hi everyone, today i called with saidi over whatsapp and she very graciously showed me her and her friends' living situations. they are NOT good. they have no eaten anything for a week besides banana peels, and they've been forced to rely on eating bugs and snakes as well. several of them have HIV, and what little medication they do/did have REQUIRES food to be eaten with it, and with no food, it is a struggle. water is expensive and they have no funds or support, and to top this all off, people around them continually assault them, and they've even stabbed through the material of their makeshift shelter. when she showed me her friends, some were bed-ridden with visible ribs, all were starving, some to the point it's visible in their hair, and one woman had been assaulted by a group to the point of cracking, chipping, and breaking several teeth. she's in pain, she needs a dentist, but they have no money, and no support.
furthermore, the ARVs they need to survive the HIV that is making them so sick are unavailable, and they have to get them through private means. this means that not only is money necessary, but they need help finding where they can get them. this is no small task, and a lot of help is needed here for these people, from the broader international transgender community. these are our siblings, they are suffering, they need us. they feel alone and isolated and spurned, and my heart broke when they showed me how much suffering they were going through.
saidi walked me through the camp and showed me the Gorom Refugee Camp sign. i'm sure if you want to see it yourself, you could even ask her, but i'm telling you that this is a real fundraiser, our siblings are suffering, and we need to help them. please share this, spread it, send it to your friends. these people need money for basic necessities so they can finally get the medicine they deserve.
if ANYONE knows how to get ARVs to them, PLEASE share!!! they are really struggling!!
i personally don't know anything about the global supply of ARVs or the types of regulations they have on them, but the internet is a big place, and i'm positive somebody out there can help.
what i've written here is only a small fraction of their suffering. they really, really need our help.