Greetings Diners!
If you have not heard of Somaly Mam (the inspiration for this month’s DFW charity), prepare to be stunned…
Somaly was born into a minority ethnic group in the Mondulkiri province of Cambodia. Orphaned as a small child, Somaly foraged like a wild animal until she was picked up by a man posing as her “grandfather.” Somaly ultimately ended up serving as the man’s domestic slave. He not only physically and sexually abused her—he profited from allowing others to do the same. When she was 11, he sold her virginity to pay off a gambling debt. At 14, he sold her to a man to be married. When her “husband” (a soldier) disappeared, he sold her to a brothel. Believe it or not, this is where the real horror begins…Somaly’s life in the brothel is simply unfathomable. If she resisted clients in the slightest way, she was subjected to what can only be classified as torture: brutal beatings, electric shocks, starvation…her owners even locked her in a windowless basement and poured maggots all over her body and down her throat, something she has horrifying nightmares about to this day. And Somaly didn’t fare too badly, all things considered: unlike her peers (one of which she witnessed the murder of), she was never subjected to forced abortion and she ultimately came out alive (and AIDS free).
Somaly eventually transacted with a French “barang” who would ultimately marry her and help her start a new life. But Somaly did not turn her back on the other girls and women who continued to suffer her same fate. She began by distributing condoms to girls in brothels, and was soon sheltering escapees in her tiny apartment—an action which eventually led to the genesis of AFESIP (French acronym), a Cambodian NGO which among other things, operates a network of safe shelters across Southeast Asia for victims of sex trafficking.
The Somaly Mam Foundation is Somaly’s answer to increasing awareness and response to global trafficking in U.S. In addition to supporting AFESIP and other initiatives in Aisa, SMF is working to increase awareness on the realities of the devastating global trade in human beings—a rapidly growing multibillion dollar criminal industry second in only to the drug trade in lucre.
Unfortunately, Somaly’s story is being relived by countless girls as I write. In 2005, the Cambodian Minister of Women's Affairs estimated that 30,000 children were involved in the Cambodian sex trade. And just a few months ago, Amnesty International released a study which reported a desperate shortage of aftercare services for trafficking victims in Cambodia.
Our dinner is an opportunity to remedy this shortfall, even if only by a small amount. The funds we collectively raise this month will go toward a scholarship fund which will help rescued girls just like Somaly get access to training and education – from primary school to the university level.
If you get a chance, I highly recommend Somaly’s heartbreaking (though triumphant) memoir, The Road of Lost Innocence which is available on Amazon:
I have also included a short and inspiring interview with Somaly (though we will be showing an equally powerful video at the dinner on the 26th:
If you are not on our evite distribution and would like to be, please email erikakeaveney@gmail.com. These dinners *are* in fact open to the public, though for reasons of privacy and limited space, we will not be publishing event details on the blog.
Thanks to all of you for being a part of this wonderful movement. See you on the 26th!
Warmly,
Erika Keaveney
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