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Outlook: 'Russia formed me' - The odyssey of a people-trafficked poet

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CROPPED Eric Ngalle - Credit Eric Ngalle.jpg

31/10/2023 GMT

'Russia formed me' - The odyssey of a people-trafficked poet

BBC World Service - Outlook, 'Russia formed me' - The odyssey of a people-trafficked poet

Eric Ngalle Charles was just a teenager when he was taken from Cameroon to Moscow

Eric Ngalle Charles was just a teenager when he was taken from Cameroon to Moscow. Decades on, his experiences there still inspire his poetry.

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. 

If you’ve been affected by anything you heard in this interview, support is available through the BBC Action Line website or via Befrienders Worldwide.

Presenter: Asya Fouks
Producer: Harry Graham

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Eric Ngalle. Credit: Eric Ngalle)

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