Lulu

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CROSSING THE BOUNDARY FENCE VOLUME

LULU

My self-portrait

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I left home and trying to cross the boundary fence to look for work here in South Africa. I tried to cross the border illegally without a passport but it was not easy. I went back home and processed my travel documents and proceeded with my journey. I used a truck as means of transport coming to South Africa and we ended up at a truck stop. When I arrived at the truck stop the driver said he wanted to rest and proceed the following day. I then come to a crossroads and decided to take a decision on what I wanted to do. They were a number of girls around the truck site some selling fruit and others as baby minders and housemaids. As I was coming along I saw baobab trees and abortion advertisements where posted on the baobab tress as abortion is an illegal crime where I come from. I then decided to be a sex worker though I knew a lot was going to come my way. Police harassment, client abuse, stigma from the environment and from health facilities where they ask us to bring partners if we want treatment on sexually transmitted diseases or any other related illnesses. In my work I use condoms flavored condoms we get from sweat/Sisonke and lubrications. Sweat/Sisonke are organizations which work and fight for the human rights of sex workers here in SA. Sisonke is a sex worker movement which was started by sex workers for sex workers because we were tired of being abused by police and discriminated against.

Crossing over with a truck.

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Dangerous working place as we work at the bush and thugs hide at the bush I tried to cross illegally and failed because of police that find me at the border fence. Culture are against sex work so we hide our self. I use to buy food from the money I get in sex work industry I had to go back home and do proper document. As migrant I have to carry documents as the police will arrest me Stigma and discrimination from community and police to the sex workers. Police use municipal by-laws to arrest sex work like loitering and etc.


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