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Sites and Insights Gay Jamaica News & Reports 2007-08 Also see: 1 Cops save three alleged homosexuals from angry crowd 2/07 2 Jamaica: Gay Leader Escapes Homophobic Lynch Mob 2/07 3 Large number of gay cops 3/07 4 Area church helps Jamaica's lesbian, gay community 3/07 5 Homophobic violence at Jamaica funeral 4/07 5a ‘If You’re Gay in Jamaica, You’re Dead’ 4/07 7 Gay bashing reggae performers promise to stop the hate 6/07 8 Jamaica, global transformation and the gay lobby 7/07 9 Reggae star turns his back on homophobia 7/07 10 Murder Music: Two-Faced Reggae Stars Sign, Then Reneg On 7/07 11 Growing Up Gay In Jamaica where bigotry is widespread 9/07 12 Interview with Jamaican lesbian activist on Oprah Winfrey TV show 10/07 13 US grants asylum to gay Jamaican 11/07 14 Jamaica Bans School Books That Mention Gays Favorably 12/07 15 “It is hard to survive when you are gay in Jamaica” 12/07 16 Homophobic mob attack Jamaican gay men 2/08 17 Jamaican activist seeks asylum in Canada 2/08 18 Attacks Show Easygoing Jamaica Is Dire Place for Gays 2/08 19 Jamaican gay cop fears for his life 2/08 20 Jamaican gays reject tourist boycott over homophobia 3/08 21 Jamaica music boycott called off in Canada 5/08 22 Rainbowvibes.com- Where Caribbean Gay Life Meets the World 6/08 23 Jamaican lesbian avoids deportation from Florida 8/08 24 Dancehall: An Introduction 8/08 25 Jamaica gets gay lashing 9/08 26 Filmmaker Interview of Openly Gay Jamaican Policeman 9/08 27 The gay uprising in the Caribbean 10/08 28 UK government minister challenged Jamaican PM about homophobia 11/08 29 Interview: Securing gay rights in Jamaica is vital to AIDS struggle 11/08 30 Capleton's Basel concert cancelled after Swiss gay groups protest 11/08 February 15, 2007 1 by Karyl Walker The crowd grew larger as the minutes ticked by and the three men and staff inside the pharmacy were visibly terrified as the mob demanded that they be sent out so they could administer their brand of justice. "Send them out!" shouted one man. The men, who all had bleached-out faces, and dressed in tight jeans pants and skimpy shirts, were saved due to quick action by police from the St Andrew Central Division. When the officers arrived and attempted to push the crowd back from the front door of the businessplace they were greeted with some resistance and when they attempted to escort the men to a police service vehicle, which was parked near to the entrance of the pharmacy, one of the alleged homosexuals was hit on the back of the head with a stone as he flashed a wry smile before attempting to hustle inside the police car. The cops were forced to disperse the large mob by dispensing tear gas canisters and whisking the men away as the crowd scampered in all directions in an effort to escape the irritating fumes. One man in the crowd was determined to get a chance to beat them and hurled insults at the police when they drove out of the premises. "Unu can come save them nasty boy yah? Them boy yah fi go down," the man bellowed. One woman expressed surprise at the brazenness of the men who were clearly displaying effeminate behaviour. "Jamaica has lost its way if men think they can openly flaunt being gay without any consequences. We don't want that kind of open gay life in this country," the woman said. Homosexuality is frowned upon in Jamaica and gay rights groups have constantly branded the island as anti-gay. Under Jamaican law a male can be slapped with a sentence of up to nine years if caught in a compromising position with another man.
February 21, 2007 2 On St. Valentine's day, a homophobic lynch mob of over 200 Jamaicans pursued three men for being gay and threatened a fourth, Jamaican gay leader Gareth Williams of J-FLAG (Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All- Sexuals, and Gays) when he went to help them.Williams was then badly beaten by Jamaican police for trying to restore calm.
