Sex Worker

From: Homelands Productions
Series: WORKING
Length: 07:27

Kelly McEvers profiles a transgender sex worker from Kyrgyzstan who works in the oil boomtown of Baku, in Azerbaijan. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Sex Worker
From: Homelands Productions

Samanta_small Samanta moved to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for the same reason that thousands of other foreigners did: the oil boom. As the eastern terminus of a new pipeline carrying oil from the former Soviet Union to Europe and points west, the city has swelled with oil workers and construction workers, businessmen and engineers. And, as in boomtowns everywhere, with sex workers like Samanta. In a corrupt and violent society, it can be a very dangerous life—especially for a woman who was born as a man. Kelly McEvers' profile is part of the WORKING series from Homelands Productions.

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Piece Description

Samanta moved to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for the same reason that thousands of other foreigners did: the oil boom. As the eastern terminus of a new pipeline carrying oil from the former Soviet Union to Europe and points west, the city has swelled with oil workers and construction workers, businessmen and engineers. And, as in boomtowns everywhere, with sex workers like Samanta. In a corrupt and violent society, it can be a very dangerous life—especially for a woman who was born as a man. Kelly McEvers' profile is part of the WORKING series from Homelands Productions.

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

In our next story we travel to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, in central Asia. A new multi billion-dollar oil pipeline starts there and carries crude from the Caspian Sea into Europe and points west. Construction workers, businessmen, and engineers have come to Baku from all over the world, eager to cash in. And, as in boomtowns everywhere, other types of workers have followed. Kelly McEvers brings us the story of one. Her profile is part of the WORKING series from Homelands Productions. Note that there's language some listeners may consider offensive.

OUTRO:

That was Kelly McEvers reporting. WORKING is produced by Homelands Productions in collaboration with Marketplace Radio. To see pictures and hear audio, go to working.homelands.org. While you're there, you can also tell the world what you think about YOUR job.