Help a trans woman from Yemen find safety

Shams Al Misari is a trans woman from Yemen who is currently a refugee in Lebanon. She was forced to flee Yemen after experiencing horrific transphobic violence. After getting arrested by the Yemeni police and being subjected to physical abuse, sexual abuse and torture, she managed to get away but she continued experiencing violence and blackmail from the police on a regular basis, and was receiving death threats from her family, all of which has put her life at risk. She was also kicked out of her university for being trans, and was often mocked at, filmed and harassed by people on the street, which made her life unbearable on all levels. Few months ago, she miraculously found a way to escape Yemen and reach Lebanon in order to apply for resettlement at the UNHCR. However, the process of being granted asylum status in a third country takes a lot of time, so she is now forced to suspend her life and wait in Lebanon for an unknown period of time in a country that is dangerous for her. As a visible trans woman, she has had awful experiences of physical violence and street harassment in Beirut, which is making her life is very difficult and unsafe. She is being subjected to violence very frequently in Lebanon, she was harassed and filmed several times; this puts her life at risk. She is both a visible trans woman and a visible refugee/non-Lebanese with a non-Lebanese accent, hence simultaneously facing transphobia and racism in a country that is very hostile towards refugees and towards trans women.


SHAMS IS ASKING FOR YOUR URGENT SUPPORT TO HELP HER PAY FOR HER RENT, FOOD, MEDICINE AND A RECENT SURGERY SHE HAD TO BORROW MONEY TO COVER IT. SHE CANNOT WORK BEFORE SHE RECOVERS.

The costs break down is the following:

▷500$ surgery

▷1000$ rent for 6 months

▷2000$ food and medicine for 6 months

Lebanon is currently in a difficult moment after experiencing a horrific explosion on August 4, and is in the midst of a devastating economic crisis, pushing people into extreme poverty. This puts vulnerable groups like trans refugees at an increased risk of precarity due to daily threats of potential violence around every street corner, potential harassment in every interaction with a stranger, restricted access to employment and housing and healthcare, and heavy emotional pressures. 

This is an opportunity to look into our daily practices and think how we can be more accountable and solidary with the people and communities that are subjected to more oppressions than us. Trans refugees like Shams experience violence in their country of origin and are forced to escape, and when they come to Lebanon to wait for resettlement in a third country, they also experience violence and are in vulnerable positions. Let’s show solidarity with trans refugees who need our support!

Help Shams continue fearlessly daring to exist despite tremendous suffering and oppression! Any donation however small, is appreciated!* 

If you can’t donate, please share this link as widely as possible.

*The funds will distributed in the following manner: My name is Nisrine Chaer, and I will be responsible for receiving the funds and sending them to Shams Al Misari. I am an activist from Lebanon, based in the Netherlands, and I met Shams in Lebanon.