Stolen Youth: Trafficking of Women and Children in Nepal
Belinda Bow is the international ambassador for a Nepalese organization called 3 Angels, whose objective is to combat human trafficking. She is also the owner of Green Chili Marketing. Diplomatic Courier contributor Anne-Yolande Bilala recently interviewed Bow on the current situation in Nepal.
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[Diplomatic Courier:] As an International Ambassador for the Nepalese organization 3 Angels Nepal, your objective is to combat human trafficking, including child trafficking. How did you get involved with anti-human trafficking advocacy?
[Belinda Bow:] Nepal has the highest rate of human trafficking in the world. To put it in context, every day more than 54 young girls and women are trafficked out of Nepal and into India to enter a life of slavery.
I came across 3 Angels Nepal and the human trafficking issues through friends, Robyn and Steve Raymond. As a wife, mother, and businesswoman, I felt compelled to reach out and help wherever I could. My role is marketing the organization, bringing 3 Angels Nepal to the international stage. I will be heading to Nepal later of this year to undertake a documentary on 3 Angels Nepal and the issues they are facing.
[DC]: Please tell us more about this organization.
[BB:] The organization was started by Dr. Rajendra Guatam and his wife Sarah with a mission to protect vulnerable women and children.
3 Angels Nepal does so much more than rescue girls from human trafficking—they save and change lives. They rescue girls that have already been trafficked or are at risk of being trafficked, and give them a home and an education. The most important part is their focus on the causes of the problems. As an example, they’ve setup a Radio Outreach Program to broadcast across Nepal in an attempt to prevent the trafficking from occurring. They seek to educate the Nepalese population of the dangers, and the risks as well as the many tricks that traffickers use to lure their victims.
[DC:] According to many reports, more than 20,000 girls are trafficked each year in Nepal. This is quite terrifying. How would you describe child trafficking in Nepal today? What are the different forms of exploitation?
[BB:] Nepal and India have an open-border policy. Taking women and children across a border that is 1,000 miles long, with only 14 checkpoints, is an easy process, with many people not being checked or questioned.
The girls that are smuggled into India are often drugged and abducted from their villages. Others may have been tricked into an offer of a well-paying job or a promise of marriage, thereby ensuring their families’ financial security. Before heading across the border, the girls are sent to numerous locations in Nepal in order to throw off authorities and avoid detection.
Once across the border, their new “life” begins, often in a warehouse-style brothel divided up by sheets hung from the ceiling. These brothels are located around Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Siliguri, or Kolkata. A young woman will generally be auctioned to the highest bidder, with virgins being the most valuable, as it is believed that they can cure AIDS or prolong life.
Some children may not be smuggled to India for a life of prostitution, but rather for their life to be ended for organ harvesting.
[DC:] What do you think are the main reasons for child trafficking to be so predominant in Nepal?
[BB:] Poverty is a main factor. With low literacy rates traffickers can take advantage of the lack of education and can easily trick the villagers into letting their children leave for a perceived “better life”.
[DC:] How old are these children and where are they sent?
[BB:] The age of the women and girls that are trafficked are mostly between 12 and 25, although girls as young at 8 have also been taken or rescued.
[DC:] What has been the organization’s greatest achievement or most meaningful moment while advocating against human trafficking?
[BB:] The most rewarding part of rescuing children and the work at 3 Angels Nepal is seeing the changes in the children. When you see their expressions change from one of loss and sadness to love and smiles it is incredible. These children go on to lead a life of purpose with love and support from the 3 Angels team.
[DC:] How do you go about saving these children?
[BB:] 3 Angels have set up small checkpoints along the border to intercept traffic and help to stop human trafficking. The 3 Angels’ booths stop and rescue an average of 12 girls every day. Interception is the most effective form of rescue.
[DC:] What is the biggest hurdle for these girls once saved? Do they all return home? Are they facing any stigma?
[BB:] The women and girls smuggled into brothels rarely have an opportunity to return to their home or community. If they are rescued from a life of violence and abuse, they suffer immense psychological pain and their bodies are often scarred from torturous treatment. Many may have contracted STDs or AIDS. Even if they manage to return to Nepal, their family or their community may shun them. She is often considered damaged goods and not fit for marriage. Worse still, if she returns ill she will not be cared for as the cost is too great.