March 18, 2007 3 by T K Whyte Sunday Observer correspondent "We have quite a large number of them (gays and lesbians) in the force but they are not openly acknowledged. They are still in the closet," said head of the police legal affairs division, Inspector Gladys Brown-Campbell. Brown-Campbell, a lawyer, also admitted that the force did not have a policy on how they must be treated, and in the absence of official policy on gays, the police force treated homosexual cops as any other members of the force. "If an offence is reported against them, it is investigated and if proven, they are usually dealt with to the full extent of the law, and that is to place them before the courts," Brown-Campbell told the Sunday Observer in an interview. "They are not treated differently from other offenders of the law at all. There is no policy on how to treat them," she emphasised. Supporting Brown-Campbell, Police Officers Association (POA) chairman, Superintendent Norman Heywood, insisted that although the force had no policy to deal with homosexuals, the rule of law would be enforced if the offence of buggery was committed by any police officer. "We still have buggery as an offence on the law books, and if a police officer commits this offence, the rule of law will be enforced," said Heywood. But other cops say differently, some alleging that homosexual officers who broke the law were usually transferred to a division of the JCF which they did not want to name but which they said was well-known to the men and women in uniform. A recent incident in which a senior cop allegedly forced a teenager to have oral sex with him and was sent to that dubious division, is now threatening to drive the issue of homosexuality in the force out into the open. Sunday Observer sources said disgruntled police personnel assigned to that division have warned they would take "drastic action" soon if the offending policeman, a corporal, was not removed from the division. The corporal's colleagues have refused to work with him and are calling on Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas to immediately transfer him "so that we can get on with normal police work". Police officers who asked for anonymity told the Sunday Observer that the alleged incident took place in November last year when the 19-year-old youth arrived at the Kingston Divisional Headquarters from deep rural St Elizabeth to spend time with his cousin, a district constable living at the headquarters. The story is that the corporal invited the youth to accompany him on an assignment in Portmore, St Catherine. On their way back, the cop took the young man to his St Andrew home for lunch and cooked him a "sumptuous meal". After lunch, the corporal allegedly slipped an X-rated homosexual movie into his DVD player and attempted to fondle the young man, who resisted. The corporal is then said to have taken out his 9mm service pistol, placed it on a dresser in his bedroom to intimidate the young man and asked to have oral sex with him. Fearing for his life, the youth complied, but later reported the ordeal to his outraged parents in St Elizabeth who reportedly stormed into the police divisional office and demanded that action be taken against the gay cop. Police there promised to get to the bottom of the matter, but nothing has so far been done, the parents and enraged cops complained. A high-ranking divisional commanding officer, who also didn't want his name called, confirmed the incident in an interview with the Sunday Observer. "There was a homosexual contact between the sub-officer (corporal) and the young man," the commanding officer said. He suggested that the corporal was likely to be transferred from the division, adding that the matter had been dealt with "internally and professionally". But the protesting cops at the division declared that they were incensed by their colleague's conduct, alleging that he was one of five homosexuals now assigned to the division. They accused the police high command of "dumping" policemen with homosexual tendencies in the division once they get into trouble. "We are very concerned that our work with thousands of young Jamaicans could be compromised and badly set back if the public, especially parents and guardians, lose faith in us and our effectiveness," said an inspector who also requested anonymity. But, if Brown-Campbell is to be believed, the offending cop was not typical of homosexuals in the force, who, she said, were tolerated and respected by their heterosexual colleagues. "Those who we know are treated with a great level of respect as they themselves are respectful, refined and intelligent, their level of intelligence far outshines persons considered to be normal. The force has quite a number of them, men and women," she said. "They are very professional workers and their colleagues treat them professionally and work with them," the JCF legal advisor asserted. Another senior cop suggested that the police force "is just mirroring the ills of the society"
March 19, 2007 4 The congregation established the Jamaican church in December in response to a 2004 Human Rights Watch report that alleged police and citizens were persecuting gays, sex workers and people with HIV/AIDS, according to the church pastor, the Rev. Grant Lynn Ford. Church leaders have traveled to the island to support gay men and lesbians and challenge homophobic attitudes among government and religious officials, he said. "The government says it's not happening. They attribute the death of every gay man and lesbian woman to domestic violence or a trick gone bad," he said. "But it's not that. It's a homophobic mob mentality." Sunshine Cathedral is an affiliate of Metropolitan Community Churches, a Sarasota-based denomination that provides spiritual support for gays and lesbians worldwide. Ford said the Jamaica initiative is part of a 10-year plan to establish churches in diverse communities throughout South Florida and the Caribbean. He said the gay and lesbian community in Trinidad and Tobago already expressed interest in starting a congregation. The church also hopes to plant a church in post-Castro Cuba and is planning for congregations in the Pompano-Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs and Miami Beach areas to cater to gays and lesbians from Brazil and other Latin American countries. The Jamaican church is divided into four groups, one each in Mandeville, Kingston, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, church leaders said. Worshipers rotate locations for fear of attack. They meet once a month for a national gathering and three times a month for local services. The cathedral provides bus transportation, worship leaders and other resources. Human rights organizations list Jamaica as one of the world's most inhospitable countries for gays and lesbians. Homosexual acts are prohibited by law on the island and punishable by years in prison. Alva James-Johnson can be reached at ajjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4546.
