Women's Conference '09: Somaly Mam, Human Rights Activist

I have to admit that getting to the Women's Conference in Long Beach by 8am was no small feat, especially since everyone knows how much I love mornings (said with the greatest amount of sarcasm.) But I'm glad I did since I was priveleged to experience what for me were the most powerful moments of the conference by far. In this morning’s opening session I, and no doubt everyone else in the arena, was moved by the words of Somaly Mam, a former sex slave who was sold to a brothel in her native Cambodia as a child.

I’ve seen her story before, but reading about it didn’t approach the power of hearing her tell the story herself in front of a hushed arena.   Mam admitted that she didn’t even know her real name, or her exact age. She talked about telling her story to a stranger who in turn helped her escape her imprisonment and how it strengthened her resolve to help other innocents like herself.  

Mam has made it her life’s mission to help children entrapped in the world of sex trafficking and sex slavery.  Fighting back tears, she spoke proudly of one of her ‘children’ who we would be starting college here in America. But her most important message was her plea to the audience to be willing to help those in need, those like the over 5,000 children she’s helped since embarking on her mission as a human rights activist. Her parting words “Your love can heal a victim.”  Powerful words worth getting up early for.

Written by Marsha Takeda-Morrison, aka Sweatpantsmom

This post is sponsored by Lean Cuisine.