By: Tachina Hardy
During the 18th Century there were many
variations of prostitution and one was known as the Yellow Slave Traffic. The
Yellow Slave Traffic consisted of women working in brothels, human zoos or out the
house of their owners. This occurred from Asia to the West Coast. This slave
traffic consisted of babies, teenagers, and children. They were put in harsh
living conditions and were forced to solicit the men who walked past. [1]
With this being such a long time ago you would assume the means to receive an
income would have changed, however this is not the case for those who reside In
Svay Pak.
Sex trafficking in Cambodia can be considered to be fairly
new. It takes place in a village outside of Cambodia’s capital known as Svay
Pak. Svay Pak is an impoverished fishing village that is known for mothers to
sell their kid’s virginity or sell them in general to help make ends meet or to
pay off debt. Many wonder how this village and many others in Cambodia have
been able to flourish in this industry and the answer to this would be bad
economy and law enforcement. Between the years of 1975 through 1979 Cambodia
experienced genocide which stripped them of their educated individuals and many
of the social structures that kept the village up and running. It was also said
that insufficient law enforcement from the government because it had been
reports that government officials were an accomplice to the brothels that sold
the kids by accepting bribes. With the government officials in compliance with
brothels and no outlets for the kids such as schools or any recreational
elements they are free for their parents to do whatever they want with them
which in this situation is to sell them for financial stability. [2]
Multiple families in Svay Pak are Vietnamese migrants who
are in poverty and have poor living conditions. They live in houseboats along
the Tonle Sap River that has nets attached to them so they can catch fish. The
water in this river is dirty and the families that do live on this river get by
on less than a dollar a day, this leaves no room for safety. With that being
said many moms sell their kids for this very reason. This leads me to a story
of a girl I Svay Pak named Kieu. She was sold by her mom to a Cambodian Man of
50. She received $500 from this “transaction”. When Kieu’s mom was asked why
she sold her daughter’s virginity her response basically was that they needed
the money to pay off debt from a loan shark which was $200. She then sent her
back because they had more debt to pay off. This all stems from Kieu’s father
becoming ill with tuberculosis and they had no one to maintain the fishing
nets. Kieu says that although she knows the men are being pleased by her acts
with them make her feel very bad. Kieu’s relative Sephak was also sold by her
mother as well. She was sold to a Chinese man for three nights and her mother
was paid $800. Sephak wondered why her mother would do such a terrible thing
toward her. The sexual act with the Chinese man made her feel weak and it hurt
her. What the lack of money can cause someone to do!
Another victim of sex trafficking would be Toha who was the
second oldest out of eight children. She was sold for sex by her mother at the
age of 14. The man who her mom sold her to begun to request to see her again;
her mom urged her to go seeing that the money was more than needed but Toha
refused. The constant pressure from her mom to go work at a brothel lead Toha
to self-mutilation. She did this because she wanted to kill herself because of
the memory she had of being raped for three days. Not many days following her
suicide attempt Toha was sent to a brothel where she only withstood 20 days and
she managed to gain access to a telephone; she called a friend who then got
into to contact with a former pastor who then got her help and was able to
retrieve her from the brothel. Toha now lives in an AIM shelter where she is
being given an education and has begun weaving bracelets; which are sold at
stores. [3]
The many economic woes that present themselves within the
community of Svay Pak forced the mothers to make drastic decisions which
resulted in a tragic fall for their daughters. Although the act of sex
trafficking may provide an income to the impoverished families that reside in
Svay Pak the mothers do it at the expense of their young daughters who will
never again have a normal life unless they get lucky as Toha did; and the odds
of this happening in Svay Pak are slim to none.
[2] Human Trafficking, "Cambodia." Last modified 2006.
Accessed April 27, 2014. http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/cambodia.
[3] Hume, Tim, Lisa Cohen, and Mira Sorvino. CNN, "The Women
who Sold Their Daughters into Sex Slavery." Last modified December 11,
2013. Accessed April 27, 2014. http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/12/world/cambodia-child-sex-trade/.
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