Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 7th Jan. International Migration agency on Saturday said that Shiraz, a 23-year-old Trans woman from Alexandria, Egypt, with support from the agency gets a new life in her new home in Izmir, Türkiye.
IOM said in après release issued in New York that Shiraz attempted suicide when she was not accepted by her family.
IOM stated that she had faced a tumultuous journey in order to find her place in the world.
She is studying programming and dreams of becoming a heart surgeon. She enjoys belly dancing, with her TikTok videos racking up thousands of views and likes, IOM noted.
It stressed that the perceptive observer would notice scars on her arms, which silently reveal her story.
Shiraz told that “I first identified as a girl when I was a child”. “I yearned to go to a school for girls.”
Her childhood revelation marked a shift in her life. Her conservative family, unable to comprehend her identity, responded with violence.
She was a teenager, they subjected her to painful electroconvulsive therapy and convinced her that her identity was a mental disorder, IOM stated.
Shiraz said “After a couple of sessions, I couldn’t take it anymore and attempted to commit suicide. I jumped from the third floor. I was rescued by people who gathered downstairs.”
She said she was enduring unimaginable torment, Shiraz failed to receive the necessary support.
The difference between her real appearance and the one on her official identity documents made it challenging, IOM said.
She found sanctuary in the home of her grandmother – her only supporter until she faced threats of violence. Shiraz was left stranded on the streets.
Shiraz learned of an NGO who helps people like her. she considered the possibility of migrating and began her journey to Türkiye.
She moved to Istanbul, then to Mersin in the south. Life was also not easy in the beginning, facing similar challenges, and seeking support and protection.
“I was depressed. I never imagined returning to education,” Shiraz said
Shiraz was referred by a local organization to the Mersin Migrant Municipal and Community Centre, run by the International Organization for Migration in coordination with the Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, that provides comprehensive assistance to those in need from psychosocial support to legal counseling and facilitation of essential paperwork, IOM added.
“It was IOM that breathed life back into my dreams,” she said.
The Centre has become a beacon of hope for Shiraz for past 2 years.
She received much-needed psychosocial support and help with accommodation.
IOM said the Centre provided her translation support to obtain identity documents and helped her enroll in a university in Izmir.
“I now study at the Programming Faculty, but I want to switch to medicine. I need to improve my Turkish for that,” she explains. “I want to become a heart surgeon, as it our hearts that often hurt. I want to help people.”
She is in the pipeline for resettlement to a third country. Shiraz anticipates a new chapter in another country and is set to realize her dreams, “like every girl should.”
She is proficient in Arabic, German, English, French, and Spanish is confident in her ability to settle in her permanent home.
The Municipal Migrant and Community Centre in Mersin, a part of IOM’s Protection and Resilience programming, is run in cooperation with the Mersin Metropolitan Municipality.
It is one of 6 centres operating nationwide, which aims to provide needed assistance to migrants and refugees and build cohesion between communities.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration provide funding to the organization and its programmes.
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