Blert Morina, one of the most courageous voices inside the transgender community in Kosovo

Redaksia Posted On 05/02/2019

He’s one of the most courageous voices inside the transgender community in Kosovo. The first to start the transition process, he opposed the hetero-normative society norms and started a legal battle to set the first precedent of changing the gender in identification documents. This is the story of Blert Morina, one of the first activists for LGBTI+ rights in Kosovo and director of CEL, the NGO dealing with the LGBTI+ community in Kosovo.

In this interview, Blert elaborates on his journey full of hurdles and surprises, from the early efforts of trying to contact specialized doctors, to the controversial laws of Kosovo and many other challenges he has faced during the past years and continues to face to fulfill his main goal: being his true self.

Around what age did you realize your true gender identity? Since I was a little kid, I’ve always seen myself as a boy. I started understanding more about my gender identity during the puberty when due to the physical changes, I realized that my biological gender didn’t match with the gender I identified with.

When did you come out as transgender and how were the people’s reactions? Honestly speaking, I’ve always considered myself as a boy. But it came a time in my life when I started getting more information about the transgender community and at that moment I realized that there are other people who feel exactly how I felt at the time. I started expressing my feelings to some family members and I came out to them 5 years ago. I must say that I was really surprised by their positive and supportive reactions. I thought it would be difficult for them to understand and I had prepared my luggage and started considering moving out, before coming out to them. The reaction was that supportive, that one of my sisters said to me: “Finally you came out, we’ve always called that in question.”

After that moment, I started getting comfortable with myself and my identity and started introducing myself as Blert (male name), not hesitating to express who I truly was.

How important is the support of family members for transgender individuals?

Definitely, really important! I think I would never be this who I am today, if it wasn’t for the support of my family.

The family’s support motivates these individuals and gives them courage to face social rejection and to start their transition process.

Now that you are a public figure in the Kosovan society and you came out publicly as transgender, have you ever been a victim of bullying?

Certainly there have been bullying incidents, threats and even cases of verbal violence. Luckily, I haven’t experienced any physical attacks, but I keep reminding myself of the fact that since I’m out publicly, I’ll have to be twice as careful about possible violent attacks, especially during the Pride month when visibility is even higher. Whenever we organize activities involving the community, the threat for possible attacks is higher but we try to be careful and to prevent such things from happening.

Personally, since February, the month in which I started the legal battle for gender recognition, I’ve been receiving numerous threats through social media. Even when I’m being interviewed for mainstream media, whenever the interview is over, I start receiving threats or insults.

You are the first transgender individual who has started the transitioning process in Kosovo. How did this journey start, especially in Kosovo where there is a lack of services and information?

Frankly speaking, it has been a long and difficult journey. Everything started in June 2017, when together with Lendi (another activist) we decided to start the procedures for the transitioning process. Until November, we were constantly reaching out to our colleagues in Montenegro so we could start with hormonal therapy because it costs less in Montenegro compared to Serbia. After discussing the process, we realized that it was difficult for us to start the therapy there because of the language barrier. Some Montenegrin activists recommended us a psychologist based in Kosovo, but we were really disappointed by the procedures, because of the lack of information and experience from the psychologist. Still, I kept insisting and I could finally get the recommendation from him and finally start with hormonal therapy.

Since Belgrade was the only option at that stage, I got in touch with a specialized clinic there, where I could continue the psychological therapy and consultation, but the tests weren’t included in the package. When I got the necessary information I realized that I couldn’t financially afford it. Apart from that, I decided to travel to Belgrade with some friends of mine, who would be filming a documentary for the whole gender transition process of mine. On that day, a politician was killed in Serbia and due to the turmoil, our trip was postponed. On that same evening, a friend of mine told me that in Macedonia there was a case of a person that went successfully through the transitioning process.

