14:04

Riana and Kim were delivered to Ludziro

14:06

prison. Riana told us the head

14:08

of the prison paraded them in front of other

14:10

inmates. Everyone

14:13

should come close. They said

14:15

now we have our new visitors here.

14:19

And our new visitors, they are the

14:21

top, the topest of

14:24

misacchios in Uganda. Who hasn't

14:26

seen the news? They

14:28

are here. The details of

14:30

Riana's imprisonment are hard to

14:32

stomach. It was much worse

14:34

than her time in jail. Torture,

14:36

abuse, no medical assistance.

14:39

She says doctors refused to treat

14:42

homosexuals. We are not the

14:44

UN, they said. But even

14:46

more painful, Riana never saw her family.

14:49

She learned later that they didn't know where

14:51

she was and when they did, they were

14:53

afraid to visit her because of what they'd

14:55

heard in the news. Any

14:57

contact with her could result in arrest.

15:01

That was the time I needed visitors more in

15:03

my life. That

15:05

was the time I needed support, but not

15:07

Kim. Eventually,

15:09

Riana had a bail hearing. The

15:12

lawyers convinced her family to post bail.

15:15

It was the first time they'd seen each other

15:17

since the arrest. My

15:19

father crying, my mother crying.

15:22

All my sisters were crying, seeing

15:24

me, and that really made

15:26

me cry. Riana had been

15:28

sick in prison for some time. She

15:30

says for anyone who knew her, it was shocking to

15:32

see her in that state. Riana's

15:35

condition upset her mom, who was supposed to

15:37

stand before the judge and guarantee bail. But

15:40

Riana's mom fainted and had to be

15:42

carried out the courtroom. I've

15:45

never regretted being trans. That

15:48

was the time I regretted it. Riana's

15:55

mom recovered outside. She

15:57

sat with the lawyers and lamented her situation.

22:00

when I picked it I just kept quiet on

22:02

the phone. She shouted at me and said, I

22:05

know you are hearing, you

22:07

come home, I want

22:09

you to have Christmas with you. I have things to

22:11

talk to you like that. Rihanna's

22:16

mom hung up. No

22:18

goodbye. Rihanna couldn't wait

22:20

two days. She went to her mother's the

22:22

following day and announced once

22:24

again, her mom was cooking

22:27

in the kitchen. This time, instead

22:29

of shunning Rihanna, she let Rihanna

22:31

hug her. I cried. She

22:35

also cried. She

22:37

cried while beating me. You

22:40

know that kind of mother's punishments. But

22:43

that was okay. I would not stop holding

22:45

her. Support

22:53

for NPR and the following message come

22:56

from Bombus. Bombus makes absurdly

22:58

soft socks, underwear and t-shirts. And

23:00

for every item you purchase, Bombus

23:02

donates another to someone facing homelessness.

23:05

Get 20% off your first purchase at...

23:08

Support for NPR and the

23:10

following message come from Washington

23:12

Wise. Decisions made in Washington

23:14

can affect your portfolio every

23:17

day. Washington Wise is an

23:19

original podcast for investors from

23:21

Charles Schwab that unpacks the

23:23

stories making news in Washington.

23:25

Listen at schwab.com/Washington Wise. Support

23:28

for NPR and the following message come

23:31

from iXL Online. Is your child asking

23:33

questions on their homework you don't feel

23:35

equipped to answer? iXL Learning uses advanced

23:37

algorithms to give the right help to

23:39

each kid, no matter the age or

23:42

personality. One subscription gets you everything. One

23:44

site for all the kids in your

23:46

home, pre-K to 12th grade. Make an

23:48

impact on your child's learning. Get iXL

23:50

now. And NPR listeners can get an

23:53

exclusive 20% off iXL

23:55

membership when they sign up

23:57

today at ixl.com/ NPR.