| 00:00:05-00:00:37 | VO | Kathmandu in Nepal. The gateway to the Himalayas. Mountain tourism provides much needed industry in this third world country. But there is another lucrative business in Nepal… the adoption market. Each year, some 60-odd children are adopted out of the country and into the United States and Europe. Under international pressure in 2010, adoption laws were tightened. But there are indications that children continue to be illegally trafficked into the West. |
| 00:00:42-00:01:01 | VO | ACTION FOR CHILD RIGHTS is a Belgian organization led by JURGEN CONINGS which eeks to address abuses that occur in orphanages in Nepal. Their main focus is stopping the creation of paper orphans; children designated as orphans and placed on the adoption market, whilst in reality they still have their biological parents. |
| 00:01:03-00:01:38 | JURGEN | The system in Nepal allows you to quickly put a child up for adoption. The papers needed to create an orphan are very simple. You take a photograph of the child, you then place it in a newspaper in Nepal. If no one responds, you can officially apply for the papers.
It's called a system, but in practice it's widely abused. |
| 00:01:39-00:01:56 | VO | ARJUN is a paper orphan. Six years ago he was adopted from the KRISHNA BALMANDIR orphanage in Nepal by an American couple. His biological mother KHANCHI contacted JURGEN – she didn’t know what had happened to her son. So Jurgen began searching for Arjun’s adoptive parents. |
| 00:02:01-00:02:57 | JURGEN | ARJUN’s mother placed him in an orphanage to be sure that he would receive a good education. They promised her that she would be able to regularly visit him, that they would certainly not be sending him abroad but that they would take good care of him in the orphanage. Instead, they made Arjun a paper orphan. They put him up for adoption and arranged a new home for him in America. He was sent abroad in no time. /I’m leaving for Nepal tomorrow, and here we have just received post from Arjun’s adoptive parents. This is the first communication between Arjun’s adoptive parents and his biological mother. I can see that there are pictures and a letter to his mother inside, so I am very curious. /Khanchi is going to get great pleasure from receiving this news about her child. |
| 00:02:58-00:03:05 | VO | Arjun’s adoptive parents were unaware that he still had a mother in Nepal. Although startled by this news, they wanted to make contact with Arjun’s immediately.
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| 00:03:10-00:03:37 | VO | Nepal is among the world’s poorest developing countries. Illegal activites are often the only option available to families in order to keep afloat. This is the situation Arjun’s mother Khanchi found herself in, before being imprisoned as a result. Arjun's orphanage had promised to keep him in school until his mother's release.
Jurgen's hunt for Kanchi has brought him to Nepal where he meets Salina, a local employee of the ACR. |
| 00:03:38-00:04:00 | English | 8 JURGEN: Hello! Good morning.
9 SALINA: Hey, how are you?
10 JURGEN: Tsitsa Tsitsa, Tha Pai Laini. (All is well, and you?) I have the envelope from the adoptive parents.
11 SALINA: Wow it’s big, she should be happy!
12 JURGEN: Yeah, I guess she’ll be happy. So she’ll be here in I guess half an hour? Something like that?
13 SALINA: She’s probably on her way.
14 JURGEN: Okay |
| 00:04:01-00:04:05 |
| Leave BLANK |
| 00:04:07 00:04:15-00:04:19 | Jurgen | Namaste! Please enter. All good? This is my friend Filip. |
| 00:04:22-00:04:24 | Salina | Open it, its for you! |
| 00:04:41-00:04:47
00:04:53-00:05:20 | Salina | It’s beautiful, is it not? When was that, he has become to big!
Namaste Khanchi, Hello Khanchi! This is a very difficult letter to write.
/We did not know that Arjun had a father or a mother. They told us that he had been abandoned on the streets when he was 2 years old. And that when they found him they could not identify him.
