Our “Set a girl Free” program continues to bring hope – 3 Girls intercepted on their way into China

December saw an interception at our new Tatopani border monitoring station – an operation established by our local partner – Tiny Hands Nepal (THN), and financed by Captivating.  This interception has lead to a case being filed against a suspected trafficker. Tatopani station is a relatively new station, replacing a previous location that was not proving so effective (at Barabise). This move has proved to be a wise choice in saving lives.

The Tatopani Border Station has two full-time staff who patrol the region.  Tatopani is a small town right on the border and in a perceived hot-spot for trafficking activity.  We were expecting that this new location would bear fruit.  And it has.

Alina, Laxmi, and Jiwan were intercepted at the Tatopani border station on December 13, 2014.  Alina is 19 years old, married and from a remote village located in the Sunsari District.  Laxmi 18, and Jivan 23 have been married for two years.  All three most recently had been working at a dance bar in Kathmandu before being convinced, by Jivan’s friend of three years and now the suspected trafficker, that they could work for his dance bar across the border in China. They were told that they could earn 20,000Rs a month or around US$200, which is a very good salary by Nepali standards. They agreed to go to the border and call the broker who would come across to meet them and take them into China. When arriving at the border it is very easy for a Nepali to obtain a day pass into China.  Once the three arrived at the border a THN staff member noticed that they were all in very fancy clothes, looked very young and were acting quite nervous and anxious. Upon being approached they were very open with the THN staff about their situation. Our staff educated them about trafficking and the truth behind what would happen to them once they crossed the border.

Alina, Laxmi, and Jivan all were so thankful to THN staff for rescuing them and all insisted that they would do anything they could to support this work of intercepting other girls at the border and to see that their trafficker was brought to justice. Jivan agreed to call the suspected trafficker and tell him that they had arrived at the border town. Once the suspected trafficker arrived to meet them the police were there to arrest him and take him into custody.  The three victims have since that time all given their statements to a judge, the case was officially filed in court and everyone is awaiting a verdict for the suspected trafficker.

We are so pleased these 3 girls were intercepted, we praise their courage to stand up in court against their suspected trafficker, and at Captivating we are again in awe of the amazing work done by our local partners (in this case Tiny Hands Nepal) and their staff who work tirelessly to bring hope and a future to these girls.  Finally, we again thank those donors who were willing to financially get behind initiatives like the “Set-a-girl-free” program, making it possible for new stations like Tatopani to do it’s work.

For more information about our anti-trafficking work in Nepal, please contact juliec@captivating.org