Activist’s Fall From Grace Stirs Concerns About Cambodia’s Charities

Allegations that Cambodian anti-trafficking activist Somaly Mam fabricated details of her past has cast a harsh light on what some aid workers say is routine deception by charities in her home country, particularly orphanages, writes The New York Times.

Ms. Mam resigned from her U.S.-based foundation last month after a Newsweek report cast doubt on aspects her widely publicized personal story of impoverishment and childhood sex slavery. She has stood by her account of her past.

Activists say Ms. Mam’s fall from grace reflects a larger environment of embellishment and deception aimed at attracting foreign donations, much of it carried out by growing glut of organizations that represent themselves as orphanages but whose residents often have living parents. “They are distorting reality so that they can attract more compassion and money,” said Sébastien Marot of the childrens’ aid charity Friends International.