Our group has just read and discussed, The Road of Lost Innocence, by Somaly Mam and examined the controversy surrounding her life story and work with AFESIP to help Cambodian victims of sex trafficking. A number of journalists maintained that she fabricated some of the events told in her life story to fit Western stereotypes of a deserving hero; other investigators suggest that journalists got it wrong and find corroboration for the controversial parts of her story. Some criticized her for using children to raise funds by making their stories worse than they were and getting them to conform to “victim scrips,” in order to evoke pity and sympathy from donors. No one questions that the foundation did good work but there are concerns that some of the funds were misused or not accounted for accurately. Mam continues her work and to pursue her goal of rescuing and rehabilitating girls but critics want her to instead address the “market driven” forces and structural socio-economic preconditions behind the expansion of the Cambodian sex industry. What do you think? How do we find the “truth” of this situation when the media extolls a saint and then destroys her for not living up to the stereotype but when there is evidence that stories were exaggerated or fabricated to appeal to donors? Should outsiders direct the mission of the charity or is dissolving it altogether the way to go? How do those of us with the best of intentions genuinely help others without falling into the trap of idealizing our own views of who is most worthy of our aid?
It is a lot to ask of one person to change a whole economic structure of a country. The critics are telling Somaly that she could use her forces for “bigger” things such as the structure of the economy of Cambodia but how do they expect one person to change that? Saving the lives of innocent girls around the country isn’t enough? Even if her stories were fabricated, which is debatable, Somaly has saved thousands of little girls from being tortured, raped, and killed inside of these brothels. Personally, the story doesn’t matter that much to me. The cause of her association has never been questioned and it is proven that she does good work. The sources claiming that she is a liar were very controversial as well. Interviewing people not only of a different language and culture, but also little girls who have been through a very traumatic experience is difficult. A lot of things could be interpreted wrong or maybe they were nervous and said what they thought the interviewer wanted to hear. I don’t know if there is a correct way to find the “truth” in all this. Somaly wrote a book to tell the world about what was happening, even if things are exaggerated they’re still mostly true. These girls are going through those horrible things every single day. I don’t think the charity needs to go anywhere. It is doing a good cause and helping a lot of girls build their lives back. If it was shut down, wouldn’t that make the girls think that nobody could save them and that there was no hope for their futures? I believe Somaly is doing more good than harm in this situation. In these types of situations you have to take all emotion out of it for our intentions to be equally distributed. You can’t save everyone, and you can’t really pick and choose who you save. Somaly does a good job, from her description in the book, at finding the brothels and just saving as many of those girls as possible. Though she wants to save them all she knows that at this moment, that is not possible.
I think you make an important observation that you have to take out the emotion and look as objectively as you can at the situtation. Somaly has experience and abilities that no one else has and her work has been effective. If others want to do something else on the problem, they can.
I believe that there is no concrete way to find out the “truth” because we weren’t the ones to experience what Somaly or any of the girls/women she’s rescued have experienced. We don’t know what could be the truth or what could be fabricated. There is also opposing evidence: there’s evidence to prove that some of the stories were fabricated; however, there’s also evidence that a lot of the victims were afraid to tell what happened to them because under Pol Pot they weren’t supposed to.
Somaly Mam is one person and she cannot find the root cause of Cambodia’s expansive sex industry. I don’t think it was ever her mission to find the reasoning behind sex trafficking. She just wants to save as many girls from that life that she possibly can, all because she’s experienced it herself. I believe she understands that there are preconditions behind the sex industry; however, finding those reasons can take an extensive amount of time. But rescuing as many girls/women as possible right now is a quicker process. It’s quicker to raid brothels and rescue girls than research and investigate the socio-economic structure of Cambodia to figure out why the women sold into sex slavery are usually poor. That’s a lot for any one person to tackle because you’d have to figure out why whole families are in so much debt in the first place in order to even think about getting to the point where there are other methods families can take to clear their debts.
I think that those with the best of intentions have to just help without asking “why”. I think that if you want to help people, then you should just help people, regardless. Just go out and have a pure heart and follow your heart. Because in the end helping others should only be about helping others, not what the helper thinks or what anybody else thinks. Just be genuine in your help and know that you are doing something good, regardless of what opinions may arise from it.
I agree with your statement on helping. People have to follow their hearts that gives them the desire to help. Somaly can do things no one else can because of her own experiences and others should not be telling her to do something else. That being said, she can gain help and advice and I think she showed herself willing in the past to take assistance when it aided in her desire to the help the girls.
