Bring a Trans Refugee to Freedom in Canada

Product Description

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

++APRIL UPDATE!++

A generous donor has pledged to MATCH all donations up to $5,000 until

June 01, 2021. Please help us meet our goal!

Meet “Huyam”

“Huyam” is a trans woman from Yemen in her 30s. In 2014 she was living in Saudi Arabia when she was arrested by the religious police for attending a private party for LGBTQ people. She was sentenced to prison and 180 lashes. At the end of her sentence, Huyam was deported back to Yemen just as the vicious civil war there began. Facing death threats from both her own family and Al-Qaeda, she lived in hiding until she could escape to Indonesia in 2017. Now living in Indonesia, she faces discrimination and violence as a trans woman refugee, while waiting in uncertainty for over 3-1/2 years.

Two of Huyam’s LGBTQ friends from Yemen have already arrived in Canada as refugees and two more have submitted refugee applications to come to Canada. Now Huyam is trying to come to Canada too, to have a safer life and to be reunited with a community of friends and chosen family who can help support her.

Early Life in Yemen

At a very young age, Huyam knew she was different from her brothers. They played rough and tumble games outside while Huyam preferred to stay inside and play with dolls. She watched her mother and sister closely, and in secret tried on their clothes. Huyam’s family started to sense that she was different too, even though she tried to hide that she was a trans woman all through high school. Huyam eventually found an underground community of LGBTQ people in Yemen where she could be herself, but she was forced to lead a double life far from her family’s eyes. She lived at home with her family, working in a supermarket, until she was 24.

Life in Saudi Arabia

Eventually Huyam moved to Saudi Arabia, where she lived with her uncle. She worked in a shop for seven months, but the manager started to suspect she was LGBTQ. He fired her and outed her to her uncle, who threw Huyam out of the house.

Alone, Huyam fled to a new city and started to rebuild her life. She met a boyfriend. She found the hidden LGBTQ community that met surreptitiously for parties at private villas.

Arrest, Jail and Lashes

In 2014 Saudi Arabia’s notorious religious police raided one of these private LGBTQ parties. Huyam and her friends were arrested and held in prison for 13 days before their trial. Huyam was sentenced to 180 lashes and 11 months in jail. Because her legal documents identified her as male, she went to a men’s prison. She was segregated from the general prison population with other “sexual deviants” and further marginalized because she was not a Saudi citizen. After the lashes were administered, there was no medical treatment. Only Huyam’s fellow prisoners helped her through the long healing period. Conditions were harsh, but Huyam managed to survive.

Deportation to Yemen

At the end of her sentence, Huyam was deported to Yemen just as the civil war broke out. Huyam arrived in Aden, the capital city, only to find destruction and dead bodies in the streets. Shamed by Huyam’s prison sentence and gender identity, her older brother threatened to kill her. On the streets and online, Huyam faced threats of violence and death from Al-Qaeda. She lived in hiding in a small rooftop garret with no electricity or running water. In 2017 when the Aden airport reopened, Huyam was able to flee to Indonesia.

Life as a Refugee in Indonesia

Life for any refugee in Indonesia is tenuous and potentially dangerous. For a trans woman the situation is even riskier. Even though Huyam is recognized by the UNHCR as a refugee because of her SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression), there is little or no support for her on the ground. She still bears the emotional and physical scars of her past every day. She cannot work or go to school. She faces discrimination, harassment and violence. She only gets by financially because friends send money when they can. As Huyam says, she has “no life as you know just at home as a refugee.”

Hope for a New Life in Canada

Huyam cannot return to Yemen, where she will face torture or death. She cannot remain in Indonesia, where every day is an uncertainty. However, there is hope for Huyam. A group of private citizens, including Lula Abdo, Salem Bin Mahri, Don McCulloch, Bill Croson, Laura Beth Bugg and Bryan Gaensler, have teamed up to bring Huyam to a better life in Canada under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program.

Before we can submit an application, we need to confirm to the Canadian government that we have the funds necessary to support Huyam’s first 12 months in Canada (CAD $18,000) and that we have a group of Canadian sponsors willing to help her settle into her new life. Your donation will help contribute to her first year in Canada, including shelter, food, clothing, furniture and startup costs. EVERY dollar that you give will go toward Huyam’s first year of support.

All funds received will be deposited into the personal account of Laura Beth Bugg and Bryan Gaensler at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). When Huyam arrives, those funds will then be dispensed to her on a monthly basis for her first 12 months in Canada. Documentation of the trust account will be submitted to Canadian immigration along with Huyam’s application.

Joan McCulloch