(This story was submitted to us by Hagar Design, Cambodia. Srey Neang is one of the women who was found on the streets of Phom Penh, homeless and starving. She is now working at Hagar Design and involved in creating our Cambodian Silk Bag of Smiles)
Srey Neang was orphaned as a young child when her father sold her at a border camp. She was bought by an old woman who took her to live in Pailin province in North East Cambodia. The old woman however treated Srey Neang badly. And from that moment on, Srey Neang's life became miserable.
When Srey Neang was barely 15 years old her life took a turn. With the permission of the old woman, a neighbour invited her to move to another Northern Province - Siem Reap. Srey Neang was very excited about visiting Siem Reap, but was quickly disappointed when the neighbour told her there was a change of plans. Instead of taking her to Siem Reap he was going to take her to another province where they would stay for a few days before journeying onto Siem Reap.
Several days later the neighbour announced that today they would go Siem Reap. He arranged for Srey Neang to have her hair and make up done and found a nice dress for her to wear when she visited Siem Reap. In anticipation of the visit Srey Neang was very excited, but she soon iscovered that this had all been a terrible plot - for that night instead of going to Siem Reap she was visited by an old man . She understood in that moment that she had been bought from the old woman and was now going to be forced to have sex with strange men. When she saw the old man, Srey Neang began to weep. And the old man, feeling sorry for her, said that he would not rape her and left the house.
The house was her prison. There were other girls living in the house also being forced to work as prostitutes. Police in the area heard that is was a brothel and came to do raid on the brothel. The police rescued her and the other girls, but later the owner of the brothel came to police and took Srey Neang back.
Srey Neang begged the owner of the brothel to take her to Siem Reap, but he told her that he didn't have enough money to take her. A man came to the brothel and said that he wanted to sleep with her every day over the next week. Each night that he came to the brothel he would cut away of piece of wire that kept the girls locked inside the brothel. After a week the hole was big enough for her and another girl to escape. The girls found a moto driver who helped them escape first to another province and then to Phnom Penh - Cambodia's capital city. The moto driver took her to his aunt's house and told her to stay there. He said she would be safe there.
A few days later he came back and told her that he had come to find her a job. He told her that because of her experience as a prostitute she would have to be a prostitute again. She agreed to do it for one more month. Every month she would have to give $20 to $30 of her earnings to the moto driver who helped her. After six months, Srey Neang ran away and went to stay with a friend in Phnom Penh. She fell in love with her friend's husband and soon became pregnant with his son. After she had the baby the husband left her and went back to his wife. She was alone with her baby, had no money and no place to go. She slept on the street outside the hospital until one day a doctor told her about Hagar.
Srey Neang came to Hagar - a non profit organization that supports homeless women - where she lived with other women, received counseling and child care and went to literacy classes. She also took on vocational training in sewing skills. When she completed her sewing training she was accepted to work at Hagar Design as a seamstress. Today, she makes $45 to $50 each month. With this money she can pay rent for a house and look after her son by sending him to school and making sure he is well fed. Her life has been difficult but Srey Neang is positive about the future and providing for her children.
(photos courtesy of Hagar Design)