[Previously published in The Jakarta Post.]
by Jennie S. Bev, Santa Clara
Last year, I received an email from a reader of my writings in The Jakarta Post. The person is a he-she. For the sake of respecting the person’s gender preference, using “she” is more appropriate.
She said that she had been following my writings about human rights and humanitarian concerns on various issues in Indonesia, including minority rights.
She was based in the US seeking political asylum as she has been experiencing unspeakable harassment and abuse as a transgendered individual in Indonesia.
She asked me to write a letter as an “expert witness” to what has been happening to minorities, including transgendered individuals, in Indonesia.
Only recently a survey conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) found a growing level of intolerance toward minorities, particularly toward gay and lesbian people.
As a San Francisco Bay Area resident who befriends gays, lesbians, transgendered, and queer individuals, among which include married homosexual couples and a woman who was a man, I deem such an email very touching. I have taken for granted how the liberated society such as the Bay Area has shaped my perspective about the world, its beauty and its equality.
Continue reading "Searching for Safe Heavens for Transgendered Indonesia" »
