Last Updated on Wednesday, 3 April 2024, 17:58 by Written By Denis Chabrol
Tarique is my rock,” a tearful but smiling Kaisha Davis recounts in a minute-long testimonial for her younger brother. Tarique is a transgender man, meaning Tarique was assigned female at birth but now lives his life everyday as the man he knows himself to be. Family provides the basis of love and support for most Guyanese, and for Kaisha, love and acceptance is not just about reciprocity. It is about a caring sibling who has been consistent with their thoughts and actions towards Kaisha, as well as his other siblings.
In this third campaign video, Kaisha tells her story of unconditional love for her brother, her “confidante.” Kaisha tells a story of bonding between Tarique and her teen daughter whom Tarique has taken the responsibility to help with her Mathematics studies. This, another act of love that strengthened Kaisha’s bond with her brother Tarique.
The video is timed to mark the international Transgender Day of Visibility, on March 31. It is a day to celebrate the lives and contributions of transgender people, while also raising awareness of the discrimination faced by trans people worldwide.
This third video will be aired both on local television stations and across a wide range of social media platforms. It complements two other videos launched in September and October 2023. The first video features a young lesbian, Krystal Trim, and ally Eusebia Liverpool, who has been a mother figure in Trim’s life since her biological mother passed away when she was a teenager. The second video features Guyanese Model and Pageant Queen, Kristal Inshan and her gay friend, fashion designer Avinash Narine and captures support through friendship. All the videos capture real stories of immeasurable love and support from family and friends for gay and trans Guyanese.
Both videos have seen positive support publicly. All videos can be accessed online via the Guyana Together at guyanatogether.gy and the campaign’s social media pages on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with the handle @GuyanaTogether. The website also provides more information on the campaign and how supporters can become involved.
The Guyana Together is a grassroots, public education effort to increase acceptance levels among Guyanese and reduce the level of stigma and prejudice for LGBT+ Guyanese. The campaign focuses on sharing the stories of LGBT+ people who have found acceptance and support from family, coworkers, neighbours, friends and religious leaders among others.
Guyana Together hopes to start a nationwide conversation about how each of us can help to make change in terms of unity for the Guyana we ALL love. Together, these efforts will help to reveal and strengthen Guyana’s majority support for repealing the discriminatory laws that criminalise consensual intimacy between adult men in private.
