The Road of Lost Innocence, by Somaly Mam

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Recommended: Prostitution in the 20th century

The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam is not merely a book. It is an inspiring journey for . Somaly Mam bleeds the story of her life onto paper from as early in her childhood as she can remember up to her present life struggle against human trafficking. An orphan of unknown circumstances, Somaly’s earliest years were spent in the wild but relatively safe mountain village of Bou Sra. At the age of possibly ten years old she was given away to a man who claimed to be her ‘grandfather’. Somaly was expected to run this man’s house, to cook and clean and be rented out for labor in the rice paddies without complaint. After a brief but disastrous arranged marriage, this grandfather sold her off to a woman in the capital city of Phnom Penh as payment for a loan. At this stage in her life Somaly was introduced to the abhorrent life of forced prostitution. She, like countless others, learned to regard herself as nothing more than a commodity, an object to be bought and sold. Her culture demanded her obedience without complaint but Somaly was a survivor. She survived the horrors, always looking for a way out which she eventually found in the form of Dietrich, a European humanitarian worker. Though still a ‘client’, Dietrich encouraged her to take the extra money he gave her and get an education, a job, to get out of prostitution, and she did. Somaly began to take French lessons and moved away from the street brothels. Not long afterward she met Pierre, the first man to ever be truly interested in her as a fellow human being rather than a commodity or night's distraction. She and Pierre opened a business together, eventually married and moved to France. While Somaly confesses that she was never truly 'in love' with Pierre, she respected ...

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...d to repeat the mistakes of not only the past but the present. Personal stories like Somaly Mam's are literary zoom maps through which can begin to understand the very different cultures, politics and situations of our world. History gives us the dates, names and places but the encompassing study of geography draws the lines and makes the connections. Seeing connections fosters true understanding of difference and only with such understanding can we ever hope to achieve anything of significance in this world.

Works Cited
Dahlman, Carl, William H. Renwick, and Edward F. Bergman. Introduction to Geography: People, Places & Environment. 5th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
Mam, Somaly. The Road of Lost Innocence. New York: Spiegal & Grau, 2009. Print.
Mydans, Seth. "Pol Pot." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2009.

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