Despair and Hope

Monday we saw the consequences of human cruelty at the Killing Fields. On Tuesday we witnessed the resilience of the human spirit and the healing power of love as we met girls and young women who are survivors of the sex trade. We had the privilege of a brief visit to one of the training centers run by AEFSIP for girls rescued from sexual slavery. AEFSIP is (a Cambodian group) started by Somaly Mam to rescue girls like herself, who had been sold into slavery. Girls who come to AEFSIP are not forcibly taken from the brothels. When they are discovered through police raids or found through the efforts of the Social Ministry, they are given a choice to enter a center and begin a new life. Not all leave. When girls arrive at the AEFSIP center they are often traumatized, having had no education, and few of the skills needed to manage their own lives. The center provides basic education (grades 1-4), life skills training, vocational training (sewing, cooking, hairdressing), medical care, and psychological counseling. It is truly an impressive and inspiring program. Looking into the warm brown eyes of the girls we met there, many in their early teens, some with young babies, it was hard to imagine the violence, and suffering they had endured. The cruelties visited upon them include captivity, constant physical and sexual abuse, exposure to disease, and other terrors I can barely imagine. For the most part, the scars were not physically visible, yet one could sense the residue of suffering hovering in the shadows. Yet, in the midst of this were incredibly resilient and strong young women with a will to live and a desire for a better life. Here were staff and volunteers giving of themselves, sharing their love, and helping these girls toward wholeness. Here were young women nurturing the seeds of hope, greeting us with shy smiles, and taking one step at at time toward healing.