biko beauttah


Since arriving in Canada, Kenyan-born refugee Biko Beauttah has become a champion for refugee and LGBTQ2 people, spreading her message of tolerance and equality.


the festivities they held at Yonge- Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. I met a photographer from one of the major Canadian newspapers who was there to cover the World Refugee Day event. He refused to take my picture because… “I am here to take pictures of


refugees, a refugee." © The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov


It’s our society’s dirty little secret that we like to sweep under the rug. I am not a dirty secret, and neither are others like me; I refuse to be swept under the rug. In the fight for my dignity, others will benefit as well because it is not just for me, but for all our dignity and humanity that I fight. It’s my fuel.


You recently organized a job fair for transgender people. Can you tell us a little about why you founded it? And are you happy with the outcome?


I am very pleased with Trans Workforce, especially since it was a labour of love that I singlehandedly built with my blood, sweat and tears, driven by the determination to hold on to my dignity and as a thank you to Canada and its people for giving me so much. The event was such a success that we are going global, you will have to watch this space—


that’s all I can share for now. I feel like I founded a movement bigger than I am, and more important than being the founder, I see myself more as the channel by which the movement was started. It was inevitably going to happen; I’m glad it happened in my time. For many like me who are not so lucky to have seen this revolution, it is for their honour that we must make it better for the future generations of transgender people.


What’s one common misconception about you (as a trans person? As a person of colour? As a refugee?) that you’ve had to deal with?


That I am not the typical face of whatever it is that I am supposed to look like as a refugee or transgender person. One incident particularly sticks out. At my very first World Refugee Day as a refugee, while still living at a refugee shelter in 2006, I went to


UNHCR.CA @UNHCRCANADA


You were a part of UNHCR’s #FromHomeToHome campaign for Canada 150, as well as this past year’s World Refugee Day. Canadians are pretty knowledgeable about refugee issues and are always looking for new ways to become involved. What’s your suggestion for small or large ways that Canadians can be more involved with refugees?


Oh, Canadians and Canada ROCKS! We are already doing it here! I see this every single day through all the kindness and warmth extended to refugees by everyday Canadians who open their doors and give shelter to refugees, and those that feed refugees. Let’s also not forget about


the unsung heroes, all the


people out there who advocate and fight for our rights as refugees. I am talking about the lawyers who take up our cases, the organizations that resettle us, the ones that feed us, all those people are also heroes that must be celebrated. «


UNHCR CANADA UNHCR CANADA / 23 you don’t look like


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