Somaly mam is the cofounder of afesip acting for women in distressing situations in europe and the somaly mam foundation in the united states, whose goal is to save and socially reintegrate victims of sexual slavery in southeast asia. When she returned home, she was rejected by her friends and family. Interview on newsweek somaly mam scandal cambodian anti. The road of lost innocence is a moving account of a traumatic childhood and also the inspirational story of a determined and courageous woman devoted to helping other girls caught up in the illegal sex trade and violent underworld in cambodia. The road of lost innocence by somaly mam, 9780385526227, available at book. Smf is dedicated to ending slavery around the world with a results. Somaly mam quotes author of the road of lost innocence. Go search best sellers gift ideas new releases deals. Cambodian activists fall exposes broad deception the. Somaly mam has emerged to become a heroine for womens rights and the somaly mam foundation has established a funding vehicle to support antitrafficking organizations and to provide victims and survivors with a platform from which their voices can be heard around the world. Her crusade against sex trafficking, and her charismatic personality.
Together, we are committed to building a world free from slavery. The road of lost innocence by somaly mam is a heartbreaking story of a womans fight out of slavery and her quest to save others from suffering as she did. Somaly mam, a survivor and presentday activist, speaks at conferences, summits, and universities worldwide to share her story and address her solution. Providing grants to direct victim services organizations including afesip 2. Afesip cambodia is a nongovernmental, nonpartisan, and nonreligious organization established at the grassroot level in cambodia in 1996. Mams story gained a mass following with the release of her bestselling memoir, first published in france in 2005. Lexisnexis has joined forces with somaly mam to help combat human trafficking wherever it exists. Now, as a member of voices for change, she works with the somaly mam foundation to fight human trafficking. The somaly mam foundation, which worked against human trafficking and sexual exploitation, has closed five months after its founder resigned amid allegations of. Afesip continues to run shelterbased programs in victim care and rehabilitation, while the somaly mam foundation has three core areas of focus. Sex slavery activist somaly mam quits foundation after. The absence of rule of law provides a breeding ground for human rights atrocities such as human trafficking.
The somaly mam foundation has a mandate similar to that of afesip but with a more global focus. We are devoted to humanly correct development in order to fight against the trafficking of women and children for sex slavery. After being forced to witness her best friends brutal murder, she escaped her captors with the help of a french aid worker in 1993. The road of lost innocence by somaly mam overdrive. Activist somaly mam quits foundation amid claims she faked. Situations in europe and the somaly mam foundation in the united states. The foundation funded afesip, which ran the shelters. A riveting, raw, and beautiful memoir of tragedy and hopeborn in a village deep in the cambodian forest, somaly mam was sold into sexual slavery by her grandfather when she was twelve years old. A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the somaly mam foundation. Born in a village deep in the cambodian forest, somaly mam was sold into sexual.
Mam and legros later divorced, but mam continued her work, launching the somaly mam foundation in the u. Read the road of lost innocence as a girl she was sold into sexual slavery, but now she rescues others. A riveting, raw, and beautiful memoir of tragedy and hope. The email is identical to the text which is currently on the home page of this unfortunate charity organization. Somaly mam is currently considered a single author. Cambodian antitrafficking campaigner somaly mam exposed. Cofounded by sexual slavery survivor, somaly mam, the foundation works to eradicate human trafficking, liberate its victims, and empower survivors so they can create and sustain lives of dignity. I picked this book up after seeing somaly mam in the pbs film based on half the. Under mams leadership, the two organizations seek to shelter and teach. As a girl she was sold into sexual slavery, but now she rescues others. We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to the eradication of slavery and the empowerment of its survivors, based on the vision and lifes work of cambodian survivor somaly mam. In her book mam said she attended school in cambodia, but did not graduate.
