TIMECODE

DIALOGUE

10:00:00

GFX: 

101 EAST

10:00:07

STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:  On the streets of Nepal, young children live in poverty.  Foreigners drawn to their plight provide money, or even set up charities.  But police say some are abusing children, instead of helping them. 

10:00:25

STEVE CHAO:  I’m Steve Chao.  On this episode, 101 East investigates how those meant to protect children can sometimes be their predators.

10:00:34

GFX: 

NEPAL’S CHILDREN AT RISK

A FILM BY: MELISSA FUNG & LIZ GOOCH

10:00:41

VOICEOVER:  Nestled in the shadow of the Himalayas lies a quiet village, about two hours from
Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.  The road leading into the village is bumpy, as it winds its way through the steep hill.  It may be picturesque.  But for those who live here, it’s a life marked by poverty.  Perhaps not a surprising place for a world-renowned humanitarian to come and build a home.

10:01:12

PETER DALGLISH (& SUBTITLED):  It’s a beautiful country.  It’s my adopted home here because I love the people.  I’m telling you.  I have a special relationship with Nepal.  

10:01:20

VOICEOVER:  Canadian Peter Dalglish has devoted his life to helping some of the world’s poorest children, in Africa, Afghanistan, and Asia.  He’s worked with leading aid organisations, including the United Nations World Food Program and UNICEF, and set up his own charity, Street Kids International.   

10:01:38

GFX: 

STREET KIDS INTERNATIONAL

CATALYST FOR BETTER LIVES.

10:01:41

PETER DALGLISH:  So, I spent the last two weeks of 1984 in a refugee camp in northern Ethiopia, with between five and six thousand children who were in the last stages of life.  And it was a transforming moment.  And I knew at that point that I would never practise law and I’d never race around in a convertible BMW on the streets of Vancouver with the top down, and there would be no ski chalet.  You know, my life had changed and I made a promise to the kids in the camp that I would never forget them and I never have.

10:02:15

VOICEOVER:  Dalglish has rubbed shoulders with prime ministers, won prestigious awards, and written about his work with kids around the world.

10:02:25

MELISSA FUNG:  Namaste.

BIKRAM TAMANG:  Namaste.

MELISSA FUNG:  How are you? 

BIKRAM TAMANG (& SUBTITLED):  Fine.  This is my village. 

MELISSA FUNG:  This is your village?

BIKRAM TAMANG (& SUBTITLED):  [language] These days, it’s a bit chilly. 

10:02:33

VOICEOVER:  Village elder Bikram Tamang was born here.  Like most of the other locals around Nagarkot, he’s never ventured far from these hills.

10:02:43

BIKRAM TAMANG (& SUBTITLED):  This is my house.  It’s just a shack really.  Let’s sit here.  Will you have some tea? 

10:02:55

VOICEOVER:  He remembers when Dalglish first arrived here in the foothills of the Himalayas.

10:03:01

BIKRAM TAMANG (& VOICEOVER):  Maybe about ten years ago, he first came and built a house.  He comes frequently.  Sometimes he arranges his leave for a year.  Sometimes, just a few months. 

10:03:20

VOICEOVER:  But one morning last April, the peace of this quiet village was shattered.  Police burst into Dalglish’s home in the hills … and found two boys inside.

10:03:32

VOICEOVER:  They led the boys away, and took Dalglish into custody.  Officers also took his passport, computer and mobile phone.  His arrest stunned everyone.

10:03:44

BIKRAM TAMANG (& VOICEOVER):  Our Tamang community has little education.  We trust others easily.  Even I did not study much and I believe in others.  

10:03:57

VOICEOVER:  But beneath his generosity and respected public profile, police say Dalglish was a very different man.  They allege the child advocate is actually a child abuser.  Nepalese authorities say he lured children with food and money, and promised them overseas trips and jobs in five-star hotels – before sexually abusing them.

10:04:22

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  We made several surveillances for many days and it is the outcome of our dedication.  We’ve spent lots of time to bring Peter Dalglish into the frame of justice.  We firmly believe he’ll be convicted because he committed the crime.

10:04:46

VOICEOVER:  Kabit Katawal is the Deputy Superintendent of the Nepal Police.  He was in charge of the investigation that led to Dalglish’s arrest.  He and his officers began investigating after they received a tip from an overseas source.

10:05:02

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  Actually, many foreigners come here to Nepal.  They love Nepal. And we really respect them for their dedication, support.  But some of them are masking their social work under the cover of their positions in power.  They’re misusing their power and they’re exploiting our children.  

