You have probably read or heard about this recent article
that’s come out about Somaly Mam in Newsweek, and the subsequent resignation of
Somaly Mam from her foundation. This seems like a chance for education about
some of the aspects of trafficking in persons that we need to deal with here in
Cambodia and in the anti-trafficking movement as a whole.
This is not an apology for the actions of Somaly Mam. I
think it’s good that she’s being held accountable, but even the information
holding her to account falls into certain traps that I see all too often with
human trafficking stories, so I would like to explore the article a bit more.
To begin with, vulnerable people in Cambodia will often say
what’s expected of them, or what they think people want to hear in order to
help them. It’s something that’s true even in Canada (think of street kids with
signs that say “travelling and ran out of money”). At Chab Dai, our research
team, which is working with survivors of trafficking, has found that three,
four or five years after the research started, their subjects are finally
feeling they have the relationship to tell the truth about their past. It’s
really important to keep in mind that when people are in a position of
vulnerability, they will do what they need to do to keep safe. They are
survivors.
One of the driving cultural forces in Cambodia is Chbab Srey
(literally translated as Rules for Women), which gives instructions on how
women should live. It can be a harsh practice, and once you’ve fallen out of the
rules, you’re marginalized from the mainstream societal framework. It governs
everything from how late a proper woman may stay out, to what they wear, to how
they answer to their husbands, all the way to how they stay sexually pure. To
really sum it all up, there’s a Cambodian proverb: Girls are like cloth, boys
are like gold; when boys fall in the mud, it cleans off, when girls fall in the
mud, they stay dirty.
The whole question about whether or not these girls’ stories
are true or were true is wrapped up in cultural issues much larger than the
Newsweek article implies. It’s not as simple as “Somaly told girls to lie and
now they are trying to tell their true story.” There are a lot of reasons why a
girl (or a girl’s parents) in Cambodia who is known to be a survivor of sexual
abuse would want to change her story. Living down a history of sexual behavior
(even unwanted) is difficult. There’s a reason that the Cambodian government
has a law against sharing the names and identities of actual victims of human
trafficking.
Which brings me to my second point: it’s the same media that
made this happen that are now bringing you a new story asking “how could this
happen”?
There’s been a long battle over the types of images and stories
that are appropriate when discussing human trafficking. Some people would argue
that only by telling the most shocking stories and using shocking images will
people come to truly understand the scope and impact of what’s going on. Others
(sadly, far, far fewer others) have argued for more educational and less
emotional pieces on the subject. The whole reason that anyone ever noticed
Somaly Mam was that she had exactly the emotional, shocking story that would
sell.
Beyond that, I’ve argued before, and I’ll argue again, that
the majority of the media reports on one single type of human trafficking story
– of little girls kept in physical bondage for sexual exploitation. When the
vast majority of the sellers of stories only want one type of story, it’s hard
for me to feel much outrage at the woman who sold them the story they wanted.
Somaly Mam has sold her story to the media, the media sold
her story to their readers, her foundation’s directors have sold her story to
donors, celebrities have gained social capital and kudos for aligning
themselves with her, and the focus has rarely been on truthfully telling what
human trafficking entails, rather it’s often been about horror stories and
shock and crying on camera. There’s a reason Somaly Mam has been as revered by
popular media as she has been– she crafted a simple story (a proto-story,
really) that perfectly represents the story as it exists in the minds of
actresses and certain reporters.
In some ways, this article has gone full circle – without ever
realizing it, our news media has taken someone known for her shocking story,
who gained fame by selling an extremely sensational story to the mass media
about human trafficking, and now they’ve gone and made an exposé about how her
story was sensationalized and how it may not be completely true.
For me, a really great exposé would look at who’s really
gaining here. Sure, Somaly’s been around the world a few times, and has gotten
publicity, but my dream follow-up article would investigate how she was treated
by, famous reporters, celebrity endorsers, and the members of her international
board. Many people made a lot of money off Somaly Mam’s story. Discrediting her
and decrying her actions, without investigating the rest of them is missing the
forest for the trees.
