Cambodian Activist Somaly Mam (Photo by Ken Levinson)Sept 2008
Contact: Janet Sassi
212-636-7577
fallersassi@fordham.edu
Fordham University (New York, USA)
When Somaly Mam was on the brink of adolescence, her grandfather sold her into the sex trade in Cambodia. Today, Mam is a published author and advocate for victims of a global human trafficking industry that sells nearly a million people into slavery each year.
Mam recounted her unlikely life journey at “Speak Truth to Power,” an event sponsored by the Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) and Fordham Law School on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Addressing an audience of 150, Mam painfully recalled the decade she spent in a brothel, forced into prostitution where virgins were at a premium and captives became younger and younger—as young as five years old.
She recalled “having to close our eyes, and accept 20 to 30 men per day” or else face being beaten by their captors. On three occasions, Mam said, she tried to commit suicide.
After she witnessed her best friend’s murder at the hands of a client, Mam escaped the sex trade with the help of a French aide worker.
“I know how to react under fear, but talking here is not easy for me,” said Mam, author of The Road of Lost Innocence: The Story of a Cambodian Heroine (Spiegel & Grau, 2008). “I don’t know my age, my real name or my family, but I thank every one of you who has helped me to understand what love means. Now I have my mission, to save others from the brothel and to help them find a new life, to give them love.”
In addition to being an author, Mam is co-founder and president of AFESIP (Acting for Women in Distressing Situations), an organization that operates three shelters in Cambodia for more than 300 young girls who have escaped the forced sex-trade. Since most of the girls are between five and 12 years old, Mam has opened schools at the sites. To date, AFESIP has rescued 4,000 children from sex trafficking, she said.
Mam delivered an impassioned plea for support against a global human trafficking market that generates $9.5 billion annually, $4 billion of which goes to the prostitution industry. She also urged the audience to contact United States senators who do not support the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year to strengthen penalties for trafficking.
“I can go to a brothel and save a victim, or 20 victims, but the next day they will be replaced,” Mam said. “I cannot stop organized crime, but you can. They are still raping every day. So please, talking is great but more reacting is needed.”
Joining Mam was William Livermore, director of customer contact at LexisNexis, a political and financial supporter of Mam’s organizations. Livermore noted that there are still 11 states within the U.S. that do not have anti-trafficking legislation on their state books.
“Trafficking is a problem that is bigger than the sub-Mekong delta,” he said. “It is here in New York, Boston . . . so even in the United States, there is work to do.”
The event was co-sponsored by GSS, Fordham Law School’s Leitner Center for International Law and Justice, LexisNexis, Priority Films and Redlight Children, a non-governmental organization fighting child sexploitation.
Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to approximately 14,700 students in its four undergraduate colleges and its six graduate and professional schools. It has residential campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan, a campus in Westchester, and the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, N.Y.
Mam recounted her unlikely life journey at “Speak Truth to Power,” an event sponsored by the Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) and Fordham Law School on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Addressing an audience of 150, Mam painfully recalled the decade she spent in a brothel, forced into prostitution where virgins were at a premium and captives became younger and younger—as young as five years old.
She recalled “having to close our eyes, and accept 20 to 30 men per day” or else face being beaten by their captors. On three occasions, Mam said, she tried to commit suicide.
After she witnessed her best friend’s murder at the hands of a client, Mam escaped the sex trade with the help of a French aide worker.
“I know how to react under fear, but talking here is not easy for me,” said Mam, author of The Road of Lost Innocence: The Story of a Cambodian Heroine (Spiegel & Grau, 2008). “I don’t know my age, my real name or my family, but I thank every one of you who has helped me to understand what love means. Now I have my mission, to save others from the brothel and to help them find a new life, to give them love.”
In addition to being an author, Mam is co-founder and president of AFESIP (Acting for Women in Distressing Situations), an organization that operates three shelters in Cambodia for more than 300 young girls who have escaped the forced sex-trade. Since most of the girls are between five and 12 years old, Mam has opened schools at the sites. To date, AFESIP has rescued 4,000 children from sex trafficking, she said.
