Blog post #8

Solmay Mam, the author of The Road of Lost Innocence, feels very strongly that the government of Cambodia and it's surrounding countries do an extremely poor job at preventing human trafficking. She believes they simply let it fly under the radar because trying to monitor would be impossible due to it's massive size and the powerful people intertwined in the system. They pay no attention to it, seeing the girls as human sacrifices. The government believes that to maintain peace and order in society, brothels must exist to satisfy the men. If they did not have this outlet, then there would be much chaos and unhappiness. The girls are deemed peasant trash, illiterate and uneducated, and therefore have no other place in society. They are caught in an endless cycle without access to education or vocational training.

I definitely side with Solmay. Although all the knowledge I have from such governments comes from this book in addition to the one I have just begun, Half of the Sky, there is overwhelming evidence supporting her case. The fact that so many of these brothels exist is all the proof. In Cambodia and other countries like it, there are thousands upon thousands of brothels full of kidnapped girls. The law never interferes with these brothels, and allow them to continue. The police are often their main customers, and for a small fee, protect the brothels. Past the police, government officials are equally involved. Rich, powerful men own the brothels and if they are questioned, they kill anybody with suspicions. The girls are stuck without any rescue. They have zero money and nowhere to go, and nobody provides them with any aid. When kidnapped girls are taken across borders, border patrols simply let them pass because it would be too difficult to monitor it, because too many girls come through. The governments have simply given up. When Solmay approached the police and government officials for assistance and protection, the majority of them flat out refused to help.