Discontented

I chanced upon a book in Borders and so decided to purchase it since the title of the book- 'The Road of Lost Innocence' caught my attention. Somaly Mam, the author of the book was a survivor who has been through many hurtful experiences. She had a slight glimpse of who her mother was when she was younger. However, her mother decided to leave her for unexplained reasons. Somaly Mam was a taken care of by her so-called 'grandfather' who constantly abused her and mistreated her. Out of desperation for money, 'grandfather' had no choice but to trade her body for money.

CHILDHOOD PROSTITUTION. It is still prevalent in Cambodia till today. And the reality behind childhood prostitution is due to the fact that people in Cambodia are generally poor. Although there are the really rich Cambodians in the country, they never offered help. Because of this, the rich becomes richer; the poor becomes poorer.

It pains me deeply even when I started to read Page 1 of the book. And as I continued reading, I was overwhelmed by many extreme emotions. I felt sad that at such a tender young age, when she did not even know what sex was all about, she was sold into prostitution. I was angry at how 'grandfather' would beat her up when she comes back late or when she rejected the offer of sleeping with men that 'grandfather' had introduced her to. She was raped time and time again till she had no understanding what pain was all about. She trusted clients who claimed to marry her, only to be fooled later that the marriages were indecent proposals that led her to much destructions.

Is there really no end to all these? I asked myself. I finally know the reason why there's an organisation like UNICEF. Children ought to have their rights, survival and protection.

This book has indeed opened my eyes to see the unseen things happening in other regions of the world.