10:05:30

VOICEOVER:  The former aid worker currently sits in a cell, in a small town outside Kathmandu, waiting for his case to wind its way through the Nepalese courts.

10:05:42

MELISSA FUNG:  This is the prison where Peter Dalglish is being held.  He’s agreed to tell us his side of the story. The prison won’t allow cameras inside, but we can record his voice.

10:05:57

GFX: 

VOICE OF PETER DALGLISH

PETER DALGLISH (& SUBTITLED):  If you want to record or whatever, I have no problems with that.  

MELISSA FUNG:  Okay.

PETER DALGLISH (& SUBTITLED):   Okay.

10:06:01

VOICEOVER:  Dalglish denies all allegations of child sexual abuse.  He insists he’s an innocent man, swept up in a police crackdown.

10:06:14

GFX: 

VOICE OF PETER DALGLISH

PETER DALGLISH (& SUBTITLED):  So, you need to know that I never touched any child.  If you went to the village, near my house, they would tell you I’ve never invited any kid to my house, ever.  Not one child.  You need to know both kids, their father – one boy, it’s his father, or his uncle ... he lives on the property.  He’s in my house more than me.  He’s a severe alcoholic and I kept him employed.  You need to know there is no DNA evidence against me.  Do you understand?  There is no medical evidence, there is no photographic evidence.  Do you understand that?  

10:06:47

VOICEOVER:  Police say they have submitted photographs of children from his computer as evidence, but decline to give more details.  Dalglish maintains he is the victim.

10:06:59

GFX: 

VOICE OF PETER DALGLISH

PETER DALGLISH (& SUBTITLED):  I think it starts at the village level, with jealousy, with gossip.  You never know for sure, right?  I will win my freedom.  I love this country. I will continue to fight to protect kids.  Girls, as well as boys.  I’m not a paedophile.  And I’ve never abused or touched any child inappropriately.

10:07:26

KRISHNA BAHADUR GURUNG:  If there was only two boys, he will say like get a …

10:07:30

VOICEOVER:  Krishna Bahadur Gurung and Rishi Bastakoti were just nine years old when they first met Peter Dalglish.

10:07:37

RISHI BASTAKOTI (& SUBTITLED):  At that time, I was going down from the school to my house … and I was selling postcards and I met Peter at that time in the road.  

10:07:53

KRISHNA BAHADUR GURUNG (& SUBTITLED):  He’s more than a dad for us, because he stands for us as a dad when our father should be standing there.  But our father, he left us.

10:08:03

VOICEOVER:  He also became a father figure for Rishi.

10:08:06

RISHI BASTAKOTI (& SUBTITLED):  And he’s the one who does everything for me, and my uncle and aunt.  

10:08:15

VOICEOVER:  Now the boys says it’s their turn to do something for Peter – ensuring he has good food to eat and is looked after in prison.

10:08:24

MELISSA FUNG:  Is he still looking after you financially?  Does he still support you guys?

10:08:28

RISHI BASTAKOTI (& SUBTITLED):  Now?

MELISSA FUNG:  Yeah.

RISHI BASTAKOTI (& SUBTITLED):  Yeah, he does.  

10:08:31

KRISHNA BAHADUR GURUNG (& SUBTITLED):  We’re getting money and we’re spending that money on Peter, [only on Peter] not on other things.

10:08:37

VOICEOVER:  Dalglish did more than just put the boys through school.  He helped them see a world beyond Nepal - taking them to student conferences in Singapore and Thailand.

10:08:48

KRISHNA BAHADUR GURUNG (& SUBTITLED):  I didn’t have anything else.  If I hadn’t met Peter, I would not be here.  I’d be doing some kind of undignified job in the Gulf countries.  So yeah, whatever I am now, it’s all because of Peter.

10:09:05

VOICEOVER:  The boys visit Dalglish in prison, three times a day.

10:09:10

KRISHNA BAHADUR GURUNG (& SUBTITLED):  We’re happy to do this.  It’s our duty.  We dreamed of looking after him in his old age but we never ever thought that we’d be looking after him like this.

10:09:24

VOICEOVER:  Dalglish’s reach in Nepal extended far beyond the village where he built a home.  He first came to the Himalayan nation more than a decade ago to work for a UN agency.  He also taught students at a Buddhist boarding school in Kathmandu.  

10:09:45

MELISSA FUNG:  This is the school where Peter Dalglish taught children on a volunteer basis.  An administrator told us the school cut ties with him in 2011, but refused to meet with us to explain why.  

10:09:57

VOICEOVER:  The administrator has, however, told Canadian media that she became worried after Dalglish asked her to bend the rules to allow children to visit his house after school.  Dalglish denies this and blames the falling out on internal politics. 

