Thread by @iamirisia

tw: transphobia, murder

I am outlawed in 2 countries just bc I am a transgirl, and I need your help to move🧵

gofund.me/73257f31

here I'll tell you shortly about what's going on, if you need details, there's a link to the longer post: docs.google.com/document/d/1kZ… (1/)

I'm Irisia a.k.a. Holly.

2,5 years ago, when the war in Ukraine started, I moved from Russia to Georgia (Caucasus country) bc I expected for the worse future for LGBTQ+ people there (which, in fact, happened).

All this time I tried to build a new life that I dreamed of. (2/)

It's been half a year since I managed to stabilize my income to the point where I can save at least something from my salary. I did my best to truly start my trans journey. (3/

It seemed that everything would only get better and I would have time to prepare for moving to a better country.

But at the same time, drastic changes in legislation began to occur in Georgia, similar to those adopted in Russia over the past 10 years, ... (4/)

...including the law on "traditional values", which includes a ban on LGBTQ propaganda, gender transition (legal and medical, INCLUDING HRT), issuance of residence permits to transgender persons, etc. (5/)

To read more about the law:

This means that I fled my country partly because I was afraid that queer people would have a much worse life, and in the end these fears caught up with me in another country, from which I could be deported in the event of just one public violation of local legislation, ... (6/)

...which will soon include public displays of non-traditional inclinations. That is, in essence, soon I'll be without the possibility of any legalization here.

And if I am deported, I could face imprisonment under Russian law, ...(7/)

…because LGBTQ individuals have been recognized as a terrorist-level group for almost a year now (not exactly terrorists, but there is simply no more direct word than that). (8/)

I have only recently started wearing women's clothing as another step in my transition, and I'm now afraid that even this moment could become a reason for the local police to stop me one day, check my documents, find out about that fact, detain me and subsequently deport me. (9/)

Only a couple of weeks ago I decided what I'd do next: apply for asylum in Spain. I don't care that I don't have the skills to earn a living. I want to live my life to the fullest and be who I want to be. But there is a problem: I don't know how to get the money to move. (10/)

And in the long run, probably the most extreme option: save money for 3 years ($110 every month), not buying anything for myself and putting off the dream of HRT for those same 3 years, risking every day to come under the gaze of the police, to be deported and... (11/)

...imprisoned in my home country simply for who I am.

I am tired of running.
I am tired of hiding.
I am tired of pretending to be a person I don't want to be and being criticized by people who don't want to accept me for who I am (which is happening on my job).

😭 (12/)

It’s already the 5th year of me dreaming about HRT, and it seems that it will be possible to overcome the ban by getting hormones illegally, but then I would tie myself financially to Georgia, and in order to leave, I would have to roll back all my progress and start over. (13/)

And looking at all the trans girls on Twitter, I have to admit, I'm jealous.

Jealous of people who are able to start HRT bc it's banned in my home country and will be legally banned in Georgia where I am now. (14/)

Jealous of people who are able to get gender-affirming surgeries bc it's banned in my home country and will be banned in Georgia where I am now. (15/)

Jealous of people who are able to change their gender and name in documents bc it's banned in my home country and will be banned in Georgia where I am now. (16/)

Jealous of people who are able to register same-sex marriage bc it never was possible in my home country and here, and I don't think that it may become real in both countries in the following years. (17/)

But an even bigger shock for me was the murder of the most famous trans girl in Georgia, Kesaria Abramidze. I had never heard of her before. But the circumstances of the case scared me so much that I immediately realized that from now on, after the law was passed, ... (18/)

...NO queer person is protected, EVEN TRANS PERSON.

This murder coincided with the fact that the law on family values (a.k.a. The Anti-LGBTQ Law) was adopted on the day preceding this tragedy, which is already a pretty big sign. (19/)

And so I am raising money for moving from Georgia to Spain to apply for asylum.

And I need your help with it.

gofundme.com/f/help-holly-t…
gofund.me/73257f31 (the shorter link)

(20/)

Even more I ask you to share this with your friends and acquaintances. I am asking more about this because last time, without sharing my post about my desire to leave Russia, nothing would have happened. But thanks to my followers and simply caring people, ... (21/)

...I found those who supported me financially. This was the case when they gave me a chance for a new life, and I did not miss it, no matter how much my family told me that no one would need me abroad. And now I am asking you to give me a second chance for a safe life. (22/)

I will be grateful to you forever if we will make it !

Thank you all in advance who will make their own part in the campaign !

- Irisia.

💜🩵 (23)

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