Somaly Mam Poradie kníh

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. For the next decade she was shuttled through the brothels that make up the sprawling sex trade of Southeast Asia. Trapped in this dangerous and desperate world, she suffered the brutality and horrors of human trafficking—rape, torture, deprivation—until she managed to escape with the help of a French aid worker. Emboldened by her newfound freedom, education, and security, Somaly blossomed but remained haunted by the girls in the brothels she left behind. Written in exquisite, spare, unflinching prose, The Road of Lost Innocence recounts the experiences of her early life and tells the story of her awakening as an activist and her harrowing and brave fight against the powerful and corrupt forces that steal the lives of these girls. She has orchestrated raids on brothels and rescued sex workers, some as young as five and six; she has built shelters, started schools, and founded an organization that has so far saved more than four thousand women and children in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. Her memoir will leave you awestruck by her tenacity and courage and will renew your faith in the power of an individual to bring about change.

Somaly se narodila v malé kambodžské vesnici, ale své pravé rodiče nikdy nepoznala. Žila střídavě u cizích lidí, na něž musela pracovat, a nakonec se jí ujal snad ten nejhorší z nich. U "dědečka" ji čekal osud podobný životu tisíců ostatních dívek v této části světa, kde ženy slouží mužům jako otrokyně. Somaly vykonávala nejtěžší práce, a přitom sklízela jenom rány. Jedinou světlou stránkou jejího dětství byla škola, kde se naučila číst a psát. Avšak už ve dvanácti ji "dědeček" prodal kupci, jemuž dlužil peníze, a o tři roky později potom "manželovi", který ji rovněž pouze bil a týral. Somaly si našla práci v nemocnici, kde pracovala jako ošetřovatelka v neuvěřitelně primitivních podmínkách. Všechno se léčilo aspirinem, hygienické podmínky strašlivé, ošetřovatelky byly pravidelně znásilňovány lékaři, ale všechno strpěly, protože za práci dostávaly odměnu v naturáliích, což jim umožňovalo přežít. Somaly se dlouho nevzdávala naděje a s nevídanou odvahou a silou bojovala s nepřízní osudu. Když ji však zradil i přítel, jemuž věřila, ztratila chuť žít...

Somaly Mam was abandoned as a baby and looked after by her grandmother until she disappeared. She was then taken into the care of a man she called 'grandfather', but was treated no better than an unpaid servant. sold. Raped at twelve, Somaly was forced to marry at fifteen and then sold to a brothel. She endured years of abuse before managing to escape. 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. In 1997 Somaly Mam co-founded AFESIP to combat trafficking in women and children for sexual slavery.