Cambodia’s warrior woman

Mu Sochua (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

September 9, 2011
Stephanie Sta Maria
Free Malaysia Today

From thousands of miles away, Mu Sochua is fighting for the well being of every Cambodian domestic worker in Malaysia.

INTERVIEW

KUALA LUMPUR: Cambodian opposition MP Mu Sochua moves like a feline. Silent, solitary and very much alert. So when she arrived at the Tenaganita headquarters she indulged in a quiet moment of observation before being spotted.

Then the greetings gushed forth with the most ebullient coming from seven young Cambodian girls who could not believe that the voice they have only heard on the radio was standing before them.

The seven are among 41 domestic workers rescued by Tenaganita from abusive employers this year alone. Sochua, 57, came to Malaysia to hear their stories and to seek the truth behind the sudden death of another worker in Penang.

Choy Pich, 19, was found dead in her employer’s house on July 17. Police ruled that she died of pneumonia but Sochua believes that the teenager was beaten to death and is determined to prove it.

Any other guest on such a controversial mission to Malaysia would likely be intercepted by immigration officials and deported. But Sochua’s low-key movements enabled her to enter the country without any hassle.

“I don’t travel with an entourage because it hinders my contact with the people,” she explained. “When I’m alone I can go anywhere, even into a brothel, and people will talk.”

This is precisely why Sochua is one of the most watched women by the Cambodian government. But she’s hardly intimidated. No one with a life story like hers could shrivel up in the face of power.

When the Vietnam War crashed upon Cambodia, the then 18-year-old Sochua was forced to flee to France, the US and Italy. Her parents remained trapped in Cambodia and later vanished under the Khmer Rouge rule. But not before they instilled the values of justice and equality in their young daughter.

Sochua returned home after nearly two decades in exile and immediately devoted herself to promoting the women’s agenda including human trafficking, domestic violence and exploitation.

Her path gradually unfolded into politics where she held the post of women’s and veterans’ affairs minister. A few years later she relinquished her role, blamed corruption as a major obstacle in her work and promptly joined the opposition Sam Rainsy party. And through it all she remained committed to her original fight.

Malaysian government must act

That fight brought her to Malaysia which had seen a sharp spike in the arrival of Cambodian domestic workers during the three-year freeze on recruitment of Indonesians. Thirty thousand of the 50,000 Cambodian domestic workers here arrived this year alone.

Among those rescued by Tenaganita, 56% suffered physical abuse, 26% were sexually abused and 25% were malnourished.

“I don’t want to undermine the Malaysian government but I am very worried,” Sochua emphasised.

“The protection of women must take priority and the obligations of each government must be fulfilled.

“When I heard of Choy Pich’s death I couldn’t believe something like that could happen in Malaysia…a worker who suddenly drops dead with bruises and all.”

Sochua immediately made contact with the Malaysian ambassador in Cambodia as well a Malaysian who informed them of the alleged abuse. But the former never responded and the latter eventually stopped correspondence for fear of repercussions.

“A crime has been committed and the criminal must be pursued by Malaysian law,” she insisted. “I highly respect Malaysia and I cannot imagine the government being unwilling to respond to this.”

“I think it would be to Malaysia’s advantage to conduct a clear investigation so as to prevent recurrences. Otherwise I’m certain that more Cambodian women would suffer the same fate and that is not the life we want for them.”

It was never the life she wanted for them. From day one, Sochua lobbied for women to remain at home to protect them and prevent them from carrying the social stigma of “the Malaysian girl”.

“In our culture women are not supposed to leave home and even if they return safely with a bagful of money they will still be known as the one who went to Malaysia,” she explained.

“I understand that the economy is weak but I don’t see my government doing anything to address issues of unemployment and the poverty that stems from land grab.”

Land grab victims are prime targets for human traffickers in Cambodia. The families are convinced to turn over their young women to the traffickers in exchange for a pitiful sum of money.

“The system has to be cleaned up,” Sochua said. “Human labour is a booming business that cannot be regulated unless both governments employ a strict system of monitoring. This is what I worry about in the Malaysia-Cambodia relationship.”

Sochua has friends in high places here including within Pakatan Rakyat. But none of these friends were aware of her arrival and she preferred it that way. Her reasoning is simple – she is on a humanitarian visit not a political one.

“The news is in the media and if the opposition wants to take up the issue then they will,” she said. “I’m aware of the political dynamics here and I don’t want to be seen as playing an opposition game.”

“I’m here because I care about the lives of our women. I’m a MP and I could be working at the political level. But I’m discreetly at a Malaysian NGO because of the women out there.”

Change is coming

The seven Cambodian girls marked her as their saviour but Sochua isn’t interested in courting a heroic reputation.

“I’m a human rights activist, not a rescuer,” she said firmly. “I walk the campaign trail to tell women that they have the power to vote for change in Cambodia so that Choy Pich’s story never repeats in their families.”

“I’m also conducting workshops to train candidates for elections. I believe that women in politics and the judiciary will be the change because issues like human trafficking and worker exploitation don’t appeal to male politicians.”

Sochua is under no illusions that her fight would be a long-drawn out one and that a breakthrough could be a considerable distance away. But her hope is rooted in her belief that the Sam Rainsy party could win this war.

“We can already see it,” she smiled. “The people can see that the government is selling Cambodia and they will not stay silent forever.”