My mom sold my virginity when I was 12: Teenager's firsthand experience reveals the horrors of the sex trade in Cambodia
12岁那年，我妈妈卖出了我的初夜——柬埔寨少女揭露当地那些可怕的性交易

A Cambodian teenager whose virginity was sold to a man when she was a child has opened up about the horrors of the sex trade in her home country.
一位来自柬埔寨的少女为我们揭示了她家乡存在的那些令人不寒而栗的性买卖。当少女还是孩子的时候，她的童贞被卖给了一个男人。

Dara Keo, now 17, told Marie Claire that she was just 12 when her mother Rotana sold her to a 'rich, powerful man' because she was desperate to pay off her late husband's gambling debt.
现年17岁的达拉•乔接受《嘉人》杂志采访时说道：在她12岁时，她的母亲罗塔纳急于偿还已故丈夫留下的赌债，于是将她的童贞卖个了一个“有钱有势”的男人。

'His creditors threatened violence when I couldn't pay,' explains 62-year-old Rotana, who was earning just $1 a day at the time. 'Fear and worry about the debts made me ill. Finally, I gave in.'
“那些债主们威胁说还不了钱就要暴力解决。”62岁的罗塔纳这样解释。当时她每天只能挣1美元，“我当时又恐惧又焦虑，结果病倒了，最后我只能屈服。”

Robbed of a childhood: Dara Keo (pictured), now 17, a Cambodian teenager whose virginity was sold when she was just 12, has opened up about the horrors of the sex trade in her home country
被剥夺的童年：达拉•乔（上图），17岁，柬埔寨人，12岁时被卖掉初夜，她为我们揭示了她家乡存在的那些可怕的性买卖

What ensued was unspeakable but by no means uncommon in Cambodia, where ancient belief derived from Taoist culture dictates that sex with virgins can prolong lifespan.
接下来的事虽然是难以启齿，但在柬埔寨却绝不是偶然现象。在那个地方，流传着源自道教的古老迷信：与处女同房可以延年益寿。

Keo was first taken to a corrupt doctor who examined her to make sure her hymen was still intact - a veritable worry for the man who purchased her, since many sex traffickers surgically heal girls' hymens to resell them multiple times.
乔先被带到某个无良医生那里检查处女膜是否完好。这一点是她的买主最担心的，因为许多皮条客会让手下的女孩手术修复处女膜然后反复售卖。

'Then I was taken to the man who bought me,' recalls Keo. 'I had to stay with him for one week while he raped me many times without a condom.'
乔回忆：“接着我就被带给了那个男人。我被关在他那里一个星期，被他强暴了很多次，都没有使用安全套。”

The man who purchased Keo was a prominent Cambodian politician, although she and her mother refuse to make his name public.
乔初夜的买主是位柬埔寨的政界高官，乔和她母亲都拒绝透露这个官员的名字。

He kept her in a hotel room for a week and would visit her twice or even three times a day for sex. 'He was very forceful,' she says, recalling the pain as 'excruciating.'
他将乔关在旅馆房间一个星期，期间每一天都会强暴她2到3次。“他非常粗暴。”她回忆起当时的感觉是“痛不欲生”。

After the week was up, Keo was left with tearing and bruises and she found it 'agonizing' to walk or urinate for two weeks.
一周下来，乔已经浑身淤痕，并伴有撕裂伤，在接下来两星期连走路和小便都痛苦至极。

Easy targets: Hostesses wait at a beer garden in August 2013, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. These girls are often targeted by rich and powerful men looking to pay for their virginity
易被盯上的目标：2013年8月的一天，在柬埔寨金边的一家露天啤酒摊，女招待等待着客人光临。有钱有权的男人们会来找这些女孩买她们的初夜。

While her case may seem dire, Keo is just one of thousands of Cambodian girls whose virginity is sold each year - mostly to prominent politicians and policeman, the only men rich enough to afford it.
乔的遭遇固然悲惨，但在柬埔寨每年都有成千上万的女孩被卖掉童真，乔只是其中一个。买主通常都是高官和警察，也只有他们能买得起。

Indeed, destitute families typically receive around $1,500 to sell a daughter's virginity, which is equivalent to four years' salary. Rotana was so desperate, however, she accepted just $500.
通常来说贫困家庭卖女儿的初夜会的到大约1500美元，相当于四年的年收入。罗塔纳当时情况很急，以致即使只是500元也接受了。

