Natalie Wee is a queer Peranakan community-builder and writer who is interested in justice and equity. Born in Singapore to Malaysian parents, she is currently a settler in Tkaronto (Toronto).

I was born and raised in Singapore to Malaysian parents, and left Singapore for Canada in 2015.

“In many ways, I’ve always experienced displacement — from my country of birth as a racialized newcomer here, and as a queer woman growing up in a country where gay marriage and gay sex is illegal.”

As a queer woman, I never completely fit in back in Singapore; as an Asian woman without permanent status here, I don't fit in Canadian society either.

“I was twelve when one of my friends was brave enough to tell me she loved me, and it was like a window opening. I understood then what I hadn’t been able to name for years, this sense of something else awaiting me”

Although I came to Canada in part to live authentically as a queer person, I've faced systematic barriers: from the countless jobs stating permanent residents and Canadian citizens would be prioritized, the lack of access to healthcare without OHIP, difficulty in navigating arts grants due to citizenship requirements, the absolute fear of jeopardizing my visa even by seeking help for wrongs such as assault and a hate crime -- the list goes on.

The Ford government has eliminated legal aid funding for immigrants and refugees, which means I've been struggling to get help with my application for permanent status. And psychologically, what's happened is a sense of being afraid of living, a fear of building a future that will be taken from me. But what's important to know is my story isn't mine alone: it's shared by many other immigrants of colour. It's the knowledge that we have to survive that keeps me going.

Find Natalie on the internet at: @revengerice