Mam delivered an impassioned plea for support against a global human trafficking market that generates $9.5 billion annually, $4 billion of which goes to the prostitution industry. She also urged the audience to contact United States senators who do not support the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year to strengthen penalties for trafficking.
“I can go to a brothel and save a victim, or 20 victims, but the next day they will be replaced,” Mam said. “I cannot stop organized crime, but you can. They are still raping every day. So please, talking is great but more reacting is needed.”
Joining Mam was William Livermore, director of customer contact at LexisNexis, a political and financial supporter of Mam’s organizations. Livermore noted that there are still 11 states within the U.S. that do not have anti-trafficking legislation on their state books.
“Trafficking is a problem that is bigger than the sub-Mekong delta,” he said. “It is here in New York, Boston . . . so even in the United States, there is work to do.”
The event was co-sponsored by GSS, Fordham Law School’s Leitner Center for International Law and Justice, LexisNexis, Priority Films and Redlight Children, a non-governmental organization fighting child sexploitation.
Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to approximately 14,700 students in its four undergraduate colleges and its six graduate and professional schools. It has residential campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan, a campus in Westchester, and the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, N.Y.
12 comments:
Those interested in this article might like to look at my website called Border Thinking on Migration, Culture, Economy and Sex at http://www.nodo50.org/Laura_Agustin
Best wishes, Laura
My deep respect to our courageous Cambodian woman compatiot. This shows that this Khmer saying is false and must be rejected: "Men is gold and women is cotton" because they think Cotton, once soaked in the mud will stay dirty for ever.
Again my deep respect Madam. And Good success in your tireles work.
We need good model like you to protect human rights!
Anyway, life of Women will be better when more women have better position in the government.
Why not say that babies as young as 6 months old are sold into prostitution, You will sell a lot more copies of you book.
10:42 AM
Perhaps you're unable to distinguish between "opinion" and "fact."
You need to wash your head with acid!
Dear mates,
Please be carefull with this lady. She has two faces, the public one and the most urgly one.
She is herself the human trafficker. It happened to me one time during the opening ceremony of the Naga casino when I was also invited, this lady brought in a dozen young ladies (Cambodian, Malaysian, Chinese) to perform a dancing show in front of the invited guests. It is her who can introduce those young girls to the guests.
Please bear with me and we have to look very closely to the activities of this lady.
3:01 PM
If she's a crook (like yourself and the rest of criminals roaming in Cambodia),she would not have the opportunity to be invited to New York (or on the US magazine), or talk the the Larry King Show on the CNN.
How many people like yourself and the rest have this kind of opportunity? None! However, you people would like to be on the limelight, but the opportunity never afforded to your kind of species.
If you and the rest of your clan think you're tough, I audaciously dare you and your clowns to a lay hands on her, and see what will happen to you and the rest of the Hun Sen's administration. Remember, she's the international figure -- and, you're not!
Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true to a crook like you people!
I can understand that it is difficult for some people to accept the concept of strong Lady.
But please start to learn because now finally Women bring peace to the world.
Even McCain, the conservative, also accept Palin!
Hi spicygroup,
Talking about Palin Mccain chose, I as an outsider think it's genius picked. Because the Dem chose a black man who has zero executive experience and who is a Jr senator to run for the white house, why can't the Rep choose a woman?
This to show the Dem if you can choose the minority black we can choose the minority woman. The Dem made a big mistake by dumping Hillary Clinton for Obama.
I see Black American still use race card to get ahead, for example the black can call white people Whity but the white cannot call them black, and affirmative action are just damned.
And there are White Dem use Black man Obama to get their need, that is disgusting in the society like America which supposed to be other nations' role model.
3:01PM is a trafficker itself. This 3:01PM is one of many Monsters who do that business.
May he or she 3:01PM be burned in hell.
ONCE A WHORE ALWAYS A WHORE!!!
ONCE A BITCH ALWAYS A BITCH!!!
Hi Mr. 11:29 AM,
Life will be meaningful for you if you are a little more optimistic.
You might to need to learn about meditation in order to improve your positive thinking.
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