I was surprised by what I heard and after asking some Macedonian friends and colleagues, I found out the necessary information about the doctor and the hospital where the process had happened. Immediately at that moment, I set an appointment and I started getting ready to travel to Macedonia. The evening before my appointment was the longest evening of my life. Different thoughts were going through my mind and I was expecting just an informative session and nothing else. I was worried and I didn’t know if the recommendation would be valid or not.

What happened during your appointment in Macedonia?

The next day I arrived in Macedonia and I met with an endocrinologist. He sent me to do some tests. After getting the results back, I was told that I was ready to start the transition process and they gave me my first shot of testosterone and specified the dose I would get on a daily basis for the next three months. Everything seemed like a dream. I couldn’t believe what was happening! After this, I returned to Kosovo, where I informed Lendi and he also started his transition after two months.

How were you able to get access to the hormones?

Actually, in Kosovo there are all sorts of medicine and hormones for our cases, but it’s the endocrinologists who refuse to give these hormones to us. We had to get a prescription from the Macedonian doctor and then we could get the medicine from big drugstores in Kosovo. I personally preferred to get the hormones in Macedonia.

Do you have any information about people in Kosovo, who try to get access to hormones without medical prescription?

As far as I know, there are just a couple of people who have started the hormonal transition in Kosovo, members of the community who are out like me and Lendi. I think that whoever tries to get hormones without medical prescription, is obligated to do so, as the medical costs of such treatments in hospitals are expensive. However, all these people should understand that starting the hormonal therapy without medical supervision, might cause health issues and it is not recommended.

How has your therapy been going?

The hormonal dosage is constantly changing and I have to monitor my hormonal levels through regular medical examinations. Psychologically speaking, it is a very delicate process and many people often forget that it requires a lot of emotional support. It is recommended that the whole hormonal transition process should be followed with regular therapy sessions with a psychologist. The testosterone dosage leads to aggressiveness and that has had a huge impact on me, as I’ve always been a calm and patient person.

After the hormonal therapy process will be done, are you planning on proceeding with the sex reassignment surgery?

I am positive that as soon as I will have all the financial means, I will be able to finish the whole transitioning process.

When it comes to the legislation, we’ve heard that the laws here in Kosovo give a better advantage to LGBTI+ individuals. Is it possible, according to current laws, for a person to change his legal gender in personal documents?

It is true that Kosovo has a quite advanced legal framework when addressing LGBTI+ issues. For example, the law for gender equality specifies who the transgender community is. Logically, one may think that this allows you to change your legal gender if you feel so. Still there’s some loopholes explaining the processes and procedures on how a citizen might change his name and gender identity in official documents.

Also the interpretation of the law specifies that the gender transitioning process isn’t crucial when it comes to changing your gender identity. So it is unlawful to set the transitioning process as a requirement for people who want to change their gender, because this service isn’t provided anywhere in Kosovo.

Last March I made an official request to the Municipality of Gjakova to change my name and legal gender. After a month I got a refusal letter from the municipality. I was surprised as I consider the right to change your name as a basic and universal right. After getting rejected, I appealed the decision in court and asked for a detailed explanation on why my request was refused. I updated the file with evidence on how my legal gender makes the integration process in society difficult for me. The answer to my request, as absurd as it sounds, required photographic evidence.

I continued with the appeling. According to a report issued by the Ombudsperson of Kosovo, cases like this might last from 3 to 8 years until the court takes a final verdict. Taking that in consideration, I sent a request to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and asked them to take my case into consideration. If my request gets approved and the Court allows me to change my name and legal gender, this will remark a huge advancement in LGBTI+ rights in Kosovo.

You were also the winner of the 2018 Prize for Democracy. Why is this prize important for the transgender community in Kosovo?

In my acceptance speech, I addressed the importance that the prize has for the transgender community in Kosovo. The prize means a lot to us because as long as it is given to a transgender person, it encourages, empowers and raises the visibility for the community.

Translation: Kevin Jasini

/k.m/