Nepal, where over 30 per cent of the 30 million population
is below the poverty line (BPL), 42 per cent are unemployed and which until
2006, saw an armed struggle by Maoist insurgents, it is hard to resist the
money the trade offers.

Dressed in simple clothes, these boys look out for foreign
tourists visiting Kathmandu’s Thamel market - famous for its dance bars, pubs,
restaurants, shops and nightlife - especially after dusk. The poverty,
unemployment and the lure of quick money have pushed hundreds of them into this
trade. Their targets typically are men who roam in groups around massage
parlours located in every nook and corner of the sprawling market. The
five-feet something boys approach them with offers of arranging girls of all
age.

Veer Bahadur, a class V dropout who is involved in this
trade for the last two years said, “We tell them that we can supply a girl of
any age and all their other demands would be met without any difficulty. We
first go and strike a conversation with the customers. We listen to their
demands and then quote our price. Sometimes we have to give details about the
girls to fix the deal.”

These young boys quote a meagre sum - sometimes even less
than the price of one kilogram of sweets - to supply a girl. The girls can be
hired for half-an-hour to one night. And there is usually a constant flow of
tourists. Nepal got 526,705 visitors in 2007.

“If I don’t do it, someone else in the market will get the
customers and I will lose my commission and earnings. There are at least 70-80
places in the market where girls are easily available for sex,” Bahadur told
the media. He said like him there are many teenaged boys in this trade. Most of
the boys come from the poverty-stricken areas of Bhaktapur in the valley or
Salyan, Baglung and Kaski in the west or Dhankuta and Khotang in the east.

“I started looking for clients after my elder brother
introduced me to the flesh trade last year. I have learnt the tricks of the
trade from him. My employer is pleased with me and pays me Nepali currency
Rs2,000 (nearly $27) every month,” said Bahadur. “Some money I give to my
family and the rest I spend on myself. I drink and like sleeping with the girls
for whom I fix deals.”

Unlike Bahadur, Bipin Lama, 16, stepped into the flesh trade
after watching his friends make quick money.“I was envious of my friends who
always flaunted good clothes and expensive mobiles. I wanted to live in their
shoes, so I joined them,” Lama said.

The policemen are not a threat to them as they are heavily
bribed.  

There is a neck-to-neck competition between the boys to win
clients. If the business is slow, then we have to work hard to get more
clients. Once a deal is fixed, they take the client inside a small house that
operates in the name of a massage parlour or dance bar. The client is handed
over to a senior pimp who further executes the deal. These boys then go out in
the market again, hunting for more customers.