The Official Website of Leslie Sanazaro : Daughters of Cambodia Record

Daughters of Cambodia is a musical project that addresses the enslavement and forced prostitution of women and children in Cambodia. Currently there are over 100,000 girls in prostitution in Cambodia, most of them against their will. Many are children. Most of these girls are forced into prostitution by their own families, or someone in their community. Some are literally kept behind locked doors against their will. Some feel they have no other choice and may be disowned by their families for not pulling their weight. In Cambodia it is traditionally the job of the young women to care not only for the family at home, but also for their aging parents. In a culture still recovering from the Khmer Rouge (1975-79) there are few economic opportunities. While tourism and development grow in Cambodia, providing new employment opportunities, they also bring tourists who seek to buy women, girls, and boys for exploitative purposes.

In June of 2011, I traveled to Cambodia, along with my husband --photographer and social worker Alexis Santí, to visit the girls at AFESIP (a French acronym which translated means Acting for Women in Distressing Situations). I wanted to try to better understand the situation on the ground in Cambodia. It was a challenging trip. As a woman I felt on some level as though my safety was constantly at risk. And even though it became clear that the women truly at risk were not the ones who looked like me, I felt a nagging worry and concern during much of our travels.

The highlight of our trip however, was without a doubt meeting so many amazing Cambodia people. While there was a great gap culturally, some things are the same everywhere. These things I guess, are the real things of life. Light behind the eyes, smiles held between women and girls and the excitement held in each present moment. Everyone seemed so ready to have a good laugh about something.

While in Cambodia, I performed for 3 AFESIP centers in different parts of the country and Alexis documented these trips through his photography and video (and sometimes by choreographing dances for kids!). AFESIP is an amazing organization, founded by Somaly Mam, a former victim of sex slavery and does many, many important things. AFESIP provides:

• A free medical clinic in the capital city Phnom Penh for girls who need medical attention
• 3 centers in Cambodia (and 3 in Vietnam and Laos) that house, feed and provide skills training for girls recovering from trafficking or sexual exploitation
• Therapy and counseling
• Education in Khmer and English
• Reintegration into their community with a plan for employment based on that particular community’s needs

AFESIP also works with local law enforcement on the ground to conduct raids on brothels in which especially young girls are held. These are very dangerous situations.

It is my hope, that by writing this new album of songs, entitled “First We Cry, Then We Laugh”, that I may be able to continue to bring to light these modern day slavery atrocities and that in raising awareness for these exploitations, that we may all put the resources available to us to work on this important issue. To eliminate modern day slavery of all kinds. To raise awareness again to the trampled rights of women in the world. Even in the United States, where girls and children are trafficked and sold as well.

I AM CURRENTLY TOURING this new music along with the photos and videos taken during our trip. Sometimes with a full band, sometimes solo and with the addition of looping pedals and sound clips from Cambodia I am presenting this music to the world. ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS ALBUM BENEFIT AFESIP in Cambodia. We have pressed 1,000 copies of this new album (through donations) and hope to donate $12-14,000 to AFESIP this year. YOU CAN GET YOUR COPY HERE!

Please do what it is in your power to do to help. There are many ways…
• Raise funds or make a donation to a reputable organization (AFESIP, Daughters of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, Kone-Kmeng, International Justice Mission)
• Volunteer with a human trafficking organization where you live
• Host a party, show a video (like Red Light or others) to friends and neighbors
• Use WHAT YOU DO to make a difference—anything you can think of is probably helpful
• Support EDUCATION everywhere
• Support HUMAN RIGHTS everywhere

If you are interested in bringing Daughters of Cambodia to your city, university, festival, special event, church or living room, please contact me at leslie@lesliesanazaro.com OR at daughtersofcambodia@gmail.com



	Daughters of Cambodia is a musical project that addresses the enslavement and forced prostitution of women and children in Cambodia. Currently there are over 100,000 girls in prostitution in Cambodia, most of them against their will. Many are children. Most of these girls are forced into prostitution by their own families, or someone in their community. Some are literally kept behind locked doors against their will. Some feel they have no other choice and may be disowned by their families for not pulling their weight. In Cambodia it is traditionally the job of the young women to care not only for the family at home, but also for their aging parents. In a culture still recovering from the Khmer Rouge (1975-79) there are few economic opportunities. While tourism and development grow in Cambodia, providing new employment opportunities, they also bring tourists who seek to buy women, girls, and boys for exploitative purposes. In June of 2011, I traveled to Cambodia, along with my husband --photographer and social worker Alexis Santí, to visit the girls at AFESIP (a French acronym which translated means Acting for Women in Distressing Situations). I wanted to try to better understand the situation on the ground in Cambodia. It was a challenging trip. As a woman I felt on some level as though my safety was constantly at risk. And even though it became clear that the women truly at risk were not the ones who looked like me, I felt a nagging worry and concern during much of our travels. The highlight of our trip however, was without a doubt meeting so many amazing Cambodia people. While there was a great gap culturally, some things are the same everywhere. These things I guess, are the real things of life. Light behind the eyes, smiles held between women and girls and the excitement held in each present moment. Everyone seemed so ready to have a good laugh about something. While in Cambodia, I performed for 3 AFESIP centers in different parts of the country and Alexis documented these trips through his photography and video (and sometimes by choreographing dances for kids!). AFESIP is an amazing organization, founded by Somaly Mam, a former victim of sex slavery and does many, many important things. AFESIP provides: • A free medical clinic in the capital city Phnom Penh for girls who need medical attention • 3 centers in Cambodia (and 3 in Vietnam and Laos) that house, feed and provide skills training for girls recovering from trafficking or sexual exploitation • Therapy and counseling • Education in Khmer and English • Reintegration into their community with a plan for employment based on that particular community’s needs AFESIP also works with local law enforcement on the ground to conduct raids on brothels in which especially young girls are held. These are very dangerous situations. It is my hope, that by writing this new album of songs, entitled “First We Cry, Then We Laugh”, that I may be able to continue to bring to light these modern day slavery atrocities and that in raising awareness for these exploitations, that we may all put the resources available to us to work on this important issue. To eliminate modern day slavery of all kinds. To raise awareness again to the trampled rights of women in the world. Even in the United States, where girls and children are trafficked and sold as well. I AM CURRENTLY TOURING this new music along with the photos and videos taken during our trip. Sometimes with a full band, sometimes solo and with the addition of looping pedals and sound clips from Cambodia I am presenting this music to the world. ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS ALBUM BENEFIT AFESIP in Cambodia. We have pressed 1,000 copies of this new album (through donations) and hope to donate $12-14,000 to AFESIP this year. YOU CAN GET YOUR COPY HERE! Please do what it is in your power to do to help. There are many ways… • Raise funds or make a donation to a reputable organization (AFESIP, Daughters of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, Kone-Kmeng, International Justice Mission) • Volunteer with a human trafficking organization where you live • Host a party, show a video (like Red Light or others) to friends and neighbors • Use WHAT YOU DO to make a difference—anything you can think of is probably helpful • Support EDUCATION everywhere • Support HUMAN RIGHTS everywhere If you are interested in bringing Daughters of Cambodia to your city, university, festival, special event, church or living room, please contact me at leslie@lesliesanazaro.com OR at daughtersofcambodia@gmail.com


		website design by Alexis E Santí www.alexissanti.com