{Photo of Wanda provided by la -Fundación Procrear- in el barrio Santa Fé}
Read more about the murder of Wanda Fox and the pain felt by other community members in her absence: -http://fundacionprocrear.org/index.php-
I received a text message from one of the girls this morning..."Amiga...Wanda is gone...she was shot five times last night [October 29, 2009]...we are so sad...all of us...and at the same time very scared." I almost dropped the phone and then burst into tears...tears for the loss of a friend, tears for the loss of an energetic and empathetic community activist working to inform other trans sex workers about their rights and safe practices, tears of rage just thinking of the person/people [according to various street informants - a combination of corrupt police & paramilitary] who committed such a hateful crime against humanity...
Two of the girls came over today ( I refer to all research actors [aka participants] in terms with which they identify - these particular girls form part of the youth transgender community in Santa Fé). I invited them for lunch so that we could process the murder of Wanda Fox in a private context outside of 'the zone of tolerance.'
After cooking lunch and drinking our tinto (coffee) awkwardly, we started to look at photos of Wanda and talk about the good times we shared...practicing for the -Zona Trans- dance performance, making collages about sexual empowerment and identity, parchando (a form of street outreach developed by la Fundación Procrear) in the trans sector of the prostitution zone...At times we sat in silence because I was paralyzed with rage and could not form words to express my sorrow and empathy...
One of the girls showed me a poem she wrote in memory of Wanda...the other talked about receiving a flyer (tucked neatly under her hotel [pay-per-day apartment] door) threatening the lives of people on the streets....turns out to be the same flyer I posted in my last blog entry....yes, this is social cleansing in Santa Fé...
Wanda's death symbolizes hatred of deviance...of that which is different...of girls selling bodies...of the moral panic surrounding bodily transformation and sexual identities that erase boundaries and challenge the normative structure of Colombian society...
Perhaps those who killed Wanda did so because of their ('sinful'/'fatal') attraction to her (and their inability to control/explain/justify it)?
As Wanda often said, "No nos ponemos tetas para que nos llamen señor" {We don't get tits for them to call us sir} and "Queremos que dejen de reconocernos por LAS P Y P, queremos otras oportunidades que no sean las de Puta o Peluquera" {We want to be seen for more than the P and P, we want other opportunities besides prostitution and hairdressing} (quotes posted by Jhon Jairo Pinzon, Fundación Procrear: -see Jhon's story-).
Wanda Fox was shot five times on Thursday from a moving taxi...she was standing with a group of friends and was the only one targeted. Wanda died in hospital Santa Clara upon arrival...Katherine Noriega (another trans sex worker) was killed on the same street four days earlier...
Instead of public outcry surrounding hate crime, local news reports served only to essentialize the streets of Santa Fé, the deviance of transgender bodies and behavior, and the violence within the community (not against it)....
Wanda...may your social purpose live on through those you have touched and fill the gap of your presence felt by so many...
My ex wife used to work with people like Wanda. This happened five years ago, more or less. Actually, I think Colombia is the most corrupt country in Latin America. These days I have been reading a book written by an irish journalist about The Palace of Justice, the fire ... and the dirty war that ocurred in 1985 against our pseudo democracy and the dignity of colombian human beings. At that time nobody in the army or in the colombian government wanted to do anything in order to save the last 70 people who had been kidnapped inside the building and who, at the same time, were under army fire and at risk of dying from guerrilla. The thing is this: always, colombian governments have show us that they are cold and cynical. To them, the judges of The Supreme Court (you know, middle class people)doesn´t got any kind of human value. That is why you cannot expect a different attitude in relation with people who lives on the streets, or who works on the streets. I think the dirty war against people like Wanda is a common thing for colombian authorities and their hidden accomplices. This land is bleeding to death without remedy since the times of Frente Nacional, and even before. We missed the opportunity to give a disease therapy. Wanda was part of that dynamic. I know I sound pessimistic in extreme, but that is what has taught me this beautiful and contradictory land.
ReplyDelete