3 Angels Nepal will step in to help these beautiful souls to become whole. They may help them to settle into a new community or assist in rebuilding their lives with education, a home, and life skills. 3 Angels will help them to see themselves as worthy of a beautiful life.
[DC:] Can you describe any current projects?
[BB:] We have currently several ongoing projects. One of our key initiatives is the “Safe Heaven” project which provides shelter to women and children who have been trafficked, but also to anyone who escaped from abusive relationships and has nowhere else to turn. We provide education and counseling, and equip them with useful skills they can use to contribute to society and lead independent lives.
[DC:] The Nepalese government has been pro-active in combatting this problem, including the application of new regulations. How far do these measures go when it comes to preventing trafficking and prosecuting criminals?
[BB]: Even with tighter measures by the Government, preventing and prosecuting the traffickers is an ongoing issue in Nepal. When traffickers become aware of the prevention changes, they alter their methods and create new ways to work.
Trafficking will never be a one-step solution. The more that regulations change, the more crafty the traffickers will become. Enforcing the regulations is also a huge issue. Women are often found guilty of prostitution, rather than prosecuting the trafficker.
[DC:] Will the victims of trafficking be better protected? What are the additional requirements needed to protect them?
[BB:] The best way of protecting the population in Nepal from human trafficking is to change the border control between Nepal and India. There is currently no immigration control for the Nepalese migrating to India or Indians to Nepal. This keeps the gates wide open to traffickers.
[DC:] What do you see as the main obstacle in combating trafficking in human beings? What needs to be done?
[BB:] Education is the key to reducing human trafficking in Nepal or globally. By education via the radio in particular, we can ensure that each person is aware of the risk and help raise their guard to look out for themselves, their families, and their neighbors. Education is about empowering the Nepal population.
[DC:] What message about human trafficking do you most want to communicate to the public?
[BB:] That trafficking is happening on a massive scale. Nepal is renowned for their beautiful scenery, their colorful tourist trade, and hiking adventures. Little is known about the dark human trafficking underbelly of the country. By sharing the message that this is happening, we can open up this closely guarded secret.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's March/April 2014 print edition.
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Interview: Belinda Bow, International Ambassador for 3 Angels
March 12, 2014
Stolen Youth: Trafficking of Women and Children in Nepal
Belinda Bow is the international ambassador for a Nepalese organization called 3 Angels, whose objective is to combat human trafficking. She is also the owner of Green Chili Marketing. Diplomatic Courier contributor Anne-Yolande Bilala recently interviewed Bow on the current situation in Nepal.
***
[Diplomatic Courier:] As an International Ambassador for the Nepalese organization 3 Angels Nepal, your objective is to combat human trafficking, including child trafficking. How did you get involved with anti-human trafficking advocacy?
[Belinda Bow:] Nepal has the highest rate of human trafficking in the world. To put it in context, every day more than 54 young girls and women are trafficked out of Nepal and into India to enter a life of slavery.
I came across 3 Angels Nepal and the human trafficking issues through friends, Robyn and Steve Raymond. As a wife, mother, and businesswoman, I felt compelled to reach out and help wherever I could. My role is marketing the organization, bringing 3 Angels Nepal to the international stage. I will be heading to Nepal later of this year to undertake a documentary on 3 Angels Nepal and the issues they are facing.
[DC]: Please tell us more about this organization.
[BB:] The organization was started by Dr. Rajendra Guatam and his wife Sarah with a mission to protect vulnerable women and children.
3 Angels Nepal does so much more than rescue girls from human trafficking—they save and change lives. They rescue girls that have already been trafficked or are at risk of being trafficked, and give them a home and an education. The most important part is their focus on the causes of the problems. As an example, they’ve setup a Radio Outreach Program to broadcast across Nepal in an attempt to prevent the trafficking from occurring. They seek to educate the Nepalese population of the dangers, and the risks as well as the many tricks that traffickers use to lure their victims.
[DC:] According to many reports, more than 20,000 girls are trafficked each year in Nepal. This is quite terrifying. How would you describe child trafficking in Nepal today? What are the different forms of exploitation?
[BB:] Nepal and India have an open-border policy. Taking women and children across a border that is 1,000 miles long, with only 14 checkpoints, is an easy process, with many people not being checked or questioned.