10:10:15

GFX: 

VOICE OF PETER DALGLISH

PETER DALGLISH (& SUBTITLED):  It was political, involving money and the monastery.  There’s a lot of money tied up with the Buddhist community here and there’s a lot of politics.  That’s all I’ll say.

10:10:26

VOICEOVER:  Dalglish took his message about the need to help vulnerable children far and wide.  Prestigious schools invited him to give motivational talks to their students.  United World Colleges, or UWC, which has 17 schools around the world, said Dalglish spoke at a number of their events about his work with the UN and with street children.  Five months before he was arrested, UWC investigated rumours about Dalglish’s “possible exploitative behaviour”.  They then suspended him from the board of trustees of UWC Thailand and released a statement.

10:11:06

VOICEOVER:  It read: “we thought Mr Dalglish was part of the fight for education opportunities for disadvantaged children across the globe.  It is shocking that the precarious situation of these children may have been used for their sexual exploitation.”

SUBTITLE: 

“WE THOUGHT MR DALGLISH WAS PART OF THE FIGHT FOR EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN ACROSS THE GLOBE.  

IT IS SHOCKING THAT THE PRECARIOUS SITUATION OF THESE CHILDREN MAY HAVE BEEN USED FOR THEIR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION.”

10:11:27

VOICEOVER:  Peter Dalglish may be the most high-profile man to be accused of child abuse in Nepal.  But he’s certainly not the only one.  Since April this year, Nepalese police have charged four other foreigners with similar offences.  Most of the arrests took place in Kathmandu, a magnet for tourists and for poor, vulnerable children.

10:11:51

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  At the very beginning, all of the paedophiles, they were concentrated here in Thamel, because there are lots of street children and it’s easy to find a small boy.

10:12:05

VOICEOVER:  Deputy Superintendent Kabit Katawal was off-duty, at a park with his two sons, when he first noticed a foreigner surrounded by young boys.

10:12:15

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  I was with my family and I noticed Piet Hans.  He was with four or five children.  

MELISSA FUNG:  Young children?

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  Below 16.

MELISSA FUNG:  16? 

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  One was above 16.  I noticed, and I secretly took a photo.  I had some sense, you see, because I was very doubtful about [with] that guy.

10:12:39

VOICEOVER:  That guy was Dutch child psychologist Piet Hein Van Terwisga.  He had visited Nepal ten times in the past four years – always staying in the capital’s tourist district.

10:12:52

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  We made about 15 days of surveillance, around the clock.  We located the hotel where the boy, he used to come from morning … from about 8:30am until about 11pm.  So the perpetrator he used to take the boy to the fun park for swimming, sometimes for shopping.  We were familiar about all his activities.

10:13:25

VOICEOVER:  After weeks of surveillance, police arrested Terwisga in a 3rd floor hotel room.  The alleged victim was with him.

10:13:34

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  We immediately rescued the boy from the hotel room.  We called the father and mother.  We took the preliminary interview with the boy, in front of the parents.  During our investigation, it was revealed that the perpetrator ... he had a familiar connection with the family.  A very intimate relationship with the family.  

10:14:06

VOICEOVER:  The boy’s father and older brother agree to meet with us.  Because the alleged victim is still underage, we cannot identify him or his family.

10:14:16

VICTIM’S FATHER (& VOICEOVER):  He used to call me ‘son-in-law’ and address my wife as ‘daughter’.  And he used to call my two sons his grandkids.  We were poor, so I thought he helped us because of that.  I was suspicious from the beginning that this man is not right.  There must be some hidden self-interest here.

10:14:38

VOICEOVER:  But the generous foreigner soon won over the boy’s father with gifts and cash.

10:14:44

VICTIM’S FATHER (& VOICEOVER):  He helped us at that time, around 35-45 dollars, and it continued from there.  He visited us frequently.  It was good.  He used to give gifts on birthdays.

10:14:57

VOICEOVER:  He was shocked by his son’s revelations.

10:15:01

VICTIM’S FATHER (& VOICEOVER):  He touched him in inappropriate places, put oil and powder on him, did this and that.  Kissed him on the cheeks, held his cheeks, and grabbed at unwanted places.  Things like that.

10:15:14

MELISSA FUNG:  How did that make you feel?

10:15:16

VICTIM’S FATHER (& VOICEOVER):  I felt very bad about it.  He did that to my son.   

10:15:22

VOICEOVER:  Terwisga is also now being investigated back in the Netherlands.

10:15:28

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  We got abundant support from the Netherlands’ police.  We also received child pornographic videos, photographs. 

