Cambodia: Unfortunate Unknowns

           As we continue on with our lives, we don’t really see the whole picture of the world. For many people the life they know and have only experienced was of where they were born and raised, not venturing far from the comforts of home. Unfortunately, as this happens we become blind to the world around us, turning away from the worst of the world and people. As an avid adventurer and traveler, I love the new cultures and experiences out there, but as you learn more about the countries you travel to, not everything is as great as it seems. Over the past summer I traveled to Cambodia to experience the culture, food, and environmental impacts of logging, mining and other ecological hazards. While learning about the Khmer people and history before the expedition, I and my fellow travelers discovered some of the hidden tragedies of Cambodia.

            Before the trip we had read several books and articles about the illegal trades that have and are still occurring in Cambodia. As a third world country, the possibilities of problems that occur on the streets of Cambodian towns and cities are endless, many of which are not known or stopped by law enforcement. Some of these illegal events include drug trafficking, types of Cambodian mafias, and sex trafficking. One of the most widely increasing and unfortunate illegal sex trafficking is of women and children in Cambodia. While reading through my newsfeed I recently found a video of actress, Miro Sorvino’s firsthand experience of seeing some of the men behind children sex trafficking in the town of Sway Pak. In the video it was said that most of these men traffic their own children. Sorvino’s reaction was of shock and disgust, knowing that they do this to their own children.

I feel the same shock and disgust knowing that there are monsters like this out there all over the world taking advantage of women and children in this way, it makes me sick. Although Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with people struggling to earn money for their families, that is no excuse for selling your own children to people for sex. I would like to think that something like this does not happen in this world we live in, but it does, and it happens every day. Although it is tough learning about events like this happening all across the world, it is very difficult seeing it firsthand. You may think it would be easiest to just arrest the men involved in the trafficking, like the ones in the video, now and put a stop to the sex trade, the trafficking is much larger than you can imagine. Men like the ones in the video are only the surface of sex trafficking, and unfortunately the law enforcement found in Cambodia is often times corrupt and may even be involved in the local trafficking rings. For the many women and children forced into the sex trade, they may never receive the help to get out.