Kim Dolma Meston
Following the invasion and occupation of Tibet by China in 1959, Kim’s parents fled to a refugee camp in Ladakh, Northern India. Kim Meston was born in Leh, where she attended a Tibetan kindergarten. Due to the increasing flow of Tibetan refugees from Tibet to Ladakh, the Tibetan government-in-exile relocated the family to a camp in Southern India. Kim attended the Central School for Tibetans in Mundgod until the age of fifteen. In March 1985, at age sixteen, an American minister came to their refugee camp and promised Kim’s parents that he would provide an education for her. Instead, he trafficked her into the United States. He brought her to a rural town near Worcester, Massachusetts where Kim was put into forced labor and sexually abused for five years.

During those five years, Kim felt that she was virtually invisible. She was young, female, foreign, did not speak fluent English, and did not have knowledge of American culture or the legal system. She was told that if she told anyone about the abuse, her family in India would go to jail, and she would go to prison in the US. Since the minister was a highly respected and visible member of the community, she believed him when he told her that no one would ever believe her if she told the truth about her life in his home.

Kim was finally able to leave the minister, but later found out that he brought two of her cousins from India into his home. Learning this compelled her to tell her husband about her own experiences and to speak out so that other girls would never suffer the abuse that she endured. Together with her husband and several members of the minister’s congregation, Kim went to the police and moved forward with a prosecution against the minister. She bravely testified against him, leading to his conviction fifteen years ago.

Ms. Meston never gave up the hope to educate herself. She continuously took courses and is deeply engaged in social justice work. In 1995, Kim was one of nine Tibetan delegates who participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. Ms. Meston conducted workshops, lobbied and spoke out on Tibetan women’s rights issues. She was featured on the front page of the New York Times Sunday edition.

In 1996, Ms. Meston attended a yearlong community leadership-training program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and assisted newly arrived Tibetans find employment, housing, and help with immigration issues. She finally achieved her dream of a college education when she was accepted as an undergraduate student at Brandeis University. She graduated from Brandeis with a degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies in 2005.

Kim recently appeared as a special guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show titled “Sex Trafficking” where she shared her personal story. She continues to speak out publicly about her experiences with the hope that she can create awareness and work towards ending human trafficking. She currently works with the Trafficking Victims Outreach and Services Network in Boston.