Thread by @WhatTheTrans

I have been at a location where asylum seekers are placed to wait until the home office deals with their applications to remain in the UK. I have talked to many residents and talked a lot with a transgender resident. Here is a thread about what I have seen, been told and thought

The one thing that is universal amongst residents I’ve talked to is the food being awful. I was told that they bring in food and it is often served cold. A diabetic resident told me that the food makes them sick and they get no help to manage their condition

Here is tonight’s dinner. It’s not great. It was served cold. It went uneaten. It looked worse in person…

Opinions of the staff vary. Many say the staff are okay. The transgender person I spoke to spoke highly of the security but said reception staff were not good to them due to them being trans. Through an interpreter they told me that they fainted and nobody helped

They told me that they are scared of other residents for a combination of reasons but mostly because they are transgender. There was one moment when we were approached by a group of residents and I felt the tension, I chose to be polite but could see the trans resident tense up

There are families here. There are solo individuals here. The trans resident tends to keep to themselves to stay safe. They told me they are suicidal and their needs are not being met.

They showed me a letter they received advising them to see a GP. They are struggling to find one. The section of the letter titled “ongoing plan” was blank.

They need help. They aren’t getting it.

They were self medding hrt where they came from. But they had to leave as the country would kill them for being trans. They have since been without hrt. They told me not to reveal where they are so they could not be found.

They still fear their birth country even now.

Many cis residents told me their experiences were okay or even good. Many told me they were frustrated and bored. All I spoke to were frustrated to varying degrees about waiting. But based purely on what they said, their experiences were much better than the trans resident’s

Every resident was nice to me. I told them I was a journalist that worked for LGBT press (language barriers prevented me going into more detail). The trans resident told me they experienced transphobia, homophobia, sexual harassment and lived in fear from some I talked to

I look and sound trans. I wore a skirt. I was very obviously queer. I asked if the trans resident knew why those who were horrible to them were nice to me. They told me it was probably because they were scared I would report them and ruin their case.

Another lesson in privilege?

The trans resident’s name is Kinan. He was very cool. We talked for hours via Google translate and someone who offered to interpret for our interview. We talked about how he arrived from Saudi Arabia and what he hoped to do in the U.K

He told me he dreams of becoming a fashion advisor and also a psychologist as well as a photographer. I really liked how he wanted to mix and match. Why stick to one thing? He showed me his photos. I tried to take a photo of us for this thread. Here is my work.

This is Kinan’s work including photos he took whilst I was there.

He is clearly, far far far better than me at this than me. I was very happy to be shown up.

We talked about his needs and I hope to release details on how you can help him. To say he is vulnerable is an understatement. He said he wanted to make friends with trans people. If you are able to travel to the outskirts of London to see him please DM us here!

I didn’t know what to expect when I set off this morning. This location is not super infamous as these places go. I never went inside, but from the outside it looked clean. There is very little that is close to the site. Even if there was, residents only get 8 quid a week.

For reference, it cost myself that much to travel to the site and back on a travel card. They cannot go far but they are allowed to leave as long as they come back.

Language barriers and navigating London’s travel system also limits residents.

Basically, these people are left in the middle of nowhere for as long as their cases take to be seen. Some told me they had been waiting for a year or more.

Kinan not only has boredom to contend with but fear and his medical needs being ignored.

I will release details of ways you can help Kinan over the coming days and it is very important that you do so. He is one of us. And it appears very few are offering help to other residents let alone Kinan.

As for me I am very concerned for Kinan. He has very few friends, and appears to have been abandoned by those who are supposed to help.

No HRT. Terrible food. Living in fear. Dysphoria. Suicidal ideation.

No help on the horizon.

I do not know how long Kinan will stay where he is. It could be months. And with what he has to live with it will not be easy. If you are able to go see him please dm us for details.

You can hear more about Kinan on our next podcast. Out Wednesday.