Erika D. Smith: Somaly Mam puts a face on human trafficking

In her book "The Road of Lost Innocence," activist Somaly Mam described how she was sold into the sex trade as a child by an abusive guardian she called "Grandfather" out of respect. / (Photo provided by Michael Angelo)

Written by Erika D. Smith

Oct 13, 2012

• Indianapolis News
• Erika D. Smith
• Jeff Saturday
• Iupui

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When the sun sets in New York City on Wednesday, Somaly Mam, a woman who was born in the hills of Cambodia and sold into sexual slavery as a child, will sit at a banquet table, mesmerizing people who have paid $1,500 to be in her presence.

She'll tell part of her gut-wrenching story to raise support for her foundation, which is dedicated to stopping human trafficking in Southeast Asia. She'll rub elbows with actor Susan Sarandon, who is co-chair of the fundraiser, just as she has with celebrities such as Meg Ryan and political leaders such as Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Then, the next day, she'll fly to Indianapolis, where she'll share the same story with mesmerized middle-class women and college students. First at the Scottish Rite Cathedral during afternoon tea, then over drinks in the basement of The Sanctuary on Penn.

This is the life of Somaly Mam. She’s a woman of many worlds — chief among them is her native Cambodia, where she rescues women and children from brutal, filthy brothels.

It's her mission to eradicate human trafficking, particularly among children who are sold into prostitution. People, no matter their age, income, religion, race or ethnicity, seem to be increasingly passionate about the fight against trafficking.

And with good reason.

"It's a problem that people react to very strongly. They can't believe it exists in our day and age, and in our own backyard, and there is a shared sentiment of horror and sadness when they learn," Mam said via email. "It's also a problem of people with people: not scarcity of resources, not environmental destruction, but how one person treats another. And that has potential to change."

The potential to change such a horrific reality has caught hold in Central Indiana as well. So much so in fact -- and involving so many different types of people -- that I was surprised by the depth of passion.

They are people such as Mary Schumm, who by day is a project manager for an insurance company, but volunteers as social media director for the anti-human trafficking organization Remember Nhu. She got involved almost five years ago on a mission trip to Southeast Asia.

"God just really laid on my heart that this is what he wants me to do," she said.

Remember Nhu's goal is to prevent children from entering the sex trade by offering them a safe place to live, attend school and eventually learn healthier ways to earn money. So far, volunteers have reached about 1,000 kids.

Prevention, Schumm points out, is crucial because children in Southeast Asian cultures, especially girls, are taught that they must do anything they can to financially support their families. Anything includes prostitution.

"When you look at the face of a child who is 4 years old and know that she's been sold to a man so she can be defiled so he can get his pleasure ... " she trailed off. "I asked a father once in Southeast Asia why he sold his daughter, and he responded through an interpreter, he said, 'I wanted a television.'"

In her book "The Road of Lost Innocence," Mam described how she, too, was sold into the sex trade as a child by an abusive guardian she called "Grandfather" out of respect.

"I was his domestic servant," she wrote. "Such things are common in Cambodia. It didn't matter if Grandfather had bought me or not. Now that I was there and he fed me and gave me lodging, I had to serve him. I owed him obedience."

It's a different mindset. And changing it, Mam says, requires "patience, compassion and slow, careful action."

Today, as an adult, Mam describes the path out of human trafficking this way:

"It inspires action from so many people because of the real stories of sexual trafficking and rapes voiced by the women and children who experienced it," she said. "However, so many people still do not know and understand the root causes of it. There is no demand. There is no supplier. There is no trafficker. There is no victim. They are all people."

Globally, human trafficking is a multibillion dollar industry. The International Labour Organization counts about 20 million victims worldwide, making it one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world. President Barack Obama introduced several initiatives in September, including a $6 million grant, to curb the problem in the United States.

"I don't care what your background is, what your religion, it's because it's injustice being done to children," said Scott Gronotte, a Remember Nhu volunteer and father of three daughters who lives in Avon

. Gronotte traveled to Thailand last year to learn more about trafficking. He came back and helped organize a fundraiser this year that featured former Indianapolis Colt Jeff Saturday and his wife, Karen, as co-chairs. The event raised more than $50,000 in donations to build a home for girls in Cambodia.

Jacqueline Pingul, a 20-year-old junior at IUPUI, also was inspired to act after a trip overseas to see the sex trade firsthand. This year, she helped found IUPUI's Campus Coalition Against Trafficking.

Pingul plans to attend the free event Thursday at the Sanctuary.

"I want to hear the part how she made a difference, so hopefully I can do the same here," the communications major said. "She's the epitome of a woman who came from nothing and became absolutely everything."

But Mam doesn't see herself that way.

"I would like you to know," she told me, "that everyone cannot do everything, but each of you can do one thing to change the world."

Contact Star columnist Erika D. Smith at erika.smith@indystar.com, (317) 444-6424, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ ErikaDSmith .Journalist or on Twitter @indystar _erika.