing arts for everyone: to perform and to enjoy. But this is the best kind. The performers of Circus Kathmandu are amazing in every sense. They train hard because they have a dream. From an interview done by The National, one member said the following comment: “I will become famous one day,you just wait and see. Everyone will know Bijay,” says the young performer. “I will not give up.”