An Interview with Theary Seng, on Sex Trafficking in Cambodia
Theary C. Seng is a former child refugee from the Khmer Rouge. She went on to become an attorney in the U.S. but has since returned to her place of birth in order to work full-time for human rights and social justice for her fellow Khmers. To learn more about her, see Nomi Network's, A Profile of Theary Seng, Cambodian Human Rights Activist.
Q. We know that you are involved with all of the human rights issues in Cambodia, especially with regard to trying to achieve justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge. We at Nomi Network applaud your efforts. As an anti-sex trafficking organization, we would like to get your perspective on human trafficking in Cambodia.
I used to live on the riverfront in the heart of the respectable tourist sites of the palace, the national museum and high-end Western restaurants. But here also you find the sex traffickers roaming freely and openly preying on the young children or carousing with them in the open bars and public gardens. Here, it is an open hidden criminal enterprise as the problems run so wide and deep soiling even respectable spaces with their presence and activities. Cambodia is a safe haven for these criminals and sadists who not only exploit the bodies but also the souls and dignity of vulnerable young children and other human beings. Why? Easy profits with impunity because of the lax, corrupt law enforcement and many times the collusion with certain powerful individuals in law enforcement, military and government who profit from the trade.
It is not uncommon for me to hear stories from waitresses who would point out suspicious looking men here and there, each with two or three young girls around him sitting at a table near me in a respectable local hang out on the riverfront, detailing the patterns, frequency and behavior at their establishments. I would sit listening helplessly.
You cannot live in Cambodia and escape the trafficking problems, especially sex trafficking; you only need to open the local or English newspapers, listen to the Radio Free Asia, VOA or one of the other few broadcasts, pass along the riverfront and the myriads of karaoke/girly bars, or have a long enough conversation with another person, and the issues will bound to rise, many times discussed with resignation, nonchalance and only at times with a visceral disgust.
Q. We know that you are involved with all of the human rights issues in Cambodia, especially with regard to trying to achieve justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge. We at Nomi Network applaud your efforts. As an anti-sex trafficking organization, we would like to get your perspective on human trafficking in Cambodia.
I used to live on the riverfront in the heart of the respectable tourist sites of the palace, the national museum and high-end Western restaurants. But here also you find the sex traffickers roaming freely and openly preying on the young children or carousing with them in the open bars and public gardens. Here, it is an open hidden criminal enterprise as the problems run so wide and deep soiling even respectable spaces with their presence and activities. Cambodia is a safe haven for these criminals and sadists who not only exploit the bodies but also the souls and dignity of vulnerable young children and other human beings. Why? Easy profits with impunity because of the lax, corrupt law enforcement and many times the collusion with certain powerful individuals in law enforcement, military and government who profit from the trade.
It is not uncommon for me to hear stories from waitresses who would point out suspicious looking men here and there, each with two or three young girls around him sitting at a table near me in a respectable local hang out on the riverfront, detailing the patterns, frequency and behavior at their establishments. I would sit listening helplessly.
You cannot live in Cambodia and escape the trafficking problems, especially sex trafficking; you only need to open the local or English newspapers, listen to the Radio Free Asia, VOA or one of the other few broadcasts, pass along the riverfront and the myriads of karaoke/girly bars, or have a long enough conversation with another person, and the issues will bound to rise, many times discussed with resignation, nonchalance and only at times with a visceral disgust.
