headed goats at a shop outside my front gate. The headless torsos were receiving a post mortem shave preparing them for the pot later on today. Yes, it's party time again in Nepal (to the exclusion of goats) as it is the annual Hindu festival of Rakhi. The festival is all about an exchange of affection and bonding between brothers and sisters. The girl ties a holy thread around her brother's wrist, places a tikka on his forehead and offers him some food, wishing him long life, health and wealth in the process. In return the brother pledges to look out for her and protect her from all forms of evil for her entire life.At our Kathmandu refuges today the festival was marked by girls participating in the ceremony with surrogate brothers. Quite a few girls chose not to be involved. Maybe that's because t
hey're Christian; Christianity is a religion that many girls choose to adopt either inside the circus or after their release. Or perhaps some of these former circus girls felt cynical given how their real brothers have failed them so abominably in the past. Instead of receiving life-long love and care they had been betrayed and trafficked by their families into misery and bondage. For others who did take part, who could justifiably have harboured these sentiments, maybe it was a way for them of re-connecting with society and hoping that in future things might be different. Each to their own.
hey're Christian; Christianity is a religion that many girls choose to adopt either inside the circus or after their release. Or perhaps some of these former circus girls felt cynical given how their real brothers have failed them so abominably in the past. Instead of receiving life-long love and care they had been betrayed and trafficked by their families into misery and bondage. For others who did take part, who could justifiably have harboured these sentiments, maybe it was a way for them of re-connecting with society and hoping that in future things might be different. Each to their own.
