THE DEATH OF AN ACTIVIST
It is said that those people who
have achieved goals that not only benefit themselves but also a great part of
the community will be always reminded throughout history. That is the case of
Diana Sacayán, a transvestite who was naturally designed as the leader of many
LGBT groups when different protests took place. Being recognised by gays, lesbians,
transsexuals and the rest of the people who are used to suffering homophobia,
this charming woman used to work really hard to fulfill the aims she had in
terms of fighting against discrimination and trying to get more and more rights
for transvestite people. The law passed in the Legislature of Buenos Aires a
month ago is the most recent example of one of Diana’s success, which
establishes that at least 1% of public employees should be transvestites. Definitely,
she was one of those people who seem not to know the word impossible. In fact, as soon as it appeared on the news that Diana
Sacayán had been killed, all the LGBT congregated and asked for justice. As
nobody answered, they started to march.
Diana had gone through difficult
experiences throughout her life. It is common knowledge that it is quite hard
for a person who was born in a province to settle in the capital of our
country. Imagine if, apart from that, a person is transvestite. Descendant from
the diaguitas tribe, she was born in
Tucumán and she arrived in Buenos Aires when she was only two years old -after
her family made the decision of leaving San Miguel-. Diana had got long, dark
hair and piercieng eyes which characterized her penetrating glance. She was undoubtedly
born to be an activist -she was the main founder of MAL (Movimiento
Antidiscriminatorio por la Liberación)-.
It is not unusual for transvestites
and transexuals to prostitute themselves due to the social exclusion and the
lack of job placement they suffer. In this way, when she was 17, she started
prostituing herself. It lasted ten years, until a friend of Diana employed her
in a bakery. That was the same time in which she started fighting for transsexuals’
rights. Not a long time passed until she became one of the main social referents
for LGBT, a leader who functioned as a trigger for the other girls with her
sexual condition to be motivated and know that there are lots of opportunities
in society waiting for them. In fact, Diana will always be reminded by being
one of the first transvestites who received the new DNI -which indicates her
female genre-
Not only Diana’s friends but also
her acquaintances have mentioned that she enjoyed living her life in that way
and that she had a lot of projects and aims to fulfill in a near future. That
is why there is no possible answer to her death. Definitely, we are talking
about a travesticidio. Why did she
die in this way? Why was she killed so cruelly? Were her fights affecting
somebody’s interests? Unfortunately, it was not the first time she was victim
of homophobic aggression; she had suffered several affronts when she just
walked down the streets, immersed in this male chauvinist society in which we
live.
Dario, what a great piece of news! I totally agree with Diana, she´s a real heroine. I strongly believe that no matter what your sexual preferences are or the clothes you wear, what really matters is how qualified you are for a job and the energy you put to achieve what you want. It is very important to hire poeple by considering her/his aptitudes and not his/her external appearence. Besides, in order to get our children used to appreciate not only sexual diversity but cultural as well. I hope people respect Diana´s effort and legacy to give transvestites and transexuals a dignified job.
ResponderBorrar