As the years went by, mam and her organization went from triumph to. Somaly mam author biography, plus links to books by somaly. Last week, somaly mam resigned from the foundation she cofounded seven years ago. On may 28, a week after newsweeks story appeared, the new yorkbased somaly mam foundation smf, as a result of its own independent, third. After all, she was an awardwinning human rights activist, the head of a multinational organization. The pain does not go away, but it becomes manageable. I strongly believe that love is the answer and that it can mend even the deepest unseen wounds.
She set up the somaly mam foundation, raised money, appeared on major television programs, and spoke at. Having obtained a license in november to operate the new americanbased foundation, mam told passblue in an email interview that the license would allow her to further some of the work she had been doing through the former foundation, albeit on a smaller scale. Victims can lie as much as other people the atlantic. For the next decade she was shuttled through the brothels that make up the sprawling sex trade of southeast asia. A riveting, raw, and beautiful memoir of tragedy and hope born in. Parts of antisextrafficking activist somaly mams book are in question, leading to her recent resignation from her foundation. As of october 17, the somaly mam foundation smf has ceased all operations. Somaly mam, whose foundations work was featured on oprah winfreys television shows and who shared platforms with the likes of angelina jolie. Her crusade against sex trafficking, and her charismatic personality, won her an audience of international donors who helped raise. The somaly mam foundation was set up to raise funds for afesip.
If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. The books success helped the activist launch the somaly mam foundation in. Jared greenberg didnt expect somaly mam to meet him at the airport in phnom penh. Today, with offices in new york and phnom penh, cambodia, smf is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating the trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and girls in southeast asia, and empowering its survivors as part of the solution. The foundation supports survivor rescue, shelter and rehabilitation programs globally with a special focus on southeast asia, where the trafficking of women and girls, some as young as five, is a widespread practice.
After publishing her book, mam launched the somaly mam foundation. Somaly mam, who rose from rural poverty in cambodia to become a jetsetting and glamorous symbol of the fight against the exploitation of women and. Somaly mam, antitrafficking crusader caught in a scandal. From 1996 to 2014, mam was involved in campaigns against sex trafficking. Somaly was raised in the forests of cambodia in a primitive tribe without electricity or running water. Love can heal, love can console, love can strengthen, and yes, love can make change. The dire situations of thousands of victims forced into sex slavery are the reason why afesip exists today.
I remember feeling horrified and heartbroken by the traumatic experiences that she shared experiences that reflected an egregious reality of ongoing sex trafficking and forced prostitution in cambodia. For the next decade she was shuttled through the brothels that make. Somaly mam born 1970 or 1971 is a cambodian antitrafficking advocate who focuses primarily on sex trafficking. In 1997 somaly mam cofounded afesip to combat trafficking in women and children for sexual slavery. Susan sarandon, petra nemcova and russell simmons show support for the somaly mam foundation by elise knutsen 102511 6. Ten years later, mam launched her own notforprofit organization in the us. A riveting and beautiful memoir of tragedy and hopeby a woman named to time magazines list of the 100 most influential people in the world born in a village deep in the cambodian forest, somaly mam was sold into sexual slavery by her grandfather when she was twelve years old.
She set up the somaly mam foundation, raised money, appeared on major. About the author somaly mam is the cofounder of afesip acting for women in distressing situations in europe and the somaly mam foundation in the united states, whose goal is to save and socially reintegrate victims of sexual slavery in southeast asia. About a year later, mam set up the somaly mam foundation, the next step in her long journey to international recognition. The road of lost innocence is an autobiographical story of somaly mam, a cambodian who was sold into prostitution at a young age but able to break out of her pimps prison and rebuild a life for herself a life that she has fully dedicated to helping other young women and girls who have been stolen or sold into slavery and prostitution. A portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to the. Sex slavery activist somaly mam quits foundation after book probe. I remember reading somaly mams stories in half the sky and the road of lost innocence as a sophomore in high school. In her memoir the road of lost innocence, somaly mam wrote of being sold into sex slavery, then eventually making her way to freedom and working to. Every year, it is estimated that over 1 million young children and women are sold into sexual slavery worldwide.
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