A refugee has said they get complimented in Liverpool for the same thing which caused them to be attacked in their home country.
Arthur Britney Joestar, who lives in Aigburth, became the first person in the UK to be granted refugee status on the basis of being non-binary, in a landmark ruling. At the time, in 2020, immigration judges said the artist would face persecution for their identity, including sexual violence, if they returned to El Salvador in Central America.
Being discriminated against for their gender identity is nothing new for the 31-year-old. They claimed one day when they were walking home from university in El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador, they were attacked for their then-shoulder-length, blonde hair. During the five-minute beating, Arthur Britney was told they would be taught “how to be a man”.
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The aspiring musician explained that incidents like these were not just isolated to the LGBTQ+ community but happened to women as well. The heavily Catholic country holds some of the most repressive gender laws in the world, with abortion being banned under all circumstances and even women who suffer miscarriages and stillbirths are sometimes accused of killing their babies and sentenced to years in prison. Only in 2020, three police officers were given 20-year jail sentences for murdering a transgender woman, Camila Díaz Córdova, in what were the first murder convictions in El Salvador involving a trans victim.
After several incidents of physical abuse and constant verbal abuse, the theology graduate made a choice to move to the UK in 2017 for a better life. Arthur Britney now lives in Aigburth, where others stop and tell them they love the same thing which caused them to be beaten up in their home country, their hair. They said that even when they had just begun using make-up and "looked like a racoon", Liverpudlians would tell them they looked gorgeous.
However, despite being free now, when they first moved to the UK as an asylum seeker, they faced other challenges, just ones which weren’t as extreme as those back home. One of the issues Arthur Britney had to deal with was financial struggles. As an asylum seeker, they weren’t allowed to work and claimed they only received £35 a week - which meant clothes and make-up which would help them explore their gender identity was “totally off the table”.
They said: “My life can be looked at in phases, the first one was when I was back home totally unhappy, I tried to be masculine to fit into society and I tried to kill myself. The second one was when I came to the UK and I was teased with freedom. I wasn’t able to enjoy it. I was able to be happy and let my hair grow but the reality is my experience was very cruel.
"I wasn’t able to explore my gender identity as I only had a little taste of freedom. I didn’t have money to buy dresses, I wore clothes people donated to me and weren’t my size. How could I demonstrate who I was, that I was so queer and non-binary, if I didn’t have the tools? There are still many challenges non-binary people face in the UK, we aren’t going to be killed but we still need to find things like a job which allows us to be the people we want to be.”
In response to Arthur Britney’s claims, the Home Office confirmed it doesn’t comment on individual cases, however, a spokesperson told the ECHO : “The UK has a proud record of providing protection to asylum seekers fleeing persecution, including individuals who are LGBTQ+. The Home Office continues to provide safe accommodation for destitute asylum seekers, including full board
Luckily, Arthur Britney did manage to find a job where they can present how they choose. Working as a programme assistant with Many Hands One Heart, a St Helens-based charity, Arthur Britney has helped "change the lives" of other LGBTQ+ people - who were in a similar situation to what they once were - through the arts.
They said: “Even before I got my status, I was actively involved in campaigns and raising awareness around HIV, so I am still doing that now. Fortunately, I am very grateful for the job I have because they are very lovely and supportive of me, in many senses, while I go through the process of understanding myself. The beauty of discovering yourself is that you develop as a person and I feel blessed to be here now.”
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