The stories of child molestation and abuse we learned about during our time there were horrific, including those of the girls we were directly working with which were worthy of anyone’s worst nightmares. Forced labor in Cambodia, including sex work, is statistically alarming, where children are a main target. Life in Cambodia as an impoverished woman who has suffered from the sex trade is extremely grim, with an unpromising future. This powerhouse of a woman takes the word ‘strength’ to an otherworldly level. Working with Somaly and witnessing such courage, love, generosity and such tenacity in helping others was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. After years of torture, she eventually was able to escape, prosper, and build a life completely devoted to helping other girls, saving thousands, while putting her own life at risk in the process. Like many of the women and children in similar situations, she experienced repeated, extreme assault that no human being should ever have to endure for even a second.
Her life story, told in her momentous autobiography, The Road of Lost Innocence, will blow your mind. As a child, she was kidnapped and sold into sex slavery, where she was held captive and raped by an outrageous amount of men each day. Somaly Mam is a Survivor with a capital S and one of the most heroic people I have ever met. The staff also frequently visits local brothels, bringing food and hygienic supplies such as soap, condoms and toothbrushes to the women who are currently unable to escape. The organization saves these women from physical and emotional trauma and, ultimately, from a life of complete misery. We were a group of six women staying in a quaint hotel in the center of Phnom Penh and traveling to the AFESIP/Together1Heart (Agir Pour les Femmes en Situation Précaire) center every day to work with female survivors: approximately 50 girls from the ages of 3 to 22 who had been abused, sexually victimized or trafficked in some way, and eventually rescued by the organization.įounded by one of the world’s most famous women’s rights activists, Somaly Mam, partnered with Hollywood actress, Annalynne Mccord, the AFESIP/Together1Heart center is a non-profit organization that physically rescues female victims of human trafficking and sex slavery, providing safety, shelter, food, education, therapy and, as importantly, love and care. A woman weaving silk in fashion designer, Eric Raisina’s design studio
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