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Posted: 9/30/10

TAMIU's 'Reading the Globe' Welcomes Somaly Mam

 

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One of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2009 and CNN Hero, human rights advocate Somaly Mam, will speak at Texas A&M International University as the third featured author in the “Reading the Globe: the TAMIU Freshmen Experience” Friday, Oct. 8.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Mam wrote “The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine,” the book chosen for this year’s selected reading.

In her book, Mam writes about her life in Cambodia as an orphan, a sex slave at 12 years old, how she finally escaped that life and how she has dedicated her life to help and heal other young sex workers.

Mam will speak to students Friday, Oct. 8 at 12:30 p.m. in the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall. This event is open only to TAMIU students.

An additional lecture has been scheduled for students and law enforcement officials Friday, Oct. 8 at 3 p.m. in the Student Center, room 236.

The presentation, sponsored by the TAMIU Criminal Justice Program, will feature Mam; Andy Shuttleworth, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Special Agent in Charge; Rubén Pérez, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas and Sister Rosemary Welsh, Sisters of Mercy. The panel will discuss global and local efforts to combat human trafficking.

This event is not eligible for Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education training hours.

Sign up for the session by e-mailing bsi@tamiu.edu

A book discussion and signing by Mam is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9 at 11 a.m. in the Laredo Public Library, main branch, 1120 East Calton Road. This event is open to the public.

Admission to all events is free.

As part of “Reading the Globe,” some students will have the opportunity to travel to Cambodia to teach English, work the fields and clear land.

Students interested in being considered for the trip will have to submit an essay. The deadline is Monday, Oct. 11 at midnight.

Other activities planned to demonstrate the impact of the book and the subject are:

Bike fund raiser: Cost is $30 per person and proceeds will go to the Somaly Mam Foundation and PEPY, an organization the helps improve the quality of education offered in government schools in rural Cambodia. This event, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 13 is open to the public.

“Reading the Globe” film series: “Trade,” a movie about a 13-year-old girl from Mexico City who was kidnapped by sex traffickers,” will be shown Thursday, Oct. 21and “The Killing Fields,” a film set during Pol Pot’s bloody “Year Zero” cleaning campaign, will be shown Thursday, Oct. 28.

Both films start at 6 p.m. and include a discussion led by Marcela Morán, assistant professor of communication.

Admission is free and open to the public.

In the past two years, students have traveled to Poland and Ghana as part of “Reading the Globe.”

For more information, please contact Dr. Hayley D. Kazen, instructor, University College, at hkazen@tamiu.edu or 326.2134 or visit offices in Dr. Billy F. Cowart Hall, room 202B.

University office hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.


 

 

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu