Trans & Trapped In Ukraine: Transgender Woman Says ‘It’s A War Within A War,’ Fighting Russians & Transphobic Ukrainians
A transgender woman in Ukraine recently spoke out on being trans and trapped in her country as she fights a “war within a war;” with Russians and transphobic Ukrainians.
The woman, Zi Faámelu who lives in the capital of Kyiv, says she was already at war before the Russians invaded; and things have only gotten worse. She says, “Sometimes we think it’s just all a dream, that we’re stuck inside some kind of video game. Because you just live in a quiet society, and then you hear bombings and then you wake up to the sound of bombings.” While her friends have been able to escape, she explains she somewhat feels safer in her home versus trying to flee. “I don’t want to go outside. I’m literally scared for my life … All my friends left the city. My neighbors left my floor, and I think my building.”
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Speaking on life in Ukraine for trans people, Faámelu adds, “This is not a very rainbow-friendly place. So, lives for trans people are very bleak here.” Faámelu further reveals that transgender people are being denied from leaving the country. She says, “If you have a male gender in your passport, they will not let you go abroad. They will not let you through … A war within a war, truly.” She continues, “Every noise from outside is a warning sign. It was hell living as a trans person in Kyiv, in Ukraine. We feel invisible. Truly, like we’re not people, like we’re not human. It’s truly how we feel.”
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