Each year the LGBTQIA+ community in many places mark November 20th as Transgender day of Remembrance (TDOR) where we remember the countless transgender and gender queer individuals who were murdered for their gender identity and expression.
Between October 2023 and September 2024, it has been reported and listed that about 427 transgender individuals that were murdered around the world, 09 of which are from the Philippines. This data is from tdor.translivesmatter.info. But we know in reality there are many more who were not reported or known. TDOR reminds us of the real and present danger of being transgender or gender queer in many places especially in developing countries such as the Philippines, Latin America, and Middle Eastern Countries. We’re also reminded of the many other struggles of transgender people with the lack or limited economic opportunities and social services while experiencing continuous discrimination and facing the constant threat of violence everywhere. Our remembrance is also a call to action to continue our ministry of safe space where trans people can be who they are and express themselves. Our remembrance is a call to action to do what we can individually and collectively to advocate for the lives, rights, and dignity of trans people. Let us therefore honor our trans siblings in prayerful remembrance:
Let us Pray: Holy and Loving One, we lift up to you these names of our transgender siblings and doing so remember them. We lift up to you their names, their stories, their struggles and their horrible death. No one should ever be abused and murdered because of their gender identity and expression yet this is the reality of our world today. And so we pronounce some of their names in solemn remembrance:
- R.Hong | 41 years old | Shot | Carcar, Cebu City, Philippines
- G. Cabansag | 40 years old | Stabbed | Ilagan City, Isabela, Philippines
- Jano | 36 | Shot | Cebu City, Philippines
- K.Lubaton | 30 | Hit on the head with a hammer by her boyfriend | Davao City, Philippines
- Diana Zoe López García | 47 | Transcommunity leader stabbed to death | Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Aytan | tortured and beated to death | Baku (Azerbaijan)
- Reshma Khatun | 25 | beaten to death | Bangladesh
- Erick Salinas | 38 year old transman | Stabbed | Bolivia
- Beidy Gonçalves | 27 | burned alive | Espírito Santo (Brazil)
- Keny | 16 years old | beaten, stabbed, and shot | Santiago Chile
- Luisa | 25 | Luisa is one of eight trans women reported to have been killed in Colombia between January and April 2024.
- Daniela Perea | 16 | raped and struck on the head | Tadó, Chocó (Colombia)
- Helen García Artelles | coordinator of the TransCuba Network | murdered | Camagüey, Cuba.
- María José | 30 | Shot | Ecuador
- Gérard Élisé Lanson | 21 | Transman from Lyon France
- Kesaria Abramidze | 37 | Stabbed | Tiblisi, Georgia
- Sirena Miller | Murdered | Guatemala
- El Hooper | 28 | shot | Guyana
- Monica Santos | Trans-activist | Shot | Honduras
- Raju | 50 years old | Lynched on accusations already disproven by the police | Telangana, India
- Manimekalai | 27 | Stabbed | Tamil Nadu, India
- Parsa | 17 years old | Stabbed by own father after 3 years of abuse because of gender identity | Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran
- Simsim | 28 years old | stabbed | Diwaniyah, Iraq
- Alessandra De Marzo | possible suicide | Apulia, Italy
- Dr. Samantha Carolina Gomes Fonseca | 37 | Trans activist and a candidate for the senate. A Medal of Merit Awardee for human rightsfor the dedicating her life for LGBTQIA+ rights and the rights of persons deprived of liberty | Shot by Assassins | Mexico City, Mexico.
- Miriam Nohemí Ríos Ríos | A political leader and trans commissioner of ovimiento Ciudadano [the Citizen Movement party] in the municipality of Jacona. | Shot | Zamora, Michoacán, Mexico.
- Charmy Fredricks | 30 | Stabbed and mutilated | Khomas (Namibia)
- Antonina Babkina | 25 | Antonia died by suicide in Drachten asylum centre. She had sought refuge in the Netherlands after the invasion of Ukraine, but did not receive the support she needed to flourish.
- Teresa Murillo | 31 | strangled with wire | Managua, Nicaragua
- Abuja Area Mama | 33 | Beaten to death | Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
- Babli | tortured and hanged | Punjab (Pakistan)
- Amanda Lucía Martínez | stabbed to death | Panama City, Panama
- Abigail Salvatierra | Beated and shot | Chincha, Peru
- Jo-Ann Isaks | 27 | Stabbed | Northern Cape, South Africa
- Roberta Marrero | 52 | an artist who died of suicide | Madrid, Spain
- M.E. | seeking to escape Syria however was deported back to Syria from Turkey. Murdered because of her trans identity and HIV status.
- Rinlada | 23 | Stabbed to death | Koh Samui, Surat Thani, Thailand
- Ariya | 38 | robbed and shot | Mueang Kanchanaburi District, Thailand
- Goldie | Stabbed | Port Au Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
- Gece Yaniker | 23 | Manner of murder unknown | Istanbul, Turkey
- Leandro Walker Titley | 21 | transman who died of suicide
- Tee Arnold | 36 | Transman killed by shooting | Hallandale Beach, Florida (USA)
- “TK” Hill | 35 | TK was a community leader who ran a hair salon serving the LGBTQIA+ community known for his kindness, humility, and exceptional talent. The circumstances of his murder are not known.
- Alex Taylor Franco | 21 | a transman shot to death. 3 teenagers were arrested and alleged for his murder | Lehi, Utah, USA
- Andrea Doria Dos Passos | 37 | A transwoman experiencing homelessness was beaten to death with a metal pipe while she was sleeping on the street. | Miami, Florida, USA
- Grance Hidalgo | 27 | Shot | Aragua, Venezuela
- Arcel Regio | 50 | Stabbed | San Juan, Batangas, Philippines
- Coach Jay Unchuan | 46 | Strangled and drowned | Cebu, Philippines
- J. Sabido | 63 | robbed and stabbed to death | Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines
- Choi Pabillo | 36 | murdered but details are unknown | Ternate, Cavite, Philippines
And we remember and include in this holy remembrance the rest of the 427+ transgender people who were killed and murdered between October 2023 to September 2024. R: We include in holy remembrance all those other transgender individuals whose names and stories were never reported and listed but are known to you, eternal One.
They have experienced such horror in this world R: May they now experience love and acceptance in your eternal embrace.
In their memory and for the sake of other trans and gender queer people living here and everywhere, R: inspire us and push us to be in constant solidarity with the transgender community.
With this remembrance and realities, call us and strengthen us R: to continue to offer safe spaces for them and deliver messages of inclusion and hope for transgender and gender queer individuals.
Push us and move us R: to take part in their movement for social justice, legal protection, and equal rights.
This is our prayer R: and may our prayer and remembrance lead us to action and compassion
in your holy and loving Name and through Jesus Christ, in whom we have hope and resurrection. R: Amen
