“At an age when most children might be preparing for their first day of school, Srey, 6, already has undergone trauma that is almost unspeakable.
She was sold to a brothel by her parents when she was 5. It is not known how much her family got for Srey, but other girls talk of being sold for $100, one was sold for $10.
Before she was rescued, Srey endured months of abuse at the hands of pimps and sex tourists.
Passed from man to man, often drugged to make her compliant, Srey was a commodity at the heart of a massive, multimillion-dollar sex industry in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Srey was rescued from the life of a sex slave by Somaly Mam, a former prostitute who runs shelters for the victims of Cambodia's sex trade. Somaly has rescued 53 children, so far. Many of them have profound psychological trauma. Some clearly are mentally ill.
“A lot of them, when they arrive, have psychological problems … very big problems. … And they never have love by the people, by their parents,” Somaly said.
One girl at Somaly’s shelter appears especially disturbed. She was rescued after being imprisoned for two years in a cage where she was repeatedly raped.
She needs psychiatric care, but there is none available. Somaly says she does her best to give this girl love and support, but that it’s not easy with so many other needy children around.”
~ By Dan Rivers on CNN.com, 1/25/07
