Anonymously Yours

The selling of women into the sex industry by their families, neighbors, and/or strangers is an unconscionable act, but as Gayle Ferraro's Anonymously Yours reveals--in disturbing detail--it's also fairly commonplace in many parts of the world. Filmed secretly in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and smuggled out of that country, this searing documentary serves up harrowing tales from four of the estimated 40 million young women trafficked against their will in Southeast Asia. And nowhere is this disturbing cycle of abuse more vividly rendered than in the testimony of 17-year-old Zuzu. Raped by a stranger at the age of 10, Zuzu, a lively, intelligent young girl who fervently wished to have an education, “knew from that point [her] life was destroyed.” When she sought help from a friend, Zuzu was raped by the friend's stepfather and then sold into the sex industry. After becoming pregnant a few years later, Zuzu's own mother, now accustomed to the money her daughter brought home as a prostitute, brutalized Zuzu, bringing on a miscarriage. For a brief time Zuzu managed to escape, seeking refuge in a woefully under-funded clinic set up for former prostitutes, where she fell under the care of a social worker, YiYi (also interviewed for the film), whose own experiences with the sex industry led her to devote her life to helping women like Zuzu (in 2001, after an endless cycle of poverty and abuse and a miserable marriage, Zuzu disappeared). The other women interviewed for the film include Chocho, who attempted suicide twice by drinking laundry detergent and also ended up married to an abusive alcoholic husband; and SanSan, a prostitute who relies on Western clients for money to raise her children. Brutal. Bleak. Eye-opening. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (A. Cantú)