10:15:41

VOICEOVER:  Terwisga is being held in Kathmandu’s maximum-security prison.  If convicted, he faces up to 11 years behind bars.

10:15:51

MELISSA FUNG:  This is the case file?

NANI BABU KHATRI:  Yeah, case file, yeah. 

10:15:53

NANI BABU KHATRI (& SUBTITLED):  Maybe you can see it says ‘paedophile’.

10:15:56

VOICEOVER:  His lawyer, Nani Babu Khatri, says Terwisga is not a paedophile – instead, just an innocent foreigner caught up in a crackdown by the police’s Central Investigation Bureau, or CIB.

10:16:11

NANI BABU KHATRI (& SUBTITLED):  CIB has no direct physical evidence against my client … because there’s just a statement of the victim and their family.  But actually, in such a case, what they’re claiming, their evidence against Pieter, that is very weak.

10:16:32

LORI HANDRAHAN:  The police here are really doing very old-fashioned police work, where it’s just straight surveillance and that the foreigners who have been caught, it’s been by chance.

10:16:43

VOICEOVER:  Lori Handrahan is a veteran humanitarian worker who tracks abuse in the international aid sector.  She’s not surprised that so many of the foreigners arrested in Nepal for child sexual exploitation have been working for NGOs, or have been financially supporting families.

10:17:03

LLORI HANDRAHAN:  I do think that Nepal, like any ah country where there are a lot of very poor ah children, is a target because paedophiles look for disposable children.  Nobody should be shocked because this is how paedophiles gain access.  You don’t gain access to children by being this horrible nasty person, right?  You gain access by putting yourself in a position of power over vulnerable children.  So, you get involved in children’s charities, you join the boys’ and girls’ club, you’re a shining light in the boys’ and girls’ club. 

10:17:34

LORI HANDRAHAN:  Predators are sociopaths usually, so they come across charming, and you think, oh this is such a lovely man, but he just loves children.  And so, there’s a huge imbalance between the predators and the survivors.

10:17:50

VOICEOVER:  That imbalance between the accused and the alleged victims presents a major challenge for authorities prosecuting these cases.  Police say Terwisga’s family in the Netherlands came to Nepal to convince the alleged victim’s family to withdraw the accusations.

10:18:09

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  They were trying to influence the victim’s family.  They were trying to give money [some sort of money].  And the victim’s family was asking for a huge amount of money ... and they were trying to negotiate, giving some dollars, [some] thousands of dollars maybe.  I don’t know the actual amount.  But there was a conversation about money to dismiss the case.

10:18:43

VOICEOVER:  Terwisga’s family and their lawyer say the conversation did not happen.  He says his client’s family only came to Nepal to visit Terwisga in prison. 

10:18:54

NANI BABU KHATRI (& SUBTITLED):  They have come here to meet their brother, whether he is guilty or not ... Whether he has committed a crime or not.  They have come here to get the actual situation.

10:19:10

PINKY SINGH RANA:  Namaste.

ALL:  Namaste. 

10:19:12

VOICEOVER:  Whatever the truth of the Terwisga case, those who work with victims say perpetrators often try to buy their way out of trouble.  Pinky Singh Rana is a human rights activist, and a board member of Saathi, a local organisation that counsels abuse victims and their families.

10:19:30

PINKY SINGH RANA:  It is very difficult, because first of all um families don’t want to bring up the issue because it’s a matter of shame also.  On top of that, it happened to a boy, so it’s you know something that even the communities don’t want to talk about or even accept.  Ah when going to the court, there is um a sense of feeling that, you know, they may not get justice.  And also, another challenge that we do see, is there are always people from the perpetrator’s side who are trying to um convince them not to file cases, through different mediums, including bribes also.

10:20:09

MELISSA FUNG:  These foreigners have the resources …

PINKY SINGH RANA:  … Definitely …

MELISSA FUNG:  … to try to make it go away?

10:20:13

PINKY SINGH RANA:  Definitely, definitely.  They do ah feel that it’s a matter of um exploitation, sexual exploitation is there.  But then at another level, it’s exploitation through power also, you know?  So, power, money, is being used to prevent them from registering cases as well as um trying to prevent them to even talk.

10:20:38

VOICEOVER:  Making an official complaint about abuse can be difficult for any child, anywhere.  But here in Nepal, where foreigners are held in high esteem, it can be even more challenging.

10:20:52

PINKY SINGH RANA:  There is a Sanskrit saying “guests are like god”.  So, when foreigners befriend and, you know, build up very close relationships with the parents of the some of these abused boys, then for them, it’s even harder to believe.  

