biko beauttah


“YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE A REFUGEE” Advocate and activist Biko Beauttah stands up for the marginalized and displaced By Biko Beauttah, as told to Fiona Irvine Goulet


Biko Beauttah arrived at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport in 2006 as an asylum seeker. Beauttah is transgender, and in her native Kenya, lesbian, gay, bisexual,


transgender


and queer or questioning people— collectively known as LGBTQ2— face


systemic discrimination and


persecution. Yet her initial arrival in Canada was harrowing: Beauttah said she was humiliated by immigration authorities, placed in handcuffs, and held in custody for 36 hours.


Despite that difficult beginning, Beauttah has gone on to embrace her new home. She has become a champion for refugee and LGBTQ2 people, spreading her message of tolerance and equality. She has been involved with the Canadian Council of Refugees and the Refugee Pride Convention; has spoken to high school students about gender equality; and sits on the board of The 519, a Toronto agency serving the LGBTQ2 community.


Last fall, Beauttah organized and hosted Trans Workforce, billed as the world’s first job fair for people who identify as trans and gender non-conforming.


Based on her


own difficulty finding a job despite nine years of post-secondary education, and the struggles of


22 / UNHCR CANADA


many job seekers in the transgender community, Beauttah worked with the LGBTQ2 community to launch the initiative. We caught up with her recently to learn more about her experiences and approach to life.


We know you endured a traumatic entry to Canada in 2006. Can you tell us what happened immediately after you were released from detention?


After a long 36 hours, I was released from immigration custody and told I was free to go—except I had nowhere to go and it was below freezing. I will never forget the moment when I was sitting there: cold, miserable, hungry, disoriented,


lost. Then this elderly


couple, strangers, they must have been watching me. They had just returned from a vacation somewhere and we were in an airport shuttle bus by this time. They had two muffins that they had saved to eat, except they split one amongst


and gave me the other whole one.


It was that moment of kindness by strangers who I never even got to thank, that I learned what it means to be a true Canadian. I have since then tried to live my life in Canada with the example set by what I call "the first real Canadians" I met. Canadians are beautiful.


You lived in a Toronto refugee centre for six months. What was that like, and how did this affect your future in Canada?


Contrary to popular belief, or at least my own pre-existing misconceptions, I can tell you, as someone who has lived in a refugee shelter, even I too went in there thinking of just the shelter. Except, we forget who is actually in the shelter—refugees! Even in a shelter, refugees are the most thankful and joyful people when they are in any place where they feel safe. We were just all so happy to be in a place where we felt safe and secure, and with a roof over our heads, food, no fear of being attacked, no rape, no bombs, everyone was just so happy to be alive. It sounds strange, but for me, being surrounded by so many grateful people made me feel very grateful, even in a refugee shelter.


themselves


You have become a champion of refugee and trans-persons rights. Can you talk about what pushed you to become an activist?


I like to think that I have always been a compassionate person. However, it wasn't until I became a refugee and also transitioned that I became aware of all the routine humiliations that


marginalized people face. and displaced


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