The girls that are smuggled into India are often drugged and abducted from their villages. Others may have been tricked into an offer of a well-paying job or a promise of marriage, thereby ensuring their families’ financial security. Before heading across the border, the girls are sent to numerous locations in Nepal in order to throw off authorities and avoid detection.
Once across the border, their new “life” begins, often in a warehouse-style brothel divided up by sheets hung from the ceiling. These brothels are located around Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Siliguri, or Kolkata. A young woman will generally be auctioned to the highest bidder, with virgins being the most valuable, as it is believed that they can cure AIDS or prolong life.
Some children may not be smuggled to India for a life of prostitution, but rather for their life to be ended for organ harvesting.
[DC:] What do you think are the main reasons for child trafficking to be so predominant in Nepal?
[BB:] Poverty is a main factor. With low literacy rates traffickers can take advantage of the lack of education and can easily trick the villagers into letting their children leave for a perceived “better life”.
[DC:] How old are these children and where are they sent?
[BB:] The age of the women and girls that are trafficked are mostly between 12 and 25, although girls as young at 8 have also been taken or rescued.
[DC:] What has been the organization’s greatest achievement or most meaningful moment while advocating against human trafficking?
[BB:] The most rewarding part of rescuing children and the work at 3 Angels Nepal is seeing the changes in the children. When you see their expressions change from one of loss and sadness to love and smiles it is incredible. These children go on to lead a life of purpose with love and support from the 3 Angels team.
[DC:] How do you go about saving these children?
[BB:] 3 Angels have set up small checkpoints along the border to intercept traffic and help to stop human trafficking. The 3 Angels’ booths stop and rescue an average of 12 girls every day. Interception is the most effective form of rescue.
[DC:] What is the biggest hurdle for these girls once saved? Do they all return home? Are they facing any stigma?
[BB:] The women and girls smuggled into brothels rarely have an opportunity to return to their home or community. If they are rescued from a life of violence and abuse, they suffer immense psychological pain and their bodies are often scarred from torturous treatment. Many may have contracted STDs or AIDS. Even if they manage to return to Nepal, their family or their community may shun them. She is often considered damaged goods and not fit for marriage. Worse still, if she returns ill she will not be cared for as the cost is too great.
3 Angels Nepal will step in to help these beautiful souls to become whole. They may help them to settle into a new community or assist in rebuilding their lives with education, a home, and life skills. 3 Angels will help them to see themselves as worthy of a beautiful life.
[DC:] Can you describe any current projects?
[BB:] We have currently several ongoing projects. One of our key initiatives is the “Safe Heaven” project which provides shelter to women and children who have been trafficked, but also to anyone who escaped from abusive relationships and has nowhere else to turn. We provide education and counseling, and equip them with useful skills they can use to contribute to society and lead independent lives.
[DC:] The Nepalese government has been pro-active in combatting this problem, including the application of new regulations. How far do these measures go when it comes to preventing trafficking and prosecuting criminals?
[BB]: Even with tighter measures by the Government, preventing and prosecuting the traffickers is an ongoing issue in Nepal. When traffickers become aware of the prevention changes, they alter their methods and create new ways to work.
Trafficking will never be a one-step solution. The more that regulations change, the more crafty the traffickers will become. Enforcing the regulations is also a huge issue. Women are often found guilty of prostitution, rather than prosecuting the trafficker.
[DC:] Will the victims of trafficking be better protected? What are the additional requirements needed to protect them?
[BB:] The best way of protecting the population in Nepal from human trafficking is to change the border control between Nepal and India. There is currently no immigration control for the Nepalese migrating to India or Indians to Nepal. This keeps the gates wide open to traffickers.
[DC:] What do you see as the main obstacle in combating trafficking in human beings? What needs to be done?
[BB:] Education is the key to reducing human trafficking in Nepal or globally. By education via the radio in particular, we can ensure that each person is aware of the risk and help raise their guard to look out for themselves, their families, and their neighbors. Education is about empowering the Nepal population.
[DC:] What message about human trafficking do you most want to communicate to the public?
[BB:] That trafficking is happening on a massive scale. Nepal is renowned for their beautiful scenery, their colorful tourist trade, and hiking adventures. Little is known about the dark human trafficking underbelly of the country. By sharing the message that this is happening, we can open up this closely guarded secret.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's March/April 2014 print edition.
