And while that killer croc is being hunted – yesterday in a disturbing episode a transgender person was pursued and harassed in a similar fashion on the Belize City streets. It happened in broad daylight at around 5:00 pm. The transgender male from Independence who identifies as Vanessa Champagne Paris was coming from the vital statistics office – where she had gone to get a birth certificate. She was walking back to Vernon Street to catch a bus when, near the Berger Football Field, a group of men seized upon her. She told Monica Bodden about the frightening chase that followed – for her safety we have blurred her face – and we warn you that the story does have some strong language:
Vanessa Champagne Paris - Was Assaulted By A Mob
"When I got close to the football field, there a lot of boys playing football. One of them saw me, and said, 'That's a man'. The other guys started looking at me, and then one of them ran off the field, grabbed stones and started throwing them at me. They were all calling me 'batty man' and 'faggot'. The others joined him throwing stones at me. I tried to avoid that, and I tried to run. When I got a little distance away, some other boys were on the street, and the boy who was chasing me, shouted to them that I was a man. So, they started to chase me, and I started to run as fast as I could, but I couldn't escape. They grabbed him in my dress - because I had on a black dress. They then pulled off my wig, held me down, and started to punch me in my face. They dragged me to the ground and started to beat me up, 4 boys. I walked to the roadside to Central American Boulevard, and some kids were still following me. They were throwing stones at me. I went to a drug store, stood there hoping somebody would help me, but nobody came to my aid. A boy picked up a stick, and tried to beat me with it. He threw the stick at me.
Monica Bodden
"Has this ever happened to you before?"
Vanessa Champagne Paris
"No, not in this kind of way, so vicious."
Monica Bodden
"At any point, were you afraid that they might kill you?"
Vanessa Champagne Paris
"Yes, as they grabbed me, I was already afraid. I just said, 'Well, this is the end.' In fact, if I didn't run into the drug store that would have been the end."
Caleb Orozco - Executive Director, UNIBAM
"One of the things that affects a person after a mob attack, insults and threats like that is regaining your self-worth or confidence as a human being. It's going to affect her ability to meet her basic need, which is work, food, clothing and shelter. Call it what you may, but we all must live and need food, clothing and shelter. For her, I challenge anybody to have her experience and be able to provide for yourself."
You've heard her story of extreme street harassment and humiliation – but who is Vanessa Paris? Well she's a Belizean born as a male but says she has always felt herself to be a female. She explained to Monica:
Vanessa Champagne Paris - Attacked By A Mob
"I feel like a female because the way I walk, the way I dress. I choose to - I just feel feminine."
Monica Bodden
"From ever since, from I was young."
Caleb Orozco - Executive Director, UNIBAM
"In this case, the collateral damage in this violence is the human dignity of the individual. When we speak of mob attacks, or in this case, you know when things have changed when parents are encouraging their young children to hurt another person without any regard that child can be hurt sometime in the future. The challenge here is for the state to respond to the idea that discrimination is an issue, and to respond to how it would invest its time, energy, and resources in the issue of upholding human dignity inclusive of LGBT concerns."
A few notes, Vanessa only received minor injury in the entire debacle and complains of pain to her jaw. Her birth certificate was stolen in the process.
She says police were very helpful to her. Notably, she told police that she was going to the Vital Statistics Office to change her name to Vanessa Paris. That was earlier in the day near the Pound Yard Bridge when she had to run away from another group that wanted to beat her up. 2 weeks ago, we learned of a threat to beat her up at a bus stop on Albert Street – but, in that case, the situation was defused.
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