heART for the kidS

Heroic. It is a good word to describe the girls who were brave enough to face their former attacker and testify against him. Michael Pepe, a former U.S. Marine, repeatedly raped and abused these little girls while in Cambodia.They were willing to relive their trauma to protect other girls from experiencing their pain at his hands. Six little girls – aged 9-14 at the time of the trial – were brought from Agape Restoration Center to Los Angeles, CA to testify against this American pedophile. They clutched their stuffed animals and a stone with the word “truth” inscribed on it. The stone was to symbolize the fatal stone David launched at Goliath.

When Pepe learned the girls were flying across the world to testify, he made a phone call to a contact from Cambodia. He said to do “whatever it takes” to make sure the girls do not make it to the courtroom.

Below is the story one of the six girls’ story, written in her own words. Her name is withheld for her own protection.

When I was 12 years old, I lived in Michael Pepe’s house near Morn Ang Market, near ARC office, with other 4 girls, a cook, a security person, and Michael Pepe. I went to live there because Ms. Sang, my neighbour called me to live there to work as a cleaner. I want to help my family working as a house cleaner.

When I arrived at Michael’s house, I feel upset, scared, afraid, and lonely because all the other girls can go out except me.

I live in Michael’s house only one month. In the first 2 weeks I lived there I was scared, afraid and worked as a cleaner. Then Michael raped me when no one was in his house. Michael called me in his room, tied and raped me. He hit me when I call out loudly for others to help me because a security person was outside the door, but he hit me more and put a rag in my mouth. When he raped me, it hurt me very much. I hate myself, I am angry, shy, and regretful. I feel I have no value. I feel like I am in a jail and I am very afraid of him.

After that day he forced me to watch sex movies then he would tie me up and rape me. He always did that every time he raped me. He would do like they do in the sex movies he watches and forced me to watch and do the same also.

Every time Pepe raped me, I feel so scared afraid, I think I live in a jail.

Things only got worse before they got better. She was when then sent to Terry Smith (another American who was never convicted for his Cambodian escapades)’s “Tramp Palace.” There, she was no longer raped by one man, but by 7 to 10 men every day for months.

Today, years later, she is living in ARC, attending school with plans to go to university in the future:

But now I am not thinking about this anymore. I am studying hard and think about my future and want to help other children as I can when I am older. Today I am 15 years old and live in ARC with all my friends and all the staff. I’m very happy; I am not afraid or scare anymore. I sleep good. I have a ARC a good daddy, good house mother, good studies. I have learned I have value and dignity, beauty. I did not think I had this before. I have many people who love me and help me to have hope in my lifetime.

In the future, I want to be a counselor because I want to help other children. I am afraid they will become a victim of rape and beatings like me. I want to help my family and take my niece to school.

The author of this story is still living in ARC. She is continuing to work towards her goal of helping other girls who have experienced similar horrors.

Michael Pepe was convicted on all charges of child abuse in Cambodia. However, his attorney is arguing a loophole in the law. The law states that sex with a child “while traveling overseas” will result in extradition and respective punishment. His attorney argued that Michael was beyond the 90 day travel time limit, therefore living in Cambodia, not traveling. As crazy as it might sound, this argument is gaining ground.

For more information about Michael Pepe and the trial, check out the following sites:

-”U.S. Government Prosecutes American Citizen for Sex Crimes against Cambodian Children.” LA Times Article. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/26/local/me-kids26/2. 26 September 2008.

-”U.S. Government Prosecutes American Citizen for Sex Crimes against Cambodian Children.” US Embassy, Phnom Penh Cambodia. http://cambodia.usembassy.gov/pr_021207.html. 12 February 2007.

My old philosophy teacher taught me that we cannot appreciate the little things in life without contrasts: there is no hot without cold, no light without darkness, and no happiness without sadness. Nowhere is this more true than in Cambodia. Cambodia is a remarkably beautiful country with an excessively ugly history. It has witnessed utter horror and tragedy, and yet so many of its people are fighting to make it a better place.

We had the opportunity to explore Agape Restoration Center this weekend. It is here that victims of trafficking and/or sexual abuse are given the tools to heal the physical, verbal, and emotional wounds inflicted upon them. It is here where the brave young girls who testified against former U.S. Marine, Michael Pepe, despite threats against their lives, reside. It is here where the owner of the bloodied pants now makes her home. It is here where 58 beautiful stories of hope, life, and a future can take refuge.

