Sept_13

FIRST RESORT .
RBIT
HAVEN
on earth
Surprisingly, this milestone for
the LGBT (lesbian-gay-bisexualtransgender)
movement didn’t
occur in America or Europe but Asia.
The world’s first old-age home for
transgender people was recently
inaugurated in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In a conservative country where
silvers are traditionally cared for by
their children, this is welcome
news for a population of about
3 million transgender people, also
known as waria, who are rejected
and ostracised by their families and
abused by the authorities. As news
agency Reuters reports, the idea
was the brainchild of 51 year-old
Yulianus Rettoblaut, or ‘Mummy Yuli’,
a waria from the island of Papua who
escaped the cycle of prostitution
to earn a law degree in Jakarta and
became a high-profile advocate for
the transgender community. “As a
mother to the community, I needed
to do something to support greying
waria,” she says. “Our families don’t
want us, people become even more
scared of us and the government is
confused about whether to put us in
a male old people's home or female.
I see so many of us struggling, begging
on the streets and living under
bridges.” Right now, the home houses
three waria, all over the age of 70;
in coming months, close to 120 will
be accommodated. It’s still a drop in
the ocean, though; Yuli already has a
waiting list of over 800.
Home in the hills
For Indian silvers whose pockets are lined with,
well, silver, living options are growing at a rapid
pace. The newest entrant to this sunshine sector is
Antara Senior Living, part
of diversified Max India
Group, which will develop
a sprawling residential
community in Dehradun
at an investment of ` 5.5 billion.
Spread across 20 acres,
the complex will house 217
apartments with one to
three bedrooms and about
50 wellness suites, ranging
from ` 15 million to
` 45 million, as well as three
penthouses at ` 70 million. What’s more, the monthly
maintenance payment would be ` 29,000 plus ` 16 per sq ft.
The community will also have facilities for arts and crafts,
a library and badminton and
tennis courts. “We hope to
change the quality of life of
people,” Tara Singh, CEO, Antara
Senior Living, tells media,
adding, “The net worth of the
customer should be at least
` 50 million.” The project is
expected to be complete by
the last quarter of 2015. If
your pockets run this deep,
go to www.antaraseniorliving.
com/our_community.php
harmony celebrate age september 2013 13