My name is Chariya. I am 12 years and I have seen things that children should never see. When I was seven, my mother died. When she was living she made thatched roofs for people’s houses. She was a wonderful mother. I miss her very much. My father was unable to care for me and my little sister, so my auntie took us. She was not a nice woman. One day she sold me and my little sister to a brothel. I was aged seven. My little sister was aged only four.
We were locked in a room where we could not escape. We were forced to watch pornographic movies, to learn what to do. We were forced to watch couples through a hole in the wall. If we refused, they would shock us with an electrical rod. I still have nightmares.
Narrative as told to World Hope International, 2003, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
