His gender transition from female to male would be the biggest change in his life. When the Russian bombs started to fall on Kyiv, he was forced to flee to a war refugee.
Like the 2 million Ukrainian refugees who woke up one day to the terrifying sound of shelling, Andriy realized that his life was over.
It doesn't matter if you are trans or not. Everyone is scared by the war. I know strong men who are afraid of bombing.
I had a nice job, plans, apartment, but I can't think about Kyiv under Russia or Putin as our president, he said. We have not been living. We were always hiding and hearing sirens.
As he and his mother hid in a subway station for three nights, he had the first question of any war refugee: Where will we live? Where are we going?
Different questions raced through his mind when he was a man assigned female at birth. He uses a pseudonym to protect his identity.
He read that men in their 60s were not allowed to leave the country and were obligated to serve in the military.
He told Insider that he needed to care for his mother. Leaving her to flee alone was not an option.
He was forced into a military draft because of his gender identity and felt he only had one option.
The river of desperate refugees was the reason why Andriy decided to join it.
How do I show my passport as a woman? He asked if they would let him through the border as a man.
He got in touch with Rain Dove Dubilewski, a London activist and model who is leading an effort to get trans people out of Ukraine.
A team of 50 volunteers, including caseworkers, are supporting people forced to flee.
The conversation quickly turned from "hello" to "Ivy's anatomy" in the messages between Dubilewski and Andriy.
Dubilewski asked if you had top or bottom surgery. Andriy had not. They needed to know if he had a female passport.
Dubilewski told Andriy that he needed to hide his ID and leave as soon as possible.
The journey to the border with his mom was sleepless and filled with high anxiety. The first stop was the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, as well as its central station of confusion and chaos heaving with mothers and children, foreigners and students just trying to get home, and older and vulnerable people.
They found a place on the train for the border with Poland after seven hours. The document checks came first.
I was terrified. I was so tired that my head was messed up. Mom told them that we lost all the documents and only had a copy of my female ID. He said that the conductor looked at him closely and asked him to take off his hat.
They were on their way to the crossing point Przemysl, Poland, and they had to return to being the person they were before.
We decided I had to whisper so that nobody would notice my deep voice.
It took 15 hours to travel 50 miles after the train crawled to safety. He said that the carriage was filled with the sound of weeping and some became angry. The water ran out.
I couldn't sleep until I crossed the border. He told Insider that when they arrived at Przemysl, they had to pass through customs. It took three minutes.
I have never been so happy and exhausted.
Dubilewski said that if the border force saw him as a man, he would have to stay in Ukraine and not care for his mother.
According to the advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people, Ukraine is 39th out of 49 countries.
Trans people are affected by the military call-up in Ukraine.
If recruited, trans people face a higher risk of harassment and violence. A valid identity card is required for access to food banks, shelters, and other essentials. It can lead to denial of service, besides suspicion of fraud, ridicule, harassment, and violence.
Dubilewski said thatUkraine has a lot of wonderful people, hard-working people, and people who are exceptional during wartime. The bias and prejudice are still present.
How do you know if the people next to you want you to live in a war zone?
Dubilewski said they were working hard to get people out of Ukraine.
They said that their team had a 100% success rate in getting people out of Ukraine.
Dubilewski said that they can't help that transphobia will exist as they go on their journey. We promise them that there will be people who will help them get out of Ukraine.
They are living in Berlin.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
