BlueGin
Diamond Member
- Jul 10, 2004
- 24,562
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Hard to believe that this stuff goes on sometimes. Nice that something good came out of it though for a few of these kids.
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By Bibek Bhandari, Special for CNN
Kathmandu, Nepal - Bijaya Limbu is an experienced circus performer who enjoys his art - but his introduction to the traveling showbiz lifestyle came through human traffickers who bought him from his parents.
While other children watch the circus in awe, Limbu was just nine when he was first forced to work in a circus.
He says he was trafficked from Nepal to a circus in India, and forced to perform for four years until he was rescued.
Limbu's story highlights the state of human trafficking in Nepal, where poverty coupled with lack of awareness fuels the trade in children.
He says "agents" approached his parents and that his parents agreed to let the agents take their son away. He says he doesn't exactly remember how much the agents paid his family.
Limbu says he was taken to "some part of India," was trained at a circus, and would perform three shows a day.
He doesn't talk much about those days at the circus. He says there's no point scratching the scars.
Now 21, Limbu is back in Nepal and a star of Circus Kathmandu, which is made up largely of child trafficking survivors. Eleven of its 13 members have suffered through trafficking.
Formed in 2011, Circus Kathmandu is also Nepal's premier professional contemporary circus group.
Limbu says he and his fellow survivors see Circus Kathmandu as a place to perfect the skills they once had no choice but to learn.
"Before I was forced to do this," said Limbu, who is also a national gold medal-winning gymnast. "But here I am, still doing circus because I love it. I'm incorporating what I learned before [at the Indian circus], and showing my talents at Circus Kathmandu."
And Circus Kathmandu is presenting a slice of the reality of trafficking on stage.
Its latest show, "Swagatam (Welcome)," mirrors real life events and explores the subject of human trafficking.
The 45-minute show with popular Nepali, Hindi and English songs, includes monologues telling deeply personal stories of trafficking in Nepal.
Rescued Nepalese find new life in circus ? The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery - CNN.com Blogs
*****************************************************************
By Bibek Bhandari, Special for CNN
Kathmandu, Nepal - Bijaya Limbu is an experienced circus performer who enjoys his art - but his introduction to the traveling showbiz lifestyle came through human traffickers who bought him from his parents.
While other children watch the circus in awe, Limbu was just nine when he was first forced to work in a circus.
He says he was trafficked from Nepal to a circus in India, and forced to perform for four years until he was rescued.
Limbu's story highlights the state of human trafficking in Nepal, where poverty coupled with lack of awareness fuels the trade in children.
He says "agents" approached his parents and that his parents agreed to let the agents take their son away. He says he doesn't exactly remember how much the agents paid his family.
Limbu says he was taken to "some part of India," was trained at a circus, and would perform three shows a day.
He doesn't talk much about those days at the circus. He says there's no point scratching the scars.
Now 21, Limbu is back in Nepal and a star of Circus Kathmandu, which is made up largely of child trafficking survivors. Eleven of its 13 members have suffered through trafficking.
Formed in 2011, Circus Kathmandu is also Nepal's premier professional contemporary circus group.
Limbu says he and his fellow survivors see Circus Kathmandu as a place to perfect the skills they once had no choice but to learn.
"Before I was forced to do this," said Limbu, who is also a national gold medal-winning gymnast. "But here I am, still doing circus because I love it. I'm incorporating what I learned before [at the Indian circus], and showing my talents at Circus Kathmandu."
And Circus Kathmandu is presenting a slice of the reality of trafficking on stage.
Its latest show, "Swagatam (Welcome)," mirrors real life events and explores the subject of human trafficking.
The 45-minute show with popular Nepali, Hindi and English songs, includes monologues telling deeply personal stories of trafficking in Nepal.
Rescued Nepalese find new life in circus ? The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery - CNN.com Blogs
