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Running away from the circus: A new life beneath the big top
Thousands of children are trafficked to India each year, but a few brave returnees have banded together to create Nepal’s first contemporary circus.
Published 16 August 2022 2:16pm
By Rhiona-Jade Armont
Source: SBS
Image: Thousands of children are trafficked to India each year, but a few brave returnees have banded together to create Nepal’s first contemporary circus.
This article contains references to sexual assault and child abuse.
In a safe house in regional Nepal, Saraswoti practises her hoop routine. It's a hypnotic display which will one day dazzle audiences around the world.
But Saraswoti’s skills were honed far from home, under the big top in India, where she was trafficked as a child.
An estimated 12,000 women and children are trafficked to India from Nepal each year.
Vulnerable communities along porous borders routinely fall victim to the coercion or compensation that traffickers offer. Some are sold into slavery by their own families.
What awaits them over the border are varied forms of bonded labour or early marriage that make returning home near impossible.
Abducted when she was just eight years old, Saraswoti was taken into one of the many illegal circuses in India that employ people under 18.
From there, the abuses continued.
“At fourteen I was married to the circus owner's son. Then my twin sons were born,” she says.
“I had my third son when I was seventeen.”
Like many illegal circuses in India, the operation was rife with sexual and physical assault.
“We were so scared of the beatings that we'd do whatever they asked us to,” Saraswoti says.
But these operations have been monitored for a number of years, and NGOs such as Child Rescue Nepal are working to expose their wrongdoings.
Working with local police, Child Rescue Nepal performs sting operations on illegal circuses in India in the middle of the night.
Shining flashlights across the compound, the NGO searches for performers who have been brought here against their will.
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An estimated 12,000 women and children are trafficked to India from Nepal each year. Some of them are taken to illegal circuses in India that employ people under 18.
Travelling by road and train for two days, the journey back to Nepal was daunting for Saraswoti.
“On the way, my sons were asking: 'Mummy, where are we going?'”, she says.
“At that moment, they were not scared. I was the one who was scared. I knew nothing about what Nepal was like now.”
Saraswoti was rescued from an illegal circus in India.
Sharing fond memories of moments in the spotlight as well as more sinister stories of the abuse they endured, Saraswoti and other survivors began to build a unique bond.
Along with other local NGOs, Child Rescue Nepal established a nearby training centre for the residents at the safe house to continue honing their craft.
Some returned to extreme heights, spinning on silks, others to tumbling or tightrope walking.
It was this shared experience, this love of circus despite its dark beginnings for them, that brought a few performers together.
Circus Kathmandu is Nepal's first contemporary circus.
“There are 13 of us in Circus Kathmandu”, Saraswoti says. “Thirteen people with 13 different stories.”
Changing the reputation of circus in Nepal is no small feat.
“People assume that all circus bosses rape the girls . But circus is an art,” Saraswoti says.
“I don't feel ashamed.”
Using their skills and defying public opinion, Circus Kathmandu began taking their performances on the road.
Changing the fundamental nature of circus, the group aims to educate audiences, meeting them where they are.
“Ours is not like the traditional circus under a tent like the one you see on TV. It's something you can display anywhere - inside a house, in a hotel, on the road, in a playground, anywhere.”
Saraswoti teaches some circus acts to youngsters in Nepal.
While the performers’ skills draw crowds from afar, it’s their personal stories that offer a chance at changing perceptions and keeping people safe.
At a show in the regional town of Birgunj, Saraswoti and the other performers gather to share their stories.
“We felt that it would be good if we girls came forward too and spoke from our hearts,” Saraswoti says.
“You can imagine how difficult it is for us to speak about being trafficked.”
But sharing their experiences of coercion and separation will hopefully deter others from enduring a similar fate.
“We told our story so that our sisters may not have to face such an ordeal.”
Circus Kathmandu hopes to educate people about the reality of child trafficking.
“Maybe you and your family aren't aware of what's going on. Even if they know, you shouldn't get tricked and should keep studying,” she tells the crowd.
“We didn't get the chance to study.”
This kind of advocacy, borne from personal experience, is particularly impactful. Travelling to communities in the border regions of Nepal, Circus Kathmandu is targeting the most vulnerable women and children.
Though at times this work can weigh heavily on the performers, Saraswoti is convinced the troupe is tackling the issue of trafficking but also is helping the performers heal.
Returning to a life beneath the big top may have once seemed an unfathomable thought for some. But for Saraswoti, it’s the only way forward.
“Although it's a circus, it's a good place,” she says.
“We have our freedom now.”
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