Keep trans teen refugee safe in Wpg

In January 2016, a young transgender woman arrived in Winnipeg, Mb, Canada. She had been living in her home country with her family her entire life and she had never been allowed to be herself. Her family insisted that she was a boy, and though she never felt this way in her heart, she was forced to live as her family wished. Despite her attempts to be the boy her family wanted her to be she was never able to quite make it work. Her parents insisted and sent her to three different doctors where she was forced to take medication to 'make her more of a man'. She was bullied and assaulted and when she told her family, they told her that it was her fault for acting so girlish. It wasn't until she was in high school that she got access to the Internet and learned 'that there was such a thing as transgender people, that I was not the only one like me'. She found out that there were places that might be safer than her very conservative country with her conservative religious family. She was 18 years old and managed to convince her parents to let her study abroad. She chose Canada because she had heard that trans people were protected and she believed she might be able to find safety here. In the face of never being able to be who she was this incredible young woman chose to survive by making her way to Winnipeg to study, and to find sanctuary and safety, and family that would love her as she was and for who she was. And then, she chose to live.

Since arriving, she has been able to become the young woman she has always been, she has found community and has begun to build a life for herself that feels authentically hers. She now has dreams of what she will be when she grows up. She is 18 years old.

Before she can begin to realize those dreams, she has to gear up for the challenge of her life, staying in Canada.
 
She cannot go back to her country. Ever.

Her family have cut her off financially after discovering why she came to Canada and have threatened her if she returns. The laws in her home country will not protect her and will, in fact, actively harm her. She could be jailed or killed by both her family and the state if she has to return home. She must now file a refugee claim and she needs the help of our community to remain here in Canada.

So community, this is where we show the hell up, this young woman needs to raise at least 5000 dollars. 2800 dollars go directly to legal fees for filing a refugee claim and for having a lawyer to prep her and to represent her at her hearing. If she is successful great, if not, we will need to immediately proceed to appeals which will again cost us in legal fees, having that additional $1200 to help us get started will prevent a delay in the process. Any funds we raise above and beyond the legal fees will go directly to her for living expenses. She has no job and is not currently able to work legally here and so these funds will provide the financial support she needs while she is looking for work and preparing to return to her studies.

Please help us fight to keep this young woman safe. Any donation is welcome as are shares and signal boosts.

Let's show this sweet gentle spirit how welcome she is here. Help her stay home.


****we are not sharing her name or home country as she fears her family may hurt her if they find out where she is and how to find her on social networks. I on the other hand am not in fear for my life and I am legit and you can google me or contact me with any questions.*****