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| 00:05:26-00:06:01 | Jurgen | She still blames herself everyday, that she signed a document she couldn't understand, marked it with her thumbprint. These people have done this for many years, ruining many lives. I cannot imagine myself how it must feel not knowing where your child is for six years. And the people live here still, still have a home, are still respected social workers. It sure makes you think about common abuse that children suffer here. Sure makes you see the evil they trade in. |
| 00:06:08-00:06:26 | VO | Today is Parents Day in Nepal. Parents go to watch shows at their children’s schools like the one Khan Chun is performing in here. Kan Chun was in the the same home as Arjun. Fortunately for Kan chun, she was removed from the orphanage just in time. She now lives back with her mother Anu. |
| 00:06:27-00:06:57 | Anu Eng | Yes I did a mistake, some mistake, that’s why I was in prison. But I like to send my daughter to school you know. So I send to KRISHNA BALMANDIR to give education. And after, that time KHANCHUN was like six years old, and I send there and after like one year I hear that they already try to send the children abroad.
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| 00:06:58-00:07:07 | VO | Beth Brewster works all year round in Nepal through her own NGO called ‘Giving Asha’. Together with Jurgen, she went looking for Khan Chun in Krishna Balmandir. |
| 00:07:08-00:08:46 | Beth Eng | ANU had asked to try and find her daughter, KHANCHAN, who she believed was in danger being put up for adoption. Cause she was in a home being known to put children up for adoption. So JURGEN and I, not knowing how KHANCHUN looked like, but asuming that we would figure out how she looked like, posed as a couple and went to this home. It was very strange because usually when you go to a children’s home you see children. We didn’t see any children, we were immediately brought to the office, and hit up to become donors. There were different ways presented to us, they were in need of money, always in need of money. And a figure was given, I remember being shocked that this was the price on a child. When we asked more about the children and the home, she finally let us out of the office and showed us a study room, which was also a prayer room, which were the only two parts of the building that we saw, we still didn’t see any children. At this point we went back to the office, JURGEN was talking to her, and I was in search to find KHANCHUN. And I looked into a small building just outside, because I could here voices. And the children were in there having tiffin and when you see KHANCHUN, you can see that she looks just like her mother. I was happy, I was like, we found her. And I signaled to JURGEN, yes she’s here, she hasn’t been put up for adoption. And through JURGEN’s organization at that time, NAMASTE CHILDREN, they were able to quickly process the paper work and get KHANCHUN out of there.
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| 00:08:48-00:09:10 | Anu | I’m lucky that now KHANCHUN is with me... and for KHANCHI I’m very sorry for her, you know. Because that time nobody was there for here, because she don’t have that much education also. and if one time we were in prison, nobody is looking for us. Thanks to JURGEN and BETH they helped me and now KHANCHUN is with me.
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| 00:09:16-00:09:23 | VO | It's time to confront Sabitra, the manageress of the krishna balmandir orphanage, and get the facts. |
| 00:09:27-00:10:00 | Jurgen | We are now ready to go to the orphanage where ARJUN was previously living. We’re going to try to get data of all the children ever given up for adoption so that we can help other parents who have lost their children in this way. The last time I was here, I noticed that all the information was kept in one book, which is how I found Arjun and his adoptive parents. Khanchi and Salina are also coming to create a diversion. |
| 00:10:05-00:10:30 | VO | Jurgen hasn't visited The Orphanage for a long time; he's making his first trip with a hidden camera in tow.
Adults are able to just walk in and out of the orphanage, and Sabitra, the director, is nowhere to be seen. One of the children tells us that Sabitra has gone to the hospital for dental care. |
| 00:10:33-00:10:45 |
| FILIP: 5 minutes? OK! KID: Evening 5 pm. FILIP: 5 PM? Ah ok, she will be here? Jurgen? |
| 00:10:49-00:10:56 | VO: | Sabitra isn't expected back until 5pm. With time to spare, Jurgen visits CWIN. |
| 00:10:57-00:11:08 | VO | CWIN is a Nepalese NGO that defends the rights of children. Khanchi came knocking here with her complaint against Sabitra. The organisations director is Madhaf Pradhan. |
| 00:11:09- | Madhaf | (Not very clear, but is in English) When the mother, you know, the mother is the mother, parents they complaining, complaining the helpline, We refer the cases into the legal orginization. To help, you know, those families. How they can fight and how they can file the case in the court. Sometimes they need support, they need legally support. Because we are not legal organization, because we have a network, and working with the legal organizations also (lees uitvoerende macht), they give legal support also. We refer them into legal organizations to support those families. Because we are not the authority, you know, to implement the law. We need to take a help, you know, to the local authority. (lees wij staan ze bij om te helpen bij het indienen van klachten tegen bij de autoriteiten.) This case is looking by the child district comittee and the district administration office. And they already prepared a document, you know? Like already the consent from the mother. Because she was not clearly telling, you know, maybe at that time. That was most of the orphanage home who were adopting the child making the paper, that is called a paper orphan, you know? They already legal document was prepared. And when they want to case file, it’s not possible, you know? They’e very link, you know? One way of the maffia, you know? Supplying the children.
