The project consists of two parts"photographs that show the life of Buntha, a Cambodian woman who was trafficked to China and forced to marry a Chinese man, and images of some hand-written messages from Cambodian college students who learned about Buntha's story through an exhibition in Phnom Penh in May 2016. By combining the photographs of Buntha's life in China, and the encouraging and supportive messages to Buntha from Cambodian youth, the project aims to shed light on a nuanced story about a trafficking survivor, to foster a conversation between trafficking survivors and the general public, and to challenge the stigmas that are usually imposed on trafficking survivors.
In 2013, mislead by traffickers and marriage brokers, Buntha left Cambodia for China in hope of marrying into a rich family to send some money home. She ended up in a poor rural village in China, and got married to Zou, a Chinese man 15 years older than her. Although Zou treats her well, Buntha regretted her decision to go to China. She constantly misses home, but she's determined to stay in China to raise her two sons.
Discrimination and shame have forced many trafficking survivors like Buntha to bury their past. Their stories are rarely told in full, let alone stimulating meaningful conversations. In the second part of the project, the intimate hand-written messages from university students not only empathize with Buntha, when seen in a wider social context, they also challenge the stigmatization of trafficking survivors through their extremely supportive and encouraging tones. The virtual conversation between Buntha and the students present a possibility for the general public to rethink trafficking and how to treat trafficking survivors.
