Showing posts with label Somaly Mam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Somaly Mam. Show all posts

Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam

I have always been a fan of simplistic writing to convey intense topics and ideas. Mam does this in her book, The Road of Lost Innocence. She was a victim of sexual exploitation in Cambodia; she was trafficked domestically within Cambodia. Mam relays her story in simplest language possible; she retells horrific experiences with language anyone can understand. Mam doesn’t deal dwell on specific instances instead she generalizes most of her experiences with clients into overarching stories or she specifically points to one story and acknowledges that most experiences with her clients were the same. Mam describes the majority if not all of her sexual experiences as rape. She not only depicts what it is like to be a prostitute, but also what it is like to be a mother missing her child, her daughter was kidnapped. Mam acknowledges the faults of the West when dealing the sex trafficking. She is greatly critical of men, all men, even those who have been kind to her; and the reader can't help but be critical as well. Mam goes as far as to say that all men will sell women given the chance, and in her experience it is almost always true. Mam’s book is a wonderful account of what life is like for a typical trafficked woman, and then becomes more inspiring when she becomes one of many working to be a solution.