Obama's transgender nanny now a celebrity
Source: Agencies |
March 9, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
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US President Barack Obama's former nanny, Evie, is overwhelmed by her jolt from transgender slum-dweller to local celebrity. TV crews troop in and out of her tiny concrete hovel. Estranged relatives finally want to meet. She even has a promising job offer.
Evie, who was born male but considers herself a woman, decided after enduring years of abuse she'd be better off trying to just fit in. She stopped cross-dressing and has since eked out a living hand-washing clothes.
But since being the subject of an article about the struggles of transgender people in this predominantly Muslim nation, the 66-year-old has been showered with attention. It's mostly because of her long-ago connection to the now-US president, though she hopes it may generate more openness on gender issues.
"After living without hope for so long, like I was locked in a dark room, I feel like the door is open," said Evie, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. "It's like the winds of heaven are blowing hope for me."
"Even my relatives who never cared about me are now coming to see me."
Though many newcomers to Indonesia are surprised by the quasi-acceptance and pervasiveness of transgenders - seen on TV, working in salons - they are usually the object of scorn.
"I realize this won't last long," she said. "But I think my story might help open people's eyes so they will respect us more."
An American teacher at Saint Peter's Catholic School in Jakarta, Philip Myers, was so touched by Evie's story that he offered her a job as a cook and a maid.
Evie was excited by the idea. But for now she's too overwhelmed to think about it.
She also said she would love to hear from her former charge - but there has been no outreach yet from the White House.
Evie started caring for eight-year-old "Barry" Obama in 1969 when he lived in Indonesia's capital with his mother, Ann Dunham, who had arrived in the country two years earlier after marrying Indonesian Lolo Soetoro.
Evie played with Obama and picked him up from school. She worked in the home as a man and says she never let young Barry see her in women's clothes, though neighbors remember seeing her leave the home in the evening in drag.
TV crews have been primarily interested in that period, Evie said, before Obama's family left Indonesia in the early 1970s and before she resorted to prostitution when work as household help dried up. She and her friends faced beatings from security guards and soldiers and Evie quit nearly 20 years ago.
Neighbors have been flabbergasted by this week's fuss. "They came with TV cameras as though she is a star," said Ayi Hasanah, a 50-year-old housewife who lives nearby. "Hopefully this can change her life. Because, as far as I can see, her life is very hard."
Evie, who was born male but considers herself a woman, decided after enduring years of abuse she'd be better off trying to just fit in. She stopped cross-dressing and has since eked out a living hand-washing clothes.
But since being the subject of an article about the struggles of transgender people in this predominantly Muslim nation, the 66-year-old has been showered with attention. It's mostly because of her long-ago connection to the now-US president, though she hopes it may generate more openness on gender issues.
"After living without hope for so long, like I was locked in a dark room, I feel like the door is open," said Evie, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. "It's like the winds of heaven are blowing hope for me."
"Even my relatives who never cared about me are now coming to see me."
Though many newcomers to Indonesia are surprised by the quasi-acceptance and pervasiveness of transgenders - seen on TV, working in salons - they are usually the object of scorn.
"I realize this won't last long," she said. "But I think my story might help open people's eyes so they will respect us more."
An American teacher at Saint Peter's Catholic School in Jakarta, Philip Myers, was so touched by Evie's story that he offered her a job as a cook and a maid.
Evie was excited by the idea. But for now she's too overwhelmed to think about it.
She also said she would love to hear from her former charge - but there has been no outreach yet from the White House.
Evie started caring for eight-year-old "Barry" Obama in 1969 when he lived in Indonesia's capital with his mother, Ann Dunham, who had arrived in the country two years earlier after marrying Indonesian Lolo Soetoro.
Evie played with Obama and picked him up from school. She worked in the home as a man and says she never let young Barry see her in women's clothes, though neighbors remember seeing her leave the home in the evening in drag.
TV crews have been primarily interested in that period, Evie said, before Obama's family left Indonesia in the early 1970s and before she resorted to prostitution when work as household help dried up. She and her friends faced beatings from security guards and soldiers and Evie quit nearly 20 years ago.
Neighbors have been flabbergasted by this week's fuss. "They came with TV cameras as though she is a star," said Ayi Hasanah, a 50-year-old housewife who lives nearby. "Hopefully this can change her life. Because, as far as I can see, her life is very hard."
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