Jérémie Safari

he/him, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bashi

(FROM AN INTERVIEW CONDUCTED OVER EMAIL IN 2020)

I am an activist defending the rights of trans people in the city of Bukavu, in the province of South Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am a trans man of Congolese nationality and the Executive Director of Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko. I am from the Bashi ethnic group from eastern DRC.

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At school, trans people are subject to daily mockery and even physical assault from other students and sometimes from teachers. This pushes many trans people to drop out. Parents may also refuse to pay for our education, or issue an ultimatum like “if you want us to keep paying for your school, stop dressing that way,” or kick us out, like mine did. Many trans people no longer have any possibility of continuing their studies.

My favorite subject in school was history and geography. I liked knowing old stories, knowing countries, how people live, etc. If I could become an expert at anything, it would be medicine. When I was young, I saw myself becoming a doctor or nurse. I’ve always had a passion to help my neighbors, to relieve their suffering, to help those in need of care.  

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One day, I was attacked by young people in my neighborhood. When I tried to file a complaint, I was told I was asking for it by not being like everyone else.

This kind of experience is very common here in Bukavu, and I've seen it in other cities in the DRC. When a trans person passes on the street, people yell at them, or you see kids chasing them and making fun of them. To avoid all this, trans people go out little or only when necessary. When they do go out, they do not walk on foot.

I make an effort to go out during the day for necessities, like food. Otherwise, I rarely go out, and only at night, only when I’m with my friends, and never far from our usual homes. All public places are dangerous for me.

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The person I'm dating right now is very nice. He understands me and loves me as I am. I met him one day when I was out with friends in a slightly more tolerant part of the city. Most of the time, the men I met were just one-night things. They never wanted to be seen with me. The next day, these men are always the first to shout at us and insult us.

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If I could feel safe and free to go anywhere and do anything, I would first go to my parents to see my family, introduce them to my companion. I would also go to my former friends and neighbors who no longer speak to me. I would walk hand in hand with my companion without being afraid. I would go to all those places where I was refused entry. I would feel alive.

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The history of colonialism and imperialism in my country has absolutely contributed to cultural attitudes towards trans people. In my tribe, there is the word "NTAZI," which denoted a person whose gender expression was doubtful, or unknown, which today I would call trans. These people were accepted in society, but today I hear people say that LGBTI in general and trans identity in particular is contrary to our culture.

People get amnesia when we remind them that "NTAZI" is a local word, and the "ntazi" existed long before the Europeans arrived. They say that homosexuality came with the Europeans, and we have copied them by becoming homosexual or trans, and that homosexuality is for Europeans and not Africans. But I hope that over time and with our persistent effort, people will come to understand and accept us as part of the community.

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In my country, after the war, there was a new kind of ethnic intolerance that had not existed before. So far, things have improved, bit-by-bit. What helped was the sensitization of the population to accept those who were not of the same ethnicity or region.

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For people’s mentalities to change so that everyone can be accepted, we need more awareness in society about LGBTI realities.

To this end, we have joined with some allied, better-known human rights organizations. Their involvement in our fight will make our cause more credible to the general society. When we worked alone, people minimized our message and said we were copying the West, that we were just pretending to be what we were not.  

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The alliance between gay and trans people in the DRC is very good. Our struggle is the same, we are subject to the same discrimination, and we know that unity is strength. The general population does not give a damn about our distinctions because for them we are all the same unnatural outcasts. We must work in synergy to make ourselves heard.

At the moment we are working on creating a platform of LGBTI organizations and allied human rights organizations to share information and strategy to try to finally make a difference in our country.

These allied human rights organizations focus on different themes, including child soldiers and child labor, raped women, battered women, and LGBTI people.

We will create an observatory of discrimination. As soon as there is a case of discrimination, we will alert all the organizations, denounce the case, and discuss how to respond.

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When I see countries like South Africa or countries with LGBTQ rights in general, I say to myself that of course the road is long but one day we will get there. Yes, I am afraid when I receive threats, and I don’t go out often for my own safety. But I have become more courageous too. Our LGBTQ brothers and sisters are with us, and we are trying to make our voices heard.

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For people reading this, I would suggest sharing our stories and issues so that the situation of the trans community in Africa is known to the world.

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