Between 2008 and 2019 at least 2608 transgender people were murdered in Central and South America.
“Many of those [murders] happen in countries like mine,” says Eliana Rubashkyn.
Eliana Rubashkyn Photo: Supplied
Rubashkyn was forced to leave Colombia because of the violence trans and intersex people experience there.
“I had a life that was a little bit challenging because my body was not meeting the conventions of how a male or a female body should look like. That obviously subjected me to different kinds of violence…in a society that is incredibly religious and has a lot of prejudice against those who are different or those who are perceived differently,” they say.
“Any normal citizen of Colombia usually experiences a higher risk of…violence but when you’re a minority, that violence sometimes becomes really personal and you become a target for people that are not understanding of you. Discrimination and violence is actually direct.”
In their hometown of Bogata, Rubashkyn was regularly spat on by people passing them in the street. Other times they were attacked.
“That actually was one of those triggering events that actually made me feel that I needed to find a way to find safety and leave because I wouldn’t be safe there for being who I was.”
As a form of protection, Rubashkyn immersed themself in the academic world.
“I never went out much because it’s just not easy to have a mask of normality when you are different.”
Leaving Columbia proved challenging, and Rubashkyn had never heard of the word refugee. They flew to Taiwan to study and to find a better life.
But when hormones changed their appearance dramatically, they were no longer able to use their passport as a form of ID.
“My face changed, and the passport became useless.”
In their pursuit to get a new passport, Rubashkyn was stopped in Hong Kong and detained. Facing deportation, Rubashkyn found themself in a very complicated situation.
“I actually resigned my citizenship, so I was stateless…in a country that doesn’t recognise refugees.
“I was in a really horrible situation, I was feeling less than human.”
Over three years in Hong Kong, they lived in refugee camps and homeless shelters.
However homeless shelters tend to divide people by gender.
“And having a body that doesn’t fit either into male or female areas was even more challenging.
“So, I was isolated in [a] shipping container and I lived a lot of my time in a shipping container, which was the only suitable solution for me.”
By 2014, New Zealand was in the process of amending gender recognition rules which allowed the government to issue a travel document without a person needing to undergo surgical interventions to affirm their gender.
“They provided me with a travel document that provided me with an exit from Hong Kong to New Zealand.”
Life in New Zealand is far from what they experienced in Colombia.
“Feeling safe, not having to look behind and feeling that no one suddenly is going to come with a knife and do whatever they want. It’s really hard for people in New Zealand to understand what that means but that means a lot for me.”
The LGBTQI community in New Zealand has helped Rubashkyn feel a sense of belonging.
“I really feel like I can be like any other person in this country…there are challenges yes…I’m not extremely vulnerable because I feel this country protects me for who I am, respects my identity, respects my body, respects my rights and my identity.”
