Somaly Mam’s personal story is one of absolute terror that reveals the evil which exists in our world. From a very early age, Somaly was victimized by just about every root cause of human trafficking that exists. She was abandoned by her biological family before the age six and left to fend for herself in an extremely impoverished village of Cambodia. The lack of family support and parental protection had a significant effect on her development as a young girl. She grew up lonely and without any positive guidance which made her extremely vulnerable to trafficking. In addition to lacking any family support or financial assistance, Somaly suffered the torment of racism throughout her entire childhood and early teens. This had a profound impact on her self-perception and made her feel less human than her peers. These root cause of trafficking certainly played a central role in the abuses that took place in Somaly’s childhood.
When she was about nine or ten, it is assumed that the couple who looked after her sold her to a man whom she referred to as grandfather. This was her first of many experiences of being traded as a commodity between men who lacked even a hint of moral fiber. Grandfather treated Somaly as a sex slave who existed solely to pleasure and provide for him. He even went as far as to sell her virginity to a merchant in order to settle his debt.
From here, grandfather continued the cycle of abuse by selling Somaly into marriage at the age of 13. While Somaly hated grandfather with a deep distain, marriage did not improve her situation. Her husband continually raped and beat her just as grandfather had. It was around this time that Somaly had met a family which she would grow to consider her own. These were the first people to care for her and treat her with respect and dignity; they became the only family she would ever know. For fear of