Each year the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP) publishes the TIP report giving an overview of the measures being taken against people trafficking in 150 countries. In the 2008 report the Nepal section will include a profile of "heroes" who are in the frontline, the heroes in question being the Esther Benjamins Trust's circus rescue team. Yesterday I forwarded a picture (right) of the team members for inclusion in the report. They are from left to right, Kumar Giri, Ganesh Shrestha and Bhim Lama. Ganesh and Bhim are former circus ringmasters, poachers turned gamekeepers.
I hope the accolade that these brave guys receive in the report leads to some funding being forthcoming (see yesterday's post on our desperate need). Otherwise they'll need to be stood down - I don't relish the prospect of telling them that - and girl victims of trafficking will have to remain trapped inside the India circuses. If that happens the 2008 TIP report will create the impression that something significant and positive is ongoing when in reality it may have already been terminated.