10:21:09

VOICEOVER:  Saathi is now looking after about 100 girls and 80 boys in several shelters.  Many of them are street children and orphans, with nowhere else to go.

10:21:20

PINKY SINGH RANA:  A lot of foreigners have been found abusing ah young boys um in hotspots such as, you know, tourist areas.  And more recently, we’re also finding that they are, not only in Kathmandu or in some of the more well-known tourist spots, but moving slowly to some of the remote areas as well. 

10:21:44

VOICEOVER:  Advocates say vulnerable communities need to be aware that not everyone comes with the right motivation.  And more needs to be done to protect children.    

10:21:56

MELISSA FUNG:  Are NGOs doing enough screening to prevent possible predators from infiltrating their organisations to exploit kids in these countries? . . .

10:22:05

LORI HANDRAHAN:  . . . No, not at all.  Not only non-governmental organisations, but UN agencies as well.  There’s no screening going on whatsoever.

10:22:15

VOICEOVER:  Lori Handrahan says part of the solution is for NGOs to monitor their employees’ online activity.

10:22:22

LORI HANDRAHAN:  Most of the paedophiles always video themselves.  It’s become a currency, even.  It takes on value.  So, they very rarely rape children without also videoing it and taking photographs and then immediately sharing those.  So, to me, an indication that we were starting to stop the problem would be that every humanitarian is monitored.  So, you sign a consent form – just like you have to get random drug testing for some jobs, right?  So, I would sign a consent form that all of my electronics, even my personal electronics, would be subject to random search.  That’s the way to monitor it.

10:22:59

VOICEOVER:  There are more than 40,000 registered NGOs in Nepal, and even more unregistered ones.  And there’s a growing awareness amongst them, of the potential dangers strangers can pose.

10:23:13

KIRAN DUTTA TEW (& SUBTITLED):  In the beginning, we were very open.  Then we found that we could be a platform for some of the things they were doing ... Abusing the child or misconduct.

10:23:27

VOICEOVER:  The Bal Kendra School in Kathmandu cares for about 70 vulnerable children.  Most of their parents are poor migrant labourers with little support here in the city.  

10:23:38

FEMALE (& SUBTITLED):  Hello.  Thank you for having us. 

10:23:42

VOICEOVER:  Funded by a small American NGO, many foreigners come here offering help.  But Principal Kiran Dutta Tew says the school ensures those who come have good intentions.

10:23:55

KIRAN DUTTA TEW (& SUBTITLED):  When somebody requests us, we want them to write a letter and have a reference person that we may want to contact.  And we also ask them what special job they will be doing here.  And most of these volunteers, we like, we develop good confidence ... that they’re working together with the Nepali.  

10:24:14

MELISSA FUNG:  And you never leave the children alone with foreigners, without one of your staff members? . . .

KIRAN DUTTA TEW (& SUBTITLED):  . . . No, I think we shouldn’t leave them.  We shouldn’t do it.  That is our policy.

10:24:24

VOICEOVER:  The Bal Kendra School and other local NGOs are determined to do whatever it takes to protect Nepal’s children.

10:24:32

KIRAN DUTTA TEW (& SUBTITLED):  These little children are just like little flowers.  They’re very fragile, you know, they trust.  They’re wonderful.  They always trust everyone. 

10:24:43

VOICEOVER:  Nepalese authorities insist that they too are doing what they can to crack down on child sexual abuse.  The government recently introduced longer prison sentences for perpetrators and fast-track courts to speed up criminal trials.   

10:25:01

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  We want to bring those perpetrators who are committing ... those types of horrific crimes against children.  It is an inexcusable crime.  

10:25:12

VOICEOVER:  Deputy Superintendent Katawal says he’s more committed than ever to the fight against child sex abuse.

10:25:20

KABIT KATAWAL (& SUBTITLED):  Children, they are the future of our nation.  If we cannot protect them, the nation will collapse [be collapsed] 

10:25:29

VOICEOVER:  It’s clear this poverty-stricken country is an easy target for abuse.  But increased community awareness and a determined police force will hopefully make Nepal safer for its youngest and most vulnerable citizens. 

10:25:46

GFX: 

SINCE COMPLETION OF FILMING, PIET HEIN VAN TERWISGA HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF PAEDOPHILIA AND SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON.

PETER DALGLISH REMAINS IN JAIL IN NEPAL, ON TRIAL FOR PAEDOPHILIA.  HE CONTINUES TO DENY THE CHARGES.

10:25:55

GFX: 

ALJAZEERA [+ logo]

10:25:59

[end]