A Heroine From The Brothels

Here is a fascinating op-ed piece by Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times about an incredible woman who is fighting in the war against human trafficking.

Two amazing things:

1) The woman's name is Somaly Mam, and she can sympathize with the victims of human trafficking because she was a victim herself. Somaly is from Cambodia, and one time when she would not back down from rescuing women in brothels, some brothel owners kidnapped her 14 year old daughter and brutalized her.

2) Kristoff was also featured in the movie Call And Response, a documentary about human trafficking that weaves stories and interviews with incredible music. Kristoff bought two slaves with his own money while out in Southeast Asia finding out more about this problem. One woman returned back to her life in the brothel, but the other woman stayed away.

Somaly's website can be found here. You can see an interview with Somaly Mam at on the left hand side of the op-ed piece above.

To see a trailer of the great movie Call + Response, you can go here.