Hindi mapigilang ni Arielle Keil, ang unang transgender woman na pambato ng New Zealand sa Miss Intercontinental pageant, ang maging emosyonal nang magkuwento tungkol sa kaniyang ina at kaniyang mga naging karanasan.
Ayon sa 26-anyos na half-Filipina, tatlong taon na niyang hindi nakikita ang kaniyang ina matapos siyang palayasin sa kanilang tahanan dahil sa kaniyang transition.
“The last time I saw my mom in person was when I was kicked out of home. I haven’t seen her since. It’s been three and a half years. It does make me sad because there is so much of my life that she had missed out on,” sabi niya.
“You know, the good, the bad, and everything. And I wish, you know, that I could share this with her. It makes me sad because it’s not something that I can take back. We can’t relieve the coronation, so she can’t be here to share the moment with me,” idinagdag niya.
Ikinuwento ni Keil na nahihirapan siya tuwing Pasko dahil wala siyang pamilyang makakasama, lalo na't importanteng okasyon para sa mga Pinoy ang Pasko.
Sa kabila nito, umaasa pa rin ang beauty queen na matatanggap siya ng kaniyang ina balang araw.
“So, hopefully, one day she does come around. I’m a very loving and forgiving person, so I will never like hold a grudge… Sorry, I don’t want to cry. Yeah, I would never hold a grudge against my mother,” aniya.
Samantala, buong suporta naman raw ang binigay ng kaniyang tatay sa kaniyang paglalakbay sa pageant industry.
Ibinahagi rin ni Keil ang kaniyang pagtanggap sa kaniyang pagkatao at ang pag-abot sa kaniyang mga pangarap kasabay ng paglaban sa diskriminasyon.
“My whole life, all I heard was ‘bakla,’ ‘bayot’ — all of that, but not once did I change. I would come home crying because kids would bully me and not once did I think, ‘I’m gonna try to be more masculine’.’” sabi ni Keil.
Ayon kay Keil, pinangarap na raw niyang maging isang beauty queen simula pa nang pagkabata.
“I stayed true to myself and look where it got me,” idinagdag nito.
Pinayuhan rin ni Keil ang mga magulang na nahihirapang matanggap ang kanilang mga anak na tingnan kung ano ba talaga ang mahalaga.
“My message to the parents would be to look at why you have those views around transgender people, around gay people, whatever, and then ask yourself, ‘are those views more important than the child I raised?’,” aniya.
Samantala, binigyan niya ng lakas ng loob ang iba pang transgender women na manatiling matatag at patuloy na abutin ang kanilang mga pangarap kahit ano pa ang sabihin ng mga tao.
“Keep pushing. Keep fighting. There’s going to be so many people that are going to tell us that we don’t belong here. Beauty queen isn’t determined by how you were born, you know what body you were born into. It’s not about here, it’s about what’s in here,” ani Keil.--FRJ, GMA News