In the reporter’s minds, the media would prefer a story on failure then a story on another “hero”. It takes for a better “juicy” read. The ability to recover from blasphemy, I believe that Somaly handled the situation perfectly. She did not allow these allegations to affect her charity work and allowed her donors and supporters to trust her.
I believe that these critics are looking into this situation more than they need to. Somaly’s mission was not to fix the entirety of Cambodia. Her focus was on a smaller scale by aiding the children and young women suffering with the cruelty of sex-trafficking. The “truth” of this story is that Mam never wanted to be a public figure: to be known as a hero. Stated in interviews and in her novel, Somaly wanted the focus not on her but on her cause, to shed light on the battles being faced and also raise funds to help the women: teaching trades to make money and to pay for medical bills.
There will never be “truth”. The truth spoken about Somaly’s experiences that were beyond painful to relive should be enough. Nothing will satisfy the critics in my opinion. Everyone has a weak spot and these women should not continue to feel persecuted for their situations.
I agree with you; it is doubly painful for them to be persecuted for trying to speak out and tell their stories when it is so hard for them to find a voice. I think we have to accept what they say and respect the good work that Somaly has done. Outsiders would not be able to do it as effectively.
I’m not sure that there really is a way to discover the “truth” unless one were to visit the site or live through that experience themselves. I do believe that the media is constantly looking to demonize people regardless of what they’ve done in order to get more views, reads, and money for their media companies. For me, if the good work is being done and helping those in need it shouldn’t matter about the background of that person or if some things were a little fabricated. I don’t think it is right to completely make up a story to gain pity or sympathy but a little embellishment I don’t see much harm in. As for the influence of outsiders, I think the fact that they are outsiders should be enough reason alone to dismiss them. They don’t know the stories intimately and aren’t as attached to the cause as someone working or seeking shelter with the organization. As the outsider became more involved, they could have more influence or say but an outsider should not be able to dictate or direct an entire organization that it obviously doing well for the community. If we truly want to help with organizations we need to leave our preconceived thoughts at the door. We should be open to them in full with no bias clouding our judgement on how we view how the organization is run, what it stands for, and the people receiving benefits from them. Once we have one on one experience, we can then look to offer guidance and suggest new ways of doing things that may help the organization prosper.
I agree with you that unless you go there, learn the language and immerse yourself in the situation, you can’t really know the “truth” of it all. Even then you might not. And we have to be on guard in this country from forcing activists to tell “victim” stories to raise money. But at the same time we can’t throw out all the good work she and her organization have done. She is in the best position to determine the programs that work.
I think regardless of what Somaly Mam did or did not do should not outshine the importance of her cause. What she has done and continues to do is give women a voice and an opportunity to lead better and safer lives. The girls that Mam has helped have been able to learn skills that will help them grow and become more independent. As for the media they should be reporting on the conditions of these countries and not trying to destroy the people that are actually trying to do something. If there was more news about the trafficking stories, then it would be talked about more and more could be done to help. As for the people that say she isn’t helping the “right” way and she should try and fix the market of the sex trafficking industry need to understand that one person can’t take on that much. What Mam is doing is a fantastic start to such a big problem. But in order to change the market and have the people responsible be put away you have to fight the incredible amount of corruption deep set into society. I think the best way to learn about Somaly and all that is happening in Cambodia is to go and see firsthand. To know the “truth” you would have to go and see all that has been talked about and visit these girls for yourself. I think that is the only way to truly see what’s going on and what is or isn’t being done to help fight against sex trafficking.
I agree with you about first-hand observation which is why I am highly doubtful about some of the reporting done on her story. I also agree that we need to give more attention to the socioeconomic causes of trafficking in the media instead of attacking someone who is making a difference, There aren’t many people who can do what Somaly is able to do because she has lived the experience.
