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Alcohol on an open wound: Transgender Indonesians struggle through pandemic
Though they have grown accustomed to living under constant discrimination and danger, transgender Indonesians find it exceedingly difficult to survive during the pandemic.
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Volunteers from Sanggar Seroja delivering aid to trans women in dilapidated neighborhoods. (JP/Rikky Fajar)
“I will never forget what she said to me,” Amek Adlian said, mimicking a transgender woman he met in the streets of Medan, North Sumatra. “Abang, I’ve stared down bandits with machetes. COVID is no big deal!”
Even a seasoned trans rights activist like him was taken aback by the flippant reply.
“There was nothing I could do to help her,” the 32-year old sighed. “Staying home means starving. Staying safe means dying.”
Amek forced a laugh, but his desperation was evident. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, trans people were already living with economic precarity, violence and discrimination.
The pandemic, said a report by the Indonesian Transgender Network (JTID), simply “poured alcohol on an open wound”.
“We actually face many similar problems as other working-class people,” explained Rebecca Nyuei, 28, a trans activist at the JTID. “But the additional layer of discrimination turned this into multiple crises.”
The Specter of economic ruin
