Little research exists that shows the impact of climate change on trans people. The United Caribbean Trans Network (UCTRANS), a network of trans organisations across the Caribbean, are undertaking research that will, for the first time, examine the linkages between legal gender recognition and the impacts of climate change in the Caribbean. They shared with us the story of Millie Milton, a fifty-seven-year-old Guyanese trans activist and community leader who lives on the Essequibo Coast of Guyana.
In July 2021, Guyana experienced a prolonged period of heavy rainfall. This prolonged rainfall, combined with the spring tide, led to flooding. Millie’s yard was underwater. “As an unemployed trans woman, it affected me because I am not prepared for the impact of a disaster like the floods,” Millie told UCTRANS.
She said that in order to support herself, she planted a kitchen garden and sold the produce to her neighbours. “The small kitchen garden was an income generator. I could have sold the bananas to my neighbours and used the money to buy fish or chicken.”
However, most of her plants died in the flood. She tried to replant, but in September of that year there was another flood, and everything died again.
Millie noted that the country’s Civil Defence Commission distributed food hampers in some communities. There was an initiative by the National Agriculture and Research Institute to encourage affected people to register for assistance. She registered, but when it came time to distribute the cash grants, because her appearance did not match her ID she was told that her name was not on the list. The bureaucratic process to rectify this took some time, and it took months to access seedlings and fertiliser. “There is no compensation for the labour or if I want to pay someone to help me cultivate the garden,” she said.
“I have no reserves… no savings… so it really hit me hard. Even though some people might just see it as a flood, it affected me.”
The flooding was a “rude awakening” for Millie because it showed what climate change can do to vulnerable people, especially those who have no savings and rely on government assistance. “I have no reserves… no savings… so it really hit me hard. Even though some people might just see it as a flood, it affected me.”
Stories like Millie’s show that the effects of climate change on trans communities can be particularly severe. As Alexus D’Marco, the Executive Director of UCTRANS states, “Climate justice and environmental work, led by trans organisations – who are already under-resourced, under capacity and challenged to get any of their needs met – are rare.”
This is why UCTRANS launched their groundbreaking research project. This will form the foundation of UCTRANS’ ongoing climate justice engagement and strategies. Talking about this research, Alexus said: “This is our second research project, and we found out that in most of the responses, persons who are already disenfranchised, it exacerbates the situation when a natural disaster happens.”