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| 00:12:50-00:12:54
00:12:59-00:13:01 | VO | Returing to the Krishna Balmandir Orphanage, Sabitra is now ready to greet her western visitors with a warm welcome.
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| 00:13:02-00:13:04 |
| FILIP: FILIP! 2ND CAM OP: Namaste! I heard very much about you.
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| 00:13:05-00:13:11 | VO | Straight away, Sabitra begins showing us some papers to prove that the children do their best in school, but that naturally it all takes money.
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| SABITRA | Bills, books, a lot of money!
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| 00:13:14-00:13:24 | VO | But we are not interested in sponsoring, we want the adoption book. When we start talking about the pictures of adopted children hanging on the wall, she immediately changes the topic of conversation |
| 00:13:25-00:13:31 |
| JURGEN: All these children you helped? SABITRA: 269 (?) JURGEN: 269
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| 00:13:36-00:13:51 | VO | She gives us a tour of the home, and allows use use of the camera for some welcome publicity. /Sabitra says she has not offered any children up for adoption since 2010. Apparently, the money supply is closed. |
| 00:13:53-00:14:05 |
| 42 JURGEN: How does it come there are no more children over there? 43 SABITRA: No price, no fund... 44 JURGEN: Because lack of money? 45 SABITRA: Money! What can I do? |
| 00:14:10-00:14:19 | Jurgen | So this is where I was with Beth 6 or 7 years ago when we found KHAN CHUN. Just over there.
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| 00:14:22-00:14:33 |
| SABITRA: I have no money, I have no..., but I’m eating rice... JURGEN: Yes, you’re surviving and you’re doing good work, so. SABITRA: I’m charity ... JURGEN: So maybe we can help a little bit. |
| 00:14:34-00:14:40 | VO | Sabitra is now trying to find a way to make money. So, she offers us some children to sponsor. |
| 00:14:50-00:14:57 | VO | During the negotiations she gets a surprise visit planned by us. SALINA Khanchi provides us with the distraction while JURGEN takes the book.
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| 00:15:15-00:15:26 | Jurgen | I will bring the book back to safety, then you may have a few difficult questions to ask, okay? Let’s go help the others, then we’ll feel stronger, right? Good to go?
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| 00:15:28-00:15:30 | Salina | Did you send him here with a plan of adoption?
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| 00:15:31-00:15:34 | Sabitra | We knew nothing in the beginning about the mother, we thought he was an orphan.
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| 00:15:42-00:15:46 | Khanchi | I gave him to SABITRA. She promised me she would feed him.
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| 00:15:47-00:15:49 | Sabitra | You got papers sent to you about your son. |
| 00:15:51-00:15:53 | Salina | But she can not read or write?
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| 00:15:54-00:15:57 | Sabitra | You should have said that to the people of the prison!
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| 00:15:5800:16:02- | Khanchi | She knew very well that I was his mother. When they came for him, she knew it!
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| 00:16:02-00:16:06 |
| SALINA EXPLAINS THIS IN ENGLISH.
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| 00:16:08-00:16:53 |
| 63 SABITRA: An orphan, boy and... and then is going to adopt. But, but, my son... and ... 64 FILIP: Your son? 65 SABITRA: Her son. 66FILIP: Her son, you gave as an orphan to adopt? 67 SABITRA: Yes... I have oprhan... police report, I have. 68 FILIP: Police report of what? Of orphan? 69 SABITRA: Yeah... 70 FILIP: But you know that it had a mother. SABITRA: Yeah yeah, but eh, in, out, then my son... contact me. Yeah?
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| 00:17:05-00:17:34 | Jurgen | This book, written by SABITRA, contains every detail of each adopted child from the Krishna Balmandir orphanage. There are details for the adoptive parents here too -names, contact details and precisely when each child was transferred. And frequently the name of the biological mother or father and contact details for one or both biological parents of the child too.
