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Scams and poetry in Moscow’s underbelly

Scams and poetry in Moscow’s underbelly

Eric Ngalle Charles was just a teenager when he was trafficked from Cameroon to Russia

Lives Less Ordinary · BBC World Service

December 4, 202337m 30s

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Show Notes

Eric Ngalle is now a poet and academic in the Welsh capital of Cardiff, but it's his experiences as a people-trafficked teenager that inspire much of his work. When he was 17, he found himself broke and alone in Moscow, freezing cold and unable to speak a word of Russian. To survive, he relied on charity, girlfriends, and a brief stripping career. None of this was enough to buy him a ticket home to Cameroon, so he got involved in a high-risk scam, which targeted some very dangerous people.

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Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Harry Graham

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