Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficking

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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by Jaap N. »

Google translation of the follow-up article: another :hattip: @ JBtrain.

"Somaly refused to see their abuse

One of the girls 'saved', who now lives in Galicia, reported sexual harassment at one of the centers of the activist.

His biggest Spanish donor cut off funding

Still from 'Butterflies Mekong, "the documentary about Veasna, she rescued from a brothel who reported harassment Afesip center.
GONZALO SUAREZ Madrid
DAVID JIMENEZ correspondent in Southeast Asia
Updated: 10/11/2013 1:14 pm
When the head of the center of Siem Reap (Cambodia) molested her, Veasna Chan had no doubts about what to do. He asked for help to Somaly Mam, founder of the NGO had rescued from a brothel. She was her heroine, her savior, her goddess ... The ideal to punish the man who sexually harassed person.

He was wrong. Instead of dismissing the harasser, they put her on the street. "Your boss made it clear that if he wanted to stay in the middle, I had to accept what I had," says Pedro Barbadillo, author of a film about the young, one of the 7,000 girls who Afesip, NGO Somaly, claims to have released brothels in Southeast Asia.

The alleged harassment Veasna was one of the first signs that something "did not fit" the perfect record of Somaly. In early 2006, denouncing Barbadillo Veasna moved its main patron in Spain, the Basque NGOs Anesvad. It was the trigger for a private investigation that found alleged sexual abuse at one of the centers Afesip.

"The director of the center [in Siem Reap] and is responsible for reintegration appear to be linked to the following systematic abuse: sexual harassment and abuse of residents and staff, rape, blackmail and abuse of authority," reads the report Anesvad at you have accessed Chronicle. "The highest Afesip address what has long been known by the victims themselves, who have led them to denounce the situation."

The findings astonished Anesvad those responsible. Both relied on the credibility of its report Afesip cut their aid. According to them, they acted in secret so as not to damage the image of other organizations against sexual slavery. But now, after uncovering the lies of Cambodian, have decided to talk.

[Both Afesip headquarters in Cambodia as coordinator Afesip in Spain at that time refused to answer questions in this supplement].

Anesvad had long had suspicions of "bad practices" in Afesip. Had detected duplicate invoices, late delivery of documents ... "The money left the bank and did not know where he was going," says Ane Miren Fernández, a former employee of the Basque NGOs. "Furthermore, Somaly wearing clothes from top brands. Their standard of living was hard to explain. "

In 2006, Anesvad was considering cutting funding Somaly. Between 2001 and 2006, had been granted aid were around one million euros. The complaint Veasna precipitated the snip. They also decided to send Pedro Barbadillo that confirmed the veracity of the allegations on the ground.

In Cambodia, the director spotted six women who, according to him, confirmed the abuse. Specifically, they pointed to two alleged harassers. One Phana, was the head of the reintegration program of the center of Siem Reap. The other, Ou Sophan, ran the center and also was familiar Somaly.

"The human rights violations are often committed at night, after Ou Phana Sophan and have drunk," reads the report, December 2006. "Those responsible compel residents who work downtown to have sex. Some are forced to accept because they need the money. "

As the report met the Spanish NGOs wrote a letter to Afesip. In it, Somaly Mam accused of being aware of the abuses 'long'. "She was angry with us," recalls Iñaki Alonso, director of projects at the time Anesvad. "We demanded that we prove what we said. I came to tell us that something had happened, but had been a misunderstanding. "

Anesvad insists that alerted the content of his report to the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID). This government agency was the other major financier Afesip: between 2003 and 2008, contributed 1.8 million for eight projects. "We replied that it was a complex issue," recalls Alonso. "Somaly said they had a very close relationship with the Queen and, in fact, was about to visit in Cambodia."

In AECID reply that no "official record" of the complaint Anesvad. The truth is that the Agency continued its relationship with Somaly for two years. So Sofía Somaly met in February 2007. Subsidies and continued until July 2008, when cut with AECID Afesip by "accounting irregularities."

For cooperating Anesvad, breaking with his admired Somaly was a bitter experience. But that trance had a positive side. Veasna managed to escape and took refuge in Galicia. There, now lives with a Spanish, his new partner. It was he, not Somaly, who finally rescued from his childhood nightmare in Asian brothels."
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by vladimir »

phuketrichard wrote:her story which gained international attention seems to have more than a few cracks in it.
A most excellent pun, Richard!
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

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The cedar roasted asparagus has good chew. I don't know how to enjoy it, so I'll Instagram it instead.
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by JBTrain »

FreeSocrates! wrote:And.... she's resigned.

https://www.google.com.kh/search?q=Soma ... am&tbm=nws
You seem to be the last to know...
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by StroppyChops »

JBTrain wrote:
FreeSocrates! wrote:And.... she's resigned.
You seem to be the last to know...
But we still value you, and think you very hansum man. :D
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by FreeSocrates! »

JBTrain wrote:
FreeSocrates! wrote:And.... she's resigned.

https://www.google.com.kh/search?q=Soma ... am&tbm=nws
You seem to be the last to know...

oops... thought I had read this thread and didn't see any mention of it.

At least I'm still hansum. :hattip:
The cedar roasted asparagus has good chew. I don't know how to enjoy it, so I'll Instagram it instead.
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by General Mackevili »

Image
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by Jaap N. »

Who's the guy?
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by General Mackevili »

Nicholas Kristof.
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Re: Somaly Mam: The Holy Saint (and Sinner) of Sex Trafficki

Post by General Mackevili »

General Mackevili wrote:Nicholas Kristof.
And here is his article in The New York Times from yesterday...
A Woman I Regarded as a Hero, and New Doubts

While I was traveling in Vietnam and Burma, a story at Newsweek hit home. It charged that Somaly Mam, an activist against human trafficking in Cambodia, had fabricated elements of her background. Somaly has been a hero of mine, and I’ve written about her in my column, first in 2008 and most recently in 2011.

I don’t know quite what to think. Somaly stands by her story, but she also resigned, which gives credence to the allegations. I’m wary because the source of some of the allegations is her ex-husband, with whom she is feuding and who previously had confirmed her account. On some of the details, such as whether a daughter was trafficked, there’s some evidence backing her up. Fundamentally, serious doubts have clearly been raised about her (and about one of her colleagues whom I wrote about in 2009) but I’m reluctant to be an arbiter of her back story when I just don’t know what is true and false among the conflicting statements. I am continuing to poke around.

Whatever the situation with Somaly, there’s no uncertainty about the larger issue of human trafficking in Cambodia. I’ve seen girls for sale in Cambodian brothels, including a 12-year-old trafficked from Vietnam and very young girls locked up and sold for their virginity. Somaly did some fine work freeing underage girls locked up in brothels; she also helping prevent trafficking and encourage condom usage in brothels. But obviously none of that gave her a license to exaggerate or fabricate. So, whatever the situation, it’s very sad. One risk is that girls fleeing Cambodian brothels will no longer get help. Another is that the debate about Somaly’s back story will overtake the imperative of ending the trafficking of young teenagers into brothels. Let’s remember that this is about more than one woman.

...click link to continue reading...

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/kristof ... ew-doubts/
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