ARC truly is a refuge, a place of tranquility, and a place to heal. The girls attend school, counseling sessions, art therapy, and optional devotional and exercise time. From the outside, ARC doesn’t look very impressive. It is marked by barb wire walls, complete with video surveillance and a guard at the door. Once inside however, it feels like a tropical resort. Girls were laughing and playing next to the pool; others were pushing each other on the swings under the palm trees. Many of them looked like they didn’t have a care in the world. That is, until fierce rivalries between the girls began to surface. For being a place of peace and tranquility, the tensions were high. The girls were divided by a net, and the volleyball game had begun. Fans were cheering on both sides for the Sunflowers or the Roses. It didn’t matter that it was over 100* and full humidity, the sidelines were packed with spectators.

ARC truly is a place where miracles happen. Currently, there are 58 little ones in the Center, with approximately 53 ARC Alumni. Upon arrival, the girl is ushered into her very own princess ceremony, where she is crowned with a tiara, and given a box of her own things. The counselors and coordinators work hard to ensure that every little girl knows how unique, beautiful, and special she is. The trauma, abuse, and rape that she has endured was not her fault. She is not a bad person because of what someone else did to her. She is told over and over again that she is loved. Her counselors love her, God loves her, and Jesus does too.

When the little 10 year old girl who was the subject of the last blog arrived last week, she was sullen, quiet, and disengaged. In recent days, she is participating in exercises, and is just beginning to find her smile once again. This is beauty in the midst of sadness.

***WARNING: GRAPHIC MATERIAL BELOW***

This week has begun much like last week ended. Paint, kids, heat, humidity, and paint. The kids really have been the highlight of the trip. Even some of the shyest girls have warmed up to us, to the point that they are at the center waiting for us before we are even there. When we arrived today, Pastor Chantaa and some of his Kids Club kids were hard at work on their hands and knees. They were scrubbing dried paint from our murals off the tile floor.

Kids Club is essentially an after school program to keep kids occupied, and to keep them constructive in an otherwise destructive neighborhood. Every afternoon, kids rush in by the dozens to learn songs, Bible stories, play games, and do arts and crafts. It keeps them off the streets, and under the watchful eyes of Pastor Chantaa and his staff. The kids who attend are a lively group, the way children should be. What sets this bunch of Kids Club kids apart from other after school groups however, is the precarious situation these kids are in. Pastor Chantha works doggedly to protect these kids from domestic, and especially foreign pedophiles. Just last night, it was Peter, the overweight Englishman. Peter is a Svay Pak regular who frequents the Svay Pak coffeehouses with a Madame and her catalog of little girls. Last week it was the Chinese man who went door to door, until he finally knocked on the church door. He indicated he was looking for someone about waist high, then inserted his index finger in and out of a circle he made with his other hand, using the only two English words he apparently knew: “little women.” He was of course abruptly turned away.

Pastor Chantaa has his staff on the lookout for foreigners that visit this decrepit little neighborhood. They regularly confront and intimidate foreigners spotted there, putting cameras in their face. They usually pass the photos off to the respective embassy. Today I saw the undercover photos taken of Peter last night with the madame assisting his prurient quest. It was shocking to see this rotund man at the same coffee house we frequent during the day with the kids, especially knowing it could have been one of our kids he was after. Pastor Chantaa and the Brewsters have tried to work in collaboration with the Anti-Trafficking Task Force to catch the bad guys, but they have a consistent track record of doing too little, too late. The girl always ends up raped, and her attacker always gets away.

And today we saw evidence of that. Pastor brought in a small bag of clothing, that would otherwise appear to be completely innocuous. That was, until he pulled the clothing out. Just the sight of the pants was enough to make the room spin around me. He pulled out a small pair of bright, polka dot pants. They looked like something any one of the girls playing in the room next to me would have worn. In the crotch, there were blood stains. My first reaction was that they were just period stains. Besides being an embarrassing surprise visit from “Auntie Flow,” any girl’s nightmare of course, they appeared innocent enough.

Then I looked closer. The pants were made for a small child. The girl who wore those pants couldn’t have weighed more than 40 or 50 pounds. There was no way a child that size could be old enough to even have a period. Chantaa said the girl those pants belonged to was barely 10 years old. The man who raped her was 45. He told her that if she told anyone, he would kill her. She went home that night irreparably damaged and broken, too scared to tell a soul. Five full days passed when one of the neighbors noticed she had been bleeding. It took another two days after that before the girl finally admitted her trauma, and allowed the neighbor and Pastor Chantaa to rush her to the hospital to treat internal bleeding.

After she has time to heal, she will be rushed to Agape Restoration Center, where she will be protected from an apathetic family and a vengeful rapist. She will continue to receive treatment for physical wounds, and over the years to come, for emotional wounds as well.