The road of lost innocence recounts the atrocities suffered by countless young girls who have fallen victim to the Cambodian sex trade.
Told by sex trafficking survivor Somaly Mam, it is a compelling first-hand account of the crushing poverty that forces girls into the trade in the first place, and the sickening way they are treated once they are trapped there.
Since escaping the brothels of Phnom Penh, Mam has rescued hundreds of young girls from the same fate; sheltered, clothed and educated them. Although she hates to remember her suffering, she has spoken of it again and again to raise awareness about trafficking around the world.
See this interview by Author Magazine for one example of many:
Yes, it’s a distressing story. It’s not a very nice topic. If you bring up sex trafficking at a party, people are likely to be suddenly overcome by a pressing need to ask deaf Auntie Mavis more about her recent colon cleanse.
But if people continue to shy away from the problem, because it is unpleasant, it will just get worse. So here is the ugly truth about sex trafficking – like it or not:
- Sex trafficking generates more than $7 billion per year.
- More than 2 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade every year.
- Many children, some as young as 5 years old, are sold into sexual slavery by their own parents – for as little as US $10.
- Human trafficking is the second largest organised crime in the world.
- Sex slavery profits are estimated at more than US $9.5 billion a year.
For those of us living in developed countries, with political correctness coming out of our ears, it’s hard to see how these stats relate to us. Sadly, they do.
Current estimates peg the number of slaves worldwide today at 12 million; more than the sum total of all the slaves brought across in the trans-atlantic slave trade between the 16th and 19th Centuries.
Around 17 thousand humans are trafficked into the US every year. If those are the (known) figures in the “land of the free“, you shudder to think how many unknown slaves there are suffering around the globe.
By its very nature, the problem is well-hidden. Liam Neeson does a ripping job of showing just how hidden, in action thriller Taken.
Let’s not make it any easier for those perpetrating this gross violation of human rights to hide in the shadows. Let’s not be afraid to say “hey, I was reading about sex trafficking the other day…”
It’s gotta beat hearing about Auntie Mavis’ digestive problems, surely.
– DF
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I don’t mind that Unknown, which builds on Liam Neeson’s newly minted status as a tortured action hero, is utterly ridiculous. Why? Because within the constraints of its absurdity, it always manages to play fair with the audience. -Jeff Bayer