IN September of last year, one of the most unique initiatives Guyana has seen, the Guyana Together campaign, began with a focus on tolerance and acceptance. Since its inception by SASOD, the campaign has helped many people share their stories of support. This week, Pepperpot Magazine explores one such story.

Whether through challenging times or life-changing events, being there for family is crucial for most people. Many in Guyana’s LGBTQIA community lack this deep and profoundly significant support. As Pride Month draws to a close, Pepperpot Magazine spoke with siblings whose bond is so strong it crushes barriers.

Kaisha and Tarique Davis were not particularly close growing up with their extended family. Today, however, their relationship is as strong as ever, blossoming into a profoundly supportive bond. That is why, when Tarique came out as transgender several years ago, Kaisha was among the first to support him—and she continues to do so today. Kaisha and Tarique spoke to Pepperpot Magazine about the importance of support.

Growing Up
Kaisha and Tarique came from a middle-class extended family on the East Coast Demerara. Despite a few ups and downs, their childhood was good. “We didn’t always grow up together. Tarique came to live with us when he was around six or seven, after his grandmother passed away. Since then, we’ve lived with our mom on the East Coast.”

Their relationship evolved over time. When Kaisha gave birth to her first child, Tarique was there for her. “When I was having my first daughter, Jaz, I couldn’t have asked for better support than Tarique. Interestingly, my eldest daughter shares many of Tarique’s characteristics—she’s a perfectionist and very competitive.”

Tarique’s support was crucial for Kaisha, and for the first time, they formed a relationship beyond their childhood. She explained how Tarique offered a unique perspective, saying, “During some marital issues, Tarique was the only person I could talk to without fear of judgment. He’s more open-minded and tries to understand things from different perspectives.”

Coming Out
When Tarique came out as transgender a few years ago, Kaisha was taken by surprise. “Initially, because I was so unaware of what trans is. I didn’t understand.”

However, Kaisha was adamant that she would support Tarique the way he supported her. She further added that, “In my mind, I’m thinking regardless of if Tarique is trans or not, Tarique is my sibling, end of the day. Tarique is my sibling. I don’t care who Tariq decides to love. Tariq is my sibling, and I would love him regardless.”

Tarique shared what he remembers about coming out to his sister. As he stated, “I’ve never came out. I was just, I was myself and I would have been very stern, like, listen, this is who I am. Identify me as this… when you’re talking to me, these are my pronouns. So, the way I dress and everything, yeah, would have affirmed everything.”

The Importance of Visibility
Throughout the years that Kaisha has been an active ally of Tarique, she says she has learned almost as much as Tarique has. However, the biggest challenges she sees are the lack of representation of people like Tarique. As she shared, “I think that we don’t have enough exposure towards the LGBTQ community, and we don’t have the knowledge base, basically, to help educate society. So, because of that, I think it’s because we don’t know about it, we don’t understand it.”

Tackling Misconceptions
Misconceptions are what Kaisha and Tarique are working to change. As Kaisha explained, “I think the biggest misconception is that if somebody is trans, if they’re gay or bisexual, whatever it may be, that it can level off. That they can rub off onto someone else and that they can pray it away… Somebody always want to say, ‘you should pray more’, ‘you should do this more’, but how can you tell someone that when you don’t know their psyche, when you don’t know their history, what they’ve been through, their journey in order to get where they are actually?”

Importance of support
Today, Kaisha is just one of many people in Guyana right now who are part of the Guyana Together Campaign, an initiative working towards fostering tolerance, inclusivity and support to members of the LGBTQ community. Support is extremely relevant, says Kaisha. “Support is so important because if you don’t get the support from your family – and I can say that Tarique went through this himself – you feel like an outcast. You feel like people who were put on this earth to love you, they don’t, and that can hurt a lot. So having family there to support you is very, very important. And sometimes it may not be your blood relative that is the one that’s going to support you.”

Tarique shed light on what this support personally means. Saying, “My sister’s support means a lot to me…because just being a minority, you are part of a community, but you’re still in the minority of that community… So, the support of my sister [is important], just because persons would not be, educated on the topic…Even persons that are part of the community are not really educated on, like, what it is to be trans, what it means to be trans. So sometimes we face discrimination in there.”

Love them for who they are
Kaisha and Tarique are part of a larger, glaring topic that is true acceptance. It may be in our culture to be sceptical of those who are different. But Kaisha urges everyone everywhere to love those around you, feeling for what makes them human and not what makes them different. As she said, “I would say that like, regardless of their gender and sexuality, you should be able to love a person for who they are, for their characteristics, for the things they do, for the way they are. Just love them and stop loving what society thinks they should be.”