RIKA’S METAMORPHOSIS
Vitalis Yogi Trisna, Kompas.com

Rika (23) is a transgender who makes her living as a sex worker (PSK). Although she was diagnosed with HIV in 2008, Rika still maintains her job because she finds it hard making a living any other way.

It is almost impossible for Rika to land on a decent job, since the only education she ever had was the six years she had completed in Elementary School. A native of Medan, Rika also finds that her status as a transgender makes her an easy bullying target, not to mention a victim of discrimination.

Rika took the risk of running away to Jakarta because she was shamed by her family and everyone around her. To survive, at thirteen years old, Rika had little choice but to sell her body, night after night, for money.

After years of living in Jakarta as a transgender, Rika has had plenty of horrifying experiences, including being chased around by security guards, spending the night in a holding cell at Pondok Bambu Correctional Facility, and—even more gruesome—she nearly lost her left eye after getting caught in a fight with one of her regulars. As a result of the fight, now she had problems with her eyesight.

“I don’t think there’s anyone out there who would want to live my life,” said Rika. “I often feel tired of living my life, but I have no other choice but to get through it.”

Rika’s intention to improve her life began to see light when she joined the Indonesian Transgender Forum (FKWI)—a non-profit organization for transgenders to come together and be each other’s support.

Yulianus Rettoblaut or Mami Yuli, the chair person of FKWI, recruited Rika for three hours a day as an administrative staff at the organization, tasked with arranging documents and setting up schedules for FKWI activities. Even though she doesn’t yet know what she wants to do in the future, Rika says she feels as though she is experiencing one of life’s metamorphosis.

“Nearly all transgenders in Indonesia have the same problem. We are discriminated by our family and everyone around us, so we have no choice but to escape—leave behind our families and all hopes of a decent life. In the end, we become prostitutes to survive,” said Mami Yuli.

Empowerment is an effort to make something more meaningful.