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Srey Mien's story |
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When we first saw Srey Mien in Krousar Thmey's family house in Prek Kat, she looked like a very playful and mischievous 4-year-old girl. She ran all around us, roaring with laughter. Nothing would have made us imagine what she had already endured. No one knows who Srey Mien's father is or whether he is still alive or not. Srey Mien's mother, living in utter wretchedness in Bangkok with her daughter and baby son, knew full well that a suffering child arouses people's pity and elicits much more money than a healthy-looking child. Susceptible to repeated ear infections and skin disease, Srey Mien was intentionally left without any medical treatment. Crying from pain, Srey Mien spent the whole day sitting by an empty can outside one of Bangkok's shopping centres and gathering much more money than her mother would get. Identified as a trafficked child, she was picked up by a Thai policeman and sent back to the border. Handed over to Krousar Thmey through the International Office of Migrations, she is first sent to Krousar Thmey's protection center in Sisophon. Crying night and day because of her ear infections, still suffering from contagious skin disease and traumatized by her experience, she required closer attention and care than can be provided in regular protection centers. Luckily, two new Krousar Thmey family houses had just been set up near Takhmao. The parents chosen were ready to welcome ten trafficked children to start a new life in a peaceful and warm environment. Srey Mien was one of them. The first months were exhausting. The young girl's health disorders were treated thanks to medical donations and her foster mother watched over her day after day. But regaining good health took a long time. Moreover, Srey Mien hardly adapted to her new home. She initially called her foster parents "Uncle" and "Aunt", meaning that she did not accept them as her parents. Bewildered, she claimed she wanted to go back to Bangkok. Like many former trafficked children, Srey Mien could not see herself as anything but a beggar. But a year later, she has completely recovered and seems like a well-balanced child living with her "Mum" and "Dad." She attends grade 1 at school and is considered by her teacher to be a very lively and clever child. |
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