We visited the City Library last Saturday and I borrowed a book called “The Road of Lost Innocence”. The book was originally written in French (Silence de I’ innocence) but the edition I borrowed is the English version. As printed on the book’s jacket, it says that this is a riveting, raw and beautiful memoir of tragedy and hope. Every bit of that is true. Once I got started, I found it hard to put it down. It is an easy to read book and it took me only a few hours to read from cover to cover.
Somaly Mam is only a few years older than me. As I read about her horrific experiences, I realised that my problems when I was growing up were nothing to compare to what she and thousands of other girls endured and continue to endure. She is courageous not just because she gets on with life despite a poor start. I absolutely admire her bravery in rescuing other girls caught up in sexual slavery in South East Asia. I believe that very few females in Asia would want to fight this war. The possible repercussions are just far too great. I have been a quiet observant of such issues for years and despite living in Australia for years, I still find it hard to discuss them even in my own blog!
Just recently, one of my brother’s workers was threatened by a 14 year old. The kid who hasn’t quite hit puberty said, “If you don’t do as I said, I will rape you. Just you watch it. I will rape you. Do you want that?” My brother’s worker is in her 30’s. After hearing what happened, my mum immediately reported the incident to the kid’s principal and he was promptly given a stern lecture. I asked my mum, “What good is that going to do?” Quoting from Somaly Mam’s book: “Men have the power. Not all the time; in front of their parents, they keep quiet. With the powerful, they must also stay silent and perhaps prostrate themselves. But once these encounters are over, they go home to assume the upper hand and give orders. If their wife resists, they hit her.” Now, the author may be referring to Cambodian men but I think the quote is applicable to many men from various parts of the world. So, this kid (almost a man) may stand silently at the principal’s office, are we entirely sure that the kid is changed after just one lecture? Rape is a heinous and hateful act. People with intent or threaten to carry it out will not back away simply because they have been told off. It is quite possible that the principal’s lecture may have driven the problem ‘underground’.
Somaly Mam is only a few years older than me. As I read about her horrific experiences, I realised that my problems when I was growing up were nothing to compare to what she and thousands of other girls endured and continue to endure. She is courageous not just because she gets on with life despite a poor start. I absolutely admire her bravery in rescuing other girls caught up in sexual slavery in South East Asia. I believe that very few females in Asia would want to fight this war. The possible repercussions are just far too great. I have been a quiet observant of such issues for years and despite living in Australia for years, I still find it hard to discuss them even in my own blog!
Just recently, one of my brother’s workers was threatened by a 14 year old. The kid who hasn’t quite hit puberty said, “If you don’t do as I said, I will rape you. Just you watch it. I will rape you. Do you want that?” My brother’s worker is in her 30’s. After hearing what happened, my mum immediately reported the incident to the kid’s principal and he was promptly given a stern lecture. I asked my mum, “What good is that going to do?” Quoting from Somaly Mam’s book: “Men have the power. Not all the time; in front of their parents, they keep quiet. With the powerful, they must also stay silent and perhaps prostrate themselves. But once these encounters are over, they go home to assume the upper hand and give orders. If their wife resists, they hit her.” Now, the author may be referring to Cambodian men but I think the quote is applicable to many men from various parts of the world. So, this kid (almost a man) may stand silently at the principal’s office, are we entirely sure that the kid is changed after just one lecture? Rape is a heinous and hateful act. People with intent or threaten to carry it out will not back away simply because they have been told off. It is quite possible that the principal’s lecture may have driven the problem ‘underground’.
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