It is sad that the media is trying to downplay Somaly’s story, even though she is contributing tremendously to her cause. It should be understood that those with trauma lose sense of times and hide things from memory unconsciously in order to deal with their pains. Especially in her case, every day was a living hell so it is very easy to lose track of times, especially when back then there was no technology that she used or even no reason to watch the clock. It was also found that people who were interviewed lied as they were scared of being arrested for answering questions from journalists by their government. Stories are also from the perspective of the story teller, so of course there are different sides of the story. This should not discredit her story though. It is also typical as a woman to be accused of lying, especially when it comes to sexual assault. This includes victim blaming which women start to internalize (just as Somaly did during her days as a prostitute). Somaly is also doing this specific intimate work as she relates to the girls and is able to help them through that common experience. Even though it may be seen on a small scale, she has helped many girls start a new life. To be told how to do her work does not make any sense, and it is every type of help which makes the end goal be achieved. It is also funny that those who criticize are the ones who are not helping. If there is someone who is interested in doing that work, they should go ahead. But that she not discredit the work that Somaly is already doing. Both are important in achieving the goal. Also when choosing to help a charity, it is all about what you personally feel fits your passion and how you want to help others. It is a choice between on a more personal or larger scale, and the skill sets that a volunteer has. When donating, people should be passionate about the cause and take time to visit or learn more about what they are donating to. At the end of the day, Somaly does want to advertise her cause but it is not to benefit personally but to benefit the girls who are in need.
I think you make a good point that people have to pursue the causes for which they have a passion. Clearly Somaly’s work is important and it seems crazy to ask her to do something else when no one can really reach these girls in the way that she can. It really bothers me that we feel the need in this country to tear down the work of others and criticize activists if we suspect they are not perfect saints.
I believe there is really no way of knowing the “truth”, we weren’t there and we have no way of knowing the whole truth because Mam has been “fact-checked”, proven false and then fact-checked again to be re-credited. While she has done amazing work for the girls and started a foundation from the ground up, I agree there is a standard to be held by Mam and all other non-profits… but a standard should not be upheld by defamation that may or may not be true. I feel that if there even has to be speculation that Mam had to help these children fit a “victim script”, raises a bigger issue such as, why would this be brought up or even an option if there wasn’t a prior concern for these girls to be acknowledged and cared for in the way they should be as victims. It doesn’t help that Somaly stepped down as did Long Pross, this could be a sign of acceptance of the claims but it may just be submission- Somaly has been through enough and already recounted her gruesome tale, why should she have to relive it because reporters want a good story and to drag her and her foundations through the mud?
These claims have not only hurt Mam’s foundation but others because donors are now afraid of false truth’s and the people with the money want to make sure their funds are going somewhere reputable. While that is reasonable it is also denying organizations funds they need to operate and therefore, denying people and victims the care they need. I agree there should be a standard… but I don’t think it’s anyone’s right to pick apart a victim’s testimony for discrepancies or for a juicy article.
I believe that as long as you are in the media, there are going to be people who want to bring you down. Whether or not Mam’s story is true, it is still important to share it. There are countless young women who suffer through similar and even worse experiences. This may be insensitive to others, but who cares if she allegedly fabricated the story? Who cares if BILLION dollar corporations gave her some extra money because she may have exaggerated? I certainly don’t, as long as the problems at hand are continuing to be addressed. After some further research, the one’s reporting on this are popular sources listing no references.
I don’t believe that the foundation should be disassembled because of these allegations. Those funds help as many as possible in unbearable situations. Even if outside leaders came in to take over her foundation, I would be happy as long as they continue with the same mission as Somaly Mam.
I think that it’s the idea that people don’t want to believe that humans can be that cruel to one another. When I first thought of this controversy, the first thing that came to my mind was the controversy surrounding Elie Wiesel’s book Night. In both cases, allegations attacked them at the core of their message, questioning their validity. As humans, we expect a certain amount of civil and moral order and when stories, such as Somaly Mam’s, comes to light, that threatens the moral order that we expect is protecting us from right and wrong. That makes it hard for people to accept the gruesome details of someones life, especially if they weren’t deserving of what happened to them. Somaly Mam has worked hard to embrace healing for victims of Cambodias sex trade. She is providing a safe place for women to rehabilitate. Her work is brave and inspiring. Unfortunately human trafficking is deep rooted in Cambodian commerce, leading governmental officials to turn a blind eye, which in turn, makes Mam’s job much harder – considering she can’t lean on the government for support.
Something I find really unsettling is the weight that Newsweek’s article held when posing these allegations against Mam. Newsweek is not an accredited academic or investigative journal. They used their platform, feeding into the western idealization of scandal and drama, to disgrace someone for their hard work. This is really unnerving, considering that it led to Mam losing donor money and forcing her to leave her organization and perform her work elsewhere. This perfectly shows how western culture categorizes sexual and domestic abuse, deciding what’s valid and invalid based off of personal belief systems rather than facts.