Wednesday 20 October 2010

Cambodia
Somaly Mam
Because she tells her story. Orphaned as a result of Pol Pot's reign of terror, left for dead in the Cambodian jungle, and sold into sex slavery, Mam has written a sobering account of her life — The Road of Lost Innocence — and dedicated herself to the fight against sex trafficking. She happens to have a lovely smile.
Burundi
Khadja Nin
Khadja hasn't released an album in nearly ten years, but her voice — sensual, swaying, nurturing, noble — still resonates.
Burkina Faso
Georgie Badiel
This former Miss Africa has strutted the international runways for DVF, Marc Jacobs, and Louis Vuitton, among other designers.
Bulgaria
Rali Ivanova
Rumored to be inspiration for the word "bodacious."

Burma
Aung San Suu Kyi
This is what a rebel does: meets violent suppression from freedom with words ("It is not power that corrupts but fear"), risks her life for democracy, gets elected prime minister only to have Myanmar's military force her out, wins a Nobel Peace Prize for it, gets imprisoned for twenty years for it, and begins her release fighting for one thing and one thing only: the right to vote. Amen.

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