Loss of Innocence
As you drive towards the dusty town of Svay Pak or K-11 (for its distance 11km from the city), the red-light district on the outskirts of Phnom Penh - Cambodia, you will a continual influx of "berungs" along the way, on their hired moto's. The obvious purpose of these trips are to visit the brothel's within the area.
On the left, right outside the entrance to the village, there is a huge billboard, with a picture of a giant condom with the phrase "We Practice Safe Sex" in a multiple languages. As you turn left into the red light district, rows and rows of brothels are fronted with young girls, smiling and waving trying to gesture you in. The terms "Yum-Yum" will get you oral sex, while "Boom Boom" will lead to intercourse.
Svay-pak a small Vietnamese community, is mainly known for its abundancy of underaged and light skinned girls. A large proportion of these girls have been smuggled in from Vietnam, promised with great job opportunities, however as they arrive in Cambodia they are bound by yearly contracts with the pimp.
The first impression as you arrive in Svay Pak, are the abundancy of available girls who are eager to make that extra buck. What the brothel owners don't make public, is the fact that there are also a wide selection of underage children available for foreigners and local pedaphiles alike, as young as four or five.
In the west, young children smile and laugh about the most innocent things, whereas here in Cambodia they are suffering and being forced into the sex-trade, where they have 'loss their innocence,' bearing pain and humiliation. Instead of playing with toys and learning their ABC's and 123's, children here are the actual toys for firty old pedophiles.
Most prostitutes come from poor families in Cambodia's country-side or smuggled in from neighboring Vietnam. Parents of the girls, are misled into thinking that their daughters will have a better life and more job opportunies in the city. However as soon as the pimp offer an amount of money to the parents as an incentive for letting go of their daighter, the girls are forced into the sex trade and are bound by yearly contracts in order to pay their debts.
Virgins that have been smuggled in from Vietnam are considered delicacies and therefore are an expensive addition for any brothel owner, usually costing them $350-450, with non-virgins they are usually bought for half the price. A "berung" who wants the complete package, minus the disease pays up to $300 per session with a virgin. Once the girls are considered 'used-goods, or second hand products' their value drops dramatically, to as low as a $3-4 per sexual transaction. Some brothel owners will go to great lengths to provide virgin look-alikes, in order to do so, brothel owners gets non-virgins stitched up. To prevent their escape, some brothel owners lock the girls up in small tiny cages, where they are treated worse than animals.
Everyday more and more children from Cambodia and Vietnam are forced into the inhumane sex-trade of South East Asia. Why are there so many sick freaks in this unjust world? Can you imagine your own children as young as 5 being raped and forced to do things that are morally wrong? Can you imagine young innocent children who are supposed to be learning their ABC's and 123's, being used as sex-slaves and forced to do things kids in the west have no knowledge of? "It is a sin against humanity, and it is a horrendous crime."
It just hurts to know that my many young little cousins live nearby the brothels in this area. It makes me uncomfortable to think they are raised up in such a community, and have to witness the continual influx of "berungs" going there for one thing. It just scares me, to think that they 'could' possibly get involved if made to, or threatened to by the neighbouring people of the area, (pimps and brothel owners). Let's just hope for the best
- Allan -
Thank you for having the courage to look at what can only break our hearts. (Comment this)
I did an essay for children trafficking before and its so horrible to know that the girls vagina would be sewed up once in a while to tighten it up just as if they were a virgin. The thought of it just kills! Like everyone else i'm sure, we hope that the world would be a peaceful place. But the fact is, it'll never be possible as long as conflicting opinions and greed exists. But we can only hope that the world will at least take a step closer to being a peaceful place (Comment this)