Intelligent, strong, and courageous. These are the adjectives that best describe Antonella Lerca, who kindly granted an interview to Il Grande Colibrì. As already reported, Antonella should have been the first Roma trans woman candidate for the municipal elections in Bucharest, Romania. Unfortunately, the 1700 signatures necessary for her candidacy to be valid have not been collected. The news -which for us was a real cold shower- did not discourage Antonella. She intends to run again in the elections which will be held in four years, because as she has reminded us several times: we must never stop fighting.
What are some of the difficulties you have to endure daily and what measures have been put in place by the government to face this difficult situation?
The country is experiencing a serious crisis: the virus has had repercussions on the economy and this has contributed to further increase inequality and the number of poor people. As an association, we try to do everything possible to provide help and support to the most vulnerable but we often find ourselves in great difficulty. The requests for assistance are multiplying, and to solve this very complicated situation everyone’s help and commitment are needed. Central government measures are not enough to contain the emergency, and let’s point out that the food aid offered by the state is not given to the LGBTQIA community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, and asexual).
Not to mention the extensive difficulties trans people -who were already particularly penalized before the virus arrival- are facing! Normally, no form of health and psychological assistance is provided for them. The current situation has further aggravated everything. Therefore, as an association, we try to offer concrete and stable assistance. We are also building a safe space in which people can meet, feel welcome, and heard. Read the full interview
An out transgender woman is making a historic bid for public office in Romania.
by Vic Parsons
Antonella Lerca, a Roma woman and sex worker, is campaigning to run as an independent candidate for District 2 in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. Launching her campaign today, she told PinkNews that she’d grown tired of seeing no representation of LGBT+ people in politics and this had made her decide to run herself.
“I’d had enough of rich white privileged men making decisions for vulnerable communities in Romania,” Lerca said, “like the Roma community, transgender community and sex worker community – the three communities I am part of. We don’t have anyone from the LGBT+ community in Romanian politics. I face a lot of conservative people.”
Lerca, 30, added that she will draw on eight years experience as a human-rights activist in her campaign. “I’ve met a lot of vulnerable communities,” she said. “My entire life experience has given me the power to make this decision.”
Romania recently narrowly avoided seeing discussions of “gender identity ideology” banned in schools, when a bill passed in the senate on June 16 – but was then opposed by president Klaus Iohannis. Read more via Pink News