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| 00:17:45-00:18:57 | Jurgen | Look here, Arjun. It’s thanks to this information that I could detect his adoptive parents before. As long as we're in there, and we can distract her, and promise her money, we could get a price for the best social worker in the country with a golden heart. While, yeah, it's clear what they did right? So many children are trafficked ... Even though their parents are still living. She even admitted as much ...
// I hope with all this evidence that this really will be enough now to bring her and the organization to justice. In order to punish them for all they have done, and all the damage they have caused to so many people. /Although this is no good for the adoptive parents, who don’t expect this.
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| 00:19:01-00:19:14 | VO | SALINA explains everything to the lawyer of ACR. They discuss how they can initiate a lawsuit against KRISHNA BALMANDIR in light of the corrupt legal system in Nepal.
SALINA also found a remarkable passage in the book.
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| 00:19:15-00:19:40 | Salina | Something interesting that I found here in the book. It says number 30 but it has been crossed out. Manisha here, it says she was handed over on the 7th of 2059 Nepale year to a certain Ana Maria. Her father took her back on the 23th. 15 days after she was handed over. So it’s interesting, you know to find this on the book.
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| 00:19:42-00:20:00 |
| The address in the book leads to the Tamang family, who live in a suburb of Kathmandu. The daughters and son were sent to KRISHNA BALMANDIR after their mother ended up in jail while father worked outside Kathmandu. Whilst there, son Manosj was told that one of his sisters would be adopted by a Spanish couple.
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| 00:20:01-00:21:15 | Manosj | After one week we were sent to this school at Saneba Nazerati School. But only me and my elder sister were sent to this school, but my younger sisters were at the home. And after like eh, two months, we got one news from SABITRA BOSTNI, my younger sister, some Spanish couple want to adopt my younger sister. And that Spanish couple also come to visit there, and they met eachother. And after a few days, they took here to Sangrila hotel. And After I knew that, I called to my father, and they even didn’t inform to my father they were planning to take my sister in Spain. Thats why, when I knew that news, then I called to my father. And he came in Kathmandu, and he came to meet us. And my father asked SABITRA BOSTNI, where is my daughter? But she told your daughter is already gone...
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| 00:21:15-00:21:26 | VO | Thanks to Mr Tamang's acquaintence with the police he could just about save his daughter from the hands of the Spanish couple in time. He also filed a complaint with the police, but he heard nothing else about it.
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| 00:21:30-00:22:20 | Father Tamang | I think that the police have taken no further action because they were involved in it themselves. In some way. I think they receive money from them. This would be why they have done nothing with my complaint. So I’ve left it at that.
Even though these are children with parents, they say they were found on the street, and the police then classify them as street children. I think that they have a kind of 'partnership'.
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| 00:22:24-00:22:28 | VO | The Tamang children are traumatized by their stay in the home. |
| 00:22:30-00:23:17 | Manisj | After hearing that I'm going to Spain, I feel bad and miscared also. Because when I was spending time there also, we list were to meet my sister (? Probably prohibited). And if I'm very far from ... (crying) ... I don’t like to, eh, I don’t like to see other girls, other children also going like that ...
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| 00:23:20-00:23:37 |
| Child trafficking is just the tip of the iceberg for the abuse endured by children in homes in Nepal. In his daily work JURGEN is confronted with violence, abuse and even deaths of young children. Cases more suited to larger international NGOs such as UNICEF or TERRE DES HOMMES.
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| 00:23:40-00:25:20
| Jurgen | I always thought that the larger international NGOs working with children, all the ones we know of, would take charge in such cases
/That’s what I thought in the first year I started working here. However, as of yet, this hasn't happened.
/We keep them informed of the issues and regularly ask for help. But we have never received support from them. I hope that perhaps we will be able to call these places in the future. It would make our job much easier if we received effective help. It would make such a great partnership. I can see classic NGOs working together with the local NGOs that work on practical projects on the ground. And assisting those projects working on the policy level. They can talk with the government about changes, do investigations and write reports on it that they then publish.
/But this has not happened here yet. Several times we have made a call to ask large international NGOs to support us, especially the times when we feel a case will be very difficult to solve by ourselves. But we have never been given a positive answer.
I hope that this will change in the future.
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