Support for Congolese Trans Woman
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This fundraiser is for Emily, a Congolese trans woman in Kenya, as well as the other LGBTQ+ people she is in community with. They face a lot of violence in Kenya as refugees and have experienced physical assault, sexual violence, robberies, homelessness, and more.
Emily was 11 when her parents kicked her out of her home, and her grandmother took her in. Her queerness was intolerable for her parents. At the age of 14, she was physically assaulted by people at a market. When the police arrived at the scene, they illegally detained her for two days. Upon her release home was no longer home. Her grandmother told her that she did not want trouble with the community and therefore, Emily had to leave her second home.
From there on she stayed with friends until 2016 when she met a Kenyan man who worked in Congo. She confided in him, and he suggested taking her along to Uganda. Emily didn’t hesitate, she got on the road to Uganda, aged 16.
Upon reaching Uganda, however, the man who had helped her escape travelled often outside the country, provided accommodation and took care of her material needs, but could not commit to cater for her education. Desperate, she was advised that by going to Kenya as a refugee, a term that she heard then for the very first time, she would be assisted. She left Uganda after 6 months and with the help of the Red Cross, she ended up in Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya.
Kakuma was “hell” for LGBTQI+ people, and for two years Emily lived through this as a teenager. She decided that she would not settle in this queerphobic camp, where the lives, especially of trans people, are under constant scrutiny and danger from attacks.
She currently resides in Nairobi. Nonetheless, she is still not safe. According to her, UNHCR, the humanitarian agency charged with the care of refugees, often ignores the plight of queer refugees, whether in Nairobi or in Kakuma. She claims staff members would rather call the police on those protesting for better treatment. “This comes with a lot of brutality. They use extreme force.”
In the time that I have known Emily, she has survived two evictions, an arson attack, as well as a robbery. She experiences transphobic violence on a daily basis.
All donations will be sent to Emily and will be used for food, shelter, and other basic needs.
You can read more about her story here:
https://africanfeminism.com/from-goma-to-nairobi-one-trans-woman-refugees-journey-in-search-of-safety/
Emily was 11 when her parents kicked her out of her home, and her grandmother took her in. Her queerness was intolerable for her parents. At the age of 14, she was physically assaulted by people at a market. When the police arrived at the scene, they illegally detained her for two days. Upon her release home was no longer home. Her grandmother told her that she did not want trouble with the community and therefore, Emily had to leave her second home.
From there on she stayed with friends until 2016 when she met a Kenyan man who worked in Congo. She confided in him, and he suggested taking her along to Uganda. Emily didn’t hesitate, she got on the road to Uganda, aged 16.
Upon reaching Uganda, however, the man who had helped her escape travelled often outside the country, provided accommodation and took care of her material needs, but could not commit to cater for her education. Desperate, she was advised that by going to Kenya as a refugee, a term that she heard then for the very first time, she would be assisted. She left Uganda after 6 months and with the help of the Red Cross, she ended up in Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya.
Kakuma was “hell” for LGBTQI+ people, and for two years Emily lived through this as a teenager. She decided that she would not settle in this queerphobic camp, where the lives, especially of trans people, are under constant scrutiny and danger from attacks.
She currently resides in Nairobi. Nonetheless, she is still not safe. According to her, UNHCR, the humanitarian agency charged with the care of refugees, often ignores the plight of queer refugees, whether in Nairobi or in Kakuma. She claims staff members would rather call the police on those protesting for better treatment. “This comes with a lot of brutality. They use extreme force.”
In the time that I have known Emily, she has survived two evictions, an arson attack, as well as a robbery. She experiences transphobic violence on a daily basis.
All donations will be sent to Emily and will be used for food, shelter, and other basic needs.
You can read more about her story here:
https://africanfeminism.com/from-goma-to-nairobi-one-trans-woman-refugees-journey-in-search-of-safety/
Organizer
Gloria Kimbulu
Organizer
Omaha, NE