Hello Comrades,
I don’t know how to begin. Things have become incredibly heavy and frightening for me and my trans sisters here in South Sudan.
On May 23rd, the host community in Gorom Camp began pushing hard for our removal. We've faced constant hostility as trans refugees called devils, told we go against their culture but now it’s escalated. When conflict erupted in the area, they warned the UNHCR that they would "take matters into their own hands." That threat has now turned into action.
UNHCR and government officials recently held a general meeting and told us not to return to the camp “before anything worse happens.” Those still hiding in the camp were given only 10 days to leave, and they were clear: transgender people like me would be the first targets.
You may remember when our shelter was attacked. No one was held accountable. That was when we fled to Juba, seeking safety. But Juba is unaffordable. We’ve been surviving at a local church, barely getting by and now even thinking of going back to the camp seemed like an option… until this.
I’m tired. I’m scared. I’m doing my best to stay strong for my sisters, but it’s hard. We’re being forced out again with nowhere to go. I’m sharing this because I believe in solidarity. I believe someone out there will care.
Please share our story. Please speak our names. If you can offer support, even just by amplifying our voices, it means everything.
In love and struggle,
Ate Onandrah
(A proud trans woman and refugee living with HIV, resisting with dignity)
As a proud trans woman and refugee living in a camp after fleeing Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ+ law, I read this with tears in my eyes. I’m fighting daily against hunger, stigma, and silence. I share my story to raise awareness, and I’d be so grateful if anyone took a moment to listen, Just being seen means the world to us.