Vannith Uy, 41, worked for years as a cook at a beer garden, where young hostesses in revealing clothes attract men looking for virgins to sleep with.
41岁的万丽斯•威在一家露天啤酒吧做了很多年的厨师，在这家店那些年轻的女招待们衣着暴露勾引着那些花钱买处女的男人们。

Desperate for money, she sold her own daughter Chamnan Sok's virginity when the girl was just 18, and she witnessed at least 50 young females working at the beer garden succumb to the same fate.
由于急着用钱，她将年仅18岁的亲生女儿恰曼•索的初夜卖掉了。她也目睹了至少50个在啤酒吧工作的女孩们走上了同样的道路。

Despite the trauma these girls undoubtedly underwent, they don't show any outward resentment towards her mothers. Indeed, Keo says only that she feels 'sad' about what happened to her.
尽管这些女孩们很明显都收到了创伤，但她们看起来都没有怨恨自己的母亲。确实，乔回忆起自己的遭遇，只是感觉到“悲哀”。
 

Firsthand experience: Vannity Uy holds a photo of herself (right) and her daughter Chamnan Sok, whose virginity she sold when the girl was 18. As a cook in a beer garden, she witnessed many of these transactions
亲身经历：万丽斯•威拿着自己（右）和女儿恰曼•索的合照。女儿的初夜在18岁时被她卖掉。在露天啤酒吧做厨师的她目睹了太多的类似的买卖。

Her loyalty to Rotana is likely because of the attitude in Cambodia that 'children exist for their parents' benefit, not the other way around,' says Nget Thy, executive director of the Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights.
“乔对母亲罗塔纳的忠心很有可能是因为在柬埔寨人的观念中，子女的存在就是为了父母更好地生活，而不是相反的观点。”柬埔寨儿童权利保护中心的执行理事盖特•提如是说。

'Children have a strong duty to pay back their parents for raising them,' he adds. 'The concept of child rights is very weak.'
“子女有很重大的责任要报答有养育之恩的父母，”他补充道，“儿童权利这个概念在这里是很弱的。”

But there are some organizations endeavoring to put an end to the vicious circle - like Riverkids, an NGO that teaches young girls skills like hairdressing and computers and encourages them to get jobs.
但是已经有一些组织在尽自己的努力来终结这种恶性循环。比如一个名叫Riverkids的民间组织，他们会教给女孩们美容美容、电脑技巧等各种谋生技能，并鼓励他们找工作。

Rattana Chey, now 21, has Riverkids to thank for helping her escape trafficking after she discovered her mother wanted to sell her virginity when she was 15.
拉达那•杰，现年21岁，15岁的时候发现她母亲想把她的初夜卖掉，在Riverkids的帮助下，她幸运地逃脱了这场交易。

Seeking justice: Riverkids is an NGO endeavoring to put an end to the virgin trade by teaching young girls skills like hairdressing and computers (pictured: hostesses onstage at a beer garden)
寻求正义：Riverkids是一个民间组织旨在通过教给女孩们学习理发、电脑技巧等谋生技能来结束这种处女交易。（图为露天啤酒吧的女招待们）

'Riverkids offered my family rice in exchange for not selling me,' she explained, adding that the organization also taught her how to sew and helped her mother set up her own food cart.
“Riverkids为我家送了米，以此作交换我才没被卖掉”她解释。另外他们还教她缝纫，并帮助她母亲开了个餐车。

But in an impoverished country ruled by corrupted officials, many of whom are the ones perpetuating the virgin trade, it's nearly impossible to eradicate it completely.
但是在柬埔寨这样一个贫穷的国家，贪官污吏掌权，他们中的很多人的购买行为是处女交易存在的根本原因，要根除这样的交易基本是不现实的。

'There is an endless number of destitute families for the trade to prey on,' explained Dr Chhiv Kek Pung, the president of human rights organization Licadho. 'And the rule of law is very weak.'
“这样的交易还在侵蚀着数不清的贫困家庭。”人权组织Licadho主席凯克•本博士解释道，“法制在现实中显得很无力。”

Still, now that she's the breadwinner in the family and has helped her two younger sisters avoid a tragic fate, Rattana has resolved to alter attitudes in Cambodia, one step at a time.
如今拉达那是他们家的顶梁柱，她帮自己的两个妹妹避免了悲剧命运。拉达那也决定一步一步开始来改变家乡其他人对此的态度。

'Thanks to my earning ability, I am the most powerful person in our family now,' she states. 'I am determined to break the pattern.'
“多亏了我能赚钱，现在在这个家里是我做主了。”她说，“我一定要打破这种悲剧的命运。”