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Because truly, if we were not to think we MUST do something, then our silence makes us accomplice, to this tragedy, this crime against humanity. Somaly, a victim of that trade herself since a child, a powerless and pawn, so often broken by her plight, shows us what one single person can do, and the message of his book should be for all of us to ask ourselves, singly, " what am i doing to help.". Though one of the reviewer's account printed on the back page called Somaly's book 'unputdownable", I have found myself putting it down many times, so overwhelmed and stricken I was by the descriptions of the torture and behaviour inflicted upon children as young as 5 or 6 years old, who have become fodder to the child sex slavery industry. This book should be required reading in high schools for teenagers about to reach adulthood, to show what is happening in the world today, which strikes the most innocent people, and to help publicize it as just not one more problem in an unperfect developped and developping world, but as an example that something is wrong when the most powerful of nations, and their governments, do not even have the will to attack a scourge that shames us all as human beings, and for which there is not one excuse, in an ever inter-connected world, not to intervene.
I will NEVER forget this woman's story. and so on. Within a few months this book has been passed on to six people. Her soul is hauntingly beautiful and her experience is hauntingly painful. How could you.A must read. The person I gave it to said they had to pass it on. I finished this book three months ago and knew I had to pass it on. and so on.
This book is incredible. An aid worker befriends her, and their marriage brings them to France. Somaly Mam chronicles her upbringing in Cambodia. She details the cruelty she faced with brutal honesty.
Reading about her organisation's challenges in dealing with local crime, corruption, and the trauma of children highlights some of the challenges she faces today. Somaly writes about her struggle in a new land, and reading about her growth in confidence and as an individual is inspired. Beginning AFESIP and reading about its work, is again, both fascinating and inspiring. The later half of the book occasionally seems like a fund-raising drive, but the story is so compelling I didn't mind. Tracing her path from an orphan sold into slavery to a woman feted by the Queen of Spain for her work helping trafficked children made me want to donate all my savings to AFESIP. It will break your heart, bring you to tears, and by the end you'll know a little more about the world we live in.
When Somaly returns to Cambodia she begins to outreach to girls who are living in brothels. If you are interested in Cambodia, human trafficking, or want an inspiring and honest memoir this book is a must. Being sold to a man, who in turn sells her to a brothel, Somaly discusses her life as a child prostitute who was horrifically beaten and raped. She also begins to discuss her awakening to a wider world.
In general, women don't like to make love and remain passive.CambodiaThe Cambodians are traumatized by decades of war: `To survive you must be silent.' Nobody can be trusted. One brilliant star at the firmament, Somaly Mam, and her courageous actions made the sex traders loose all respect. A 12-year old virgin girl can be sold for 50 to 100 US$ or used as a deposit for a loan or to pay back debt.Virgins are especially wanted because men believe that raping a virgin will cure them of Aids (instead, the child is infected), keep them strong, lengthen their lifespan and lighten their skin. Now, everything is for sale, even doctor's diplomas. Somaly Mam's autobiography is both terrible and terrifying, as we see what members of mankind (parents, traffickers, pimps, government officials) do and are allowed to do with innocent children (even their own).
Education is only for the offspring of the wealthy few.The whole book bathes in an atmosphere of racism (against dark-skinned people).This intensely moving `human' tragedy gives an extremely gloomy impression of (a part of) mankind. It becomes the slave of a violent pimp: `Now I see girls in brothels with nails hammered into their skull.'Women's fateWomen are considered as servants. But, there is hope. Now, her organization can sometimes beat the culprits in court.Her book is a must read for all those interested in human nature and the world we live in. People can use your words to betray you.Actually, the country is in the ban of moral bankruptcy. Traffickers are so rich that they are more powerful than the law.
She also paints a bleak picture of her mother country, Cambodia.Sex tradeThe sale of women and female children has always existed in Cambodia. They have to show full obedience to their father and husband. Judges are bribed.Under the communist government (after the Red Khmer regime) schools (a real way out of poverty) and health care were free. Parents consider their offspring as money on legs, an asset, as cattle. `Corruption is like a gangrene at the heart of the legal and the police system.' The police are involved in the sex trade as owners, guards, protectors and clients.The revenues of prostitution equal the annual State budget. Marriage becomes a prison.
People consider that keeping a virgin or a minor in a luxurious brothel is a status symbol ().Once sold into a brothel, no law, no police, no justice can protect the child. Being beaten is a part of a `normal' life.
It also explains the social, cultural, political, and economic factors that shape this multi-billion-dollar industry. She pulls no punches.
As deep and dark as it is, it also inspires by showing how amazing things can happen when enough people care. It is not for the faint of heart.
This is the most amazing, compelling book I have ever read. This book will open your eyes.
MB It reveals what mainstream media ignores: the severe level of violence and human suffering that young women and children endure on a daily basis in the hands of Human Traffickers.
The world needs to wake up to Human Trafficking.
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