The following is my story that was published today in Thomson Reuters Alertnet. You can read the original article here
(The photos are, however, not part of the original article.)
HYDERABAD, India (AlertNet) - Sex worker Aruna Raju, 45, moved to
Hyderabad 11 years ago after drought and repeated crop failures led to
the deaths of four of her family members. “I have seen people shedding
tears of blood,” she says.
Aruna’s family had five acres of land in Nizamabad district, 172 km
away, on which they grew cotton, maize and chili. But from the
mid-1990s, the rains became irregular and crops wilted in the fields.
“The land became so dry, we could feel smoke coming out of it,” she
says.
Her father became deeply depressed, and some four years later, he
died after suffering chest pains. A little later, her mother, younger
brother and her own daughter died from malnutrition. Her husband had
already left due to the shame of being unable to feed his family.
“That is when I came to Hyderabad, so I could find a way to survive,”
she recalls. But with no schooling and no one to help her find a job,
Aruna’s only option was prostitution.