12th April 2007 5 by PinkNews.co.uk writer The island's gay rights movement, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals and Gays (J-Flag), is forced to operate underground and anonymously. It called on police to find the people who attacked the church in Mandeville. Pressure group Jamaicans for Justice agreed that a urgent police investigation is needed. JFJ said it is deeply disturbed by yet another incident involving mob violence against gay people latest incident is particularly daring because it occurred during a church service. In February three gay men were stoned by a huge mob in a homophobic attack in Jamaica. Police came to rescue the men from a pharmacy in Saint Andrew Parish, where they had been hiding for almost an hour. An angry crowd had gathered outside the pharmacy, hurling insults and threatening to kill the men. When the police arrived, the mob demanded the men be handed over to them. The police tried to escort the men to their car, but the crowd began to throw stones at the objects of their hate, hitting one of them on the head. Finally, officers were forced to disperse the crowd with tear gas. According to the Jamaica Observer, as many as 2000 people were involved in the attack. International human rights organisations have described Jamaica as one of the most homophobic places in the world. Gay and lesbian relationships are largely conducted in secret. Sex between men in Jamaica is illegal, and punishable with up to ten years in jail, usually with hard labour. In December 2003, a World Policy Institute survey on sexual orientation and human rights in the Americas said that: "In the Caribbean, Jamaica is by far the most dangerous place for sexual minorities, with frequent and often fatal attacks against gay men fostered by a popular culture that idolises reggae and dancehall singers whose lyrics call for burning and killing gay men. Draconian laws against sexual activity between members of the same sex continue to be in force not only in Jamaica, but in most of the English-speaking Caribbean." According to Amnesty International, the gay and lesbian community in Jamaica faces "extreme prejudice" and are ‘routinely victims of ill-treatment and harassment by the police, and occasionally of torture." Amnesty has highlighted the growing problem of vigilante action against gays and lesbians – Wednesday was just one example of this. In 2004, the organisation revealed that "gay men and lesbian women have been beaten, cut, burned, raped and shot on account of their sexuality," and that they are one of the "most marginalised and persecuted communities in Jamaica." Political parties have ignored the issue of gay rights. Indeed, homophobia is flourishing amongst politicians and the police. For example, opposition leader Bruce Golding vowed last year that "homosexuals would find no solace in any cabinet formed by him."
17 April, 2007 5a by Stewart Who? On Sunday 8 April 2007, a crowd allegedly surrounded a church in Mandeville and hurled different objects through a window at the back of the church. The attacks were directed at persons in attendance of the funeral being held there, who the crowd believed to be homosexual. On 2 April 2007, another crowd reportedly threw stones and bottles at a group of costumed men who were dancing in the carnival procession along Gloucester Avenue in Montego Bay. According to reports, the crowd was angered because the men were supposedly gyrating in a sexually suggestive manner and demanded that they leave the stage. According to eye-witnesses, the men were attacked, chased and beaten by the mob of around 30 or 40 people. At least one of them had to be hospitalised due to injuries. These two incidents occurred only two months after a group of men were targeted in a similar manner in a pharmacy in Tropical Plaza, Half-Way Tree, in Kingston. A human rights defender told Amnesty International that a mob of at least 200 people had gathered outside the store, calling for the men to be beaten to death because they were homosexual. Amnesty International condemns these attacks and calls on the Jamaican authorities to ensure that a full and impartial investigation of the above-mentioned cases takes place, and that those responsible for the incitement of violence and for public beatings will be brought to justice. In compliance with its international obligations stated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in the American Convention on Human Rights, Jamaican authorities should send a clear message to society that discrimination against sexual minorities will not be tolerated and that violent episodes will be fully prosecuted. Such assaults are both human rights violations and a threat to the rule of law in Jamaica. Amnesty International urges the Jamaican government to work closely with human rights defenders and with groups representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Jamaica to find solutions to prevent these episodes from occurring again. The climate has been exacerbated by the enduring popularity of 'murder music' produced by unrepentant artists such Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel, Elephant Man, Sizzla, Capleton, T.O.K. and Shabba Ranks. An campaign against homophobia by reggae and dancehall singers has been launched by OutRage! and the UK-based Stop Murder Music Coalition (SMM) and others. An agreement to stop anti-gay lyrics during live performances and not to produce any new anti-gay material or re-release offending songs was reached in February 2005 between dancehall record labels and organisations opposed to anti-gay murder lyrics. It seems that this agreement was nothing but begrudging lip service and an attempt to protect loss of sponsorship contracts. The Stop Murder Music campaign won the Advocacy Award at the Black LGBT Community Awards 2007 ceremony in London. The Advocacy Award was in recognition that the Stop Murder Music campaign had "brought together activists worldwide in challenging homophobic lyrics which incite people to violence against LGBT people". Dennis Carney, vice-chair of the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group (BGMAG) collected the award on behalf of the campaign, which involved a partnership between BGMAG, OutRage! and the Jamaican gay rights group, J-Flag. Mr Carney paid tribute to the dozens of gay and anti-violence groups around the world that participated in making the campaign so effective and successful: "I thought the BLGBT Community Awards event was fantastic and I was over the moon that the wider Black LGBT community fully recognises and supports the dedication and commitment of the Stop Murder Music Campaign's work at making homophobic dancehall lyrics a thing of the past, by voting SMMC the winner of the Advocacy Award 2006". said Mr Carney.
April 29, 2007 6 by Orville Taylor, Contributor Another incident involved a set of overly exuberant gay youths gyrating on stage in Montego Bay and getting pelted with missiles. Why are they called missiles if they hit their target? Anyway, the third attack was at a rural church where men were reportedly flouting the normal ecclesiastical dress code. Not willing to accept the biblical admonition to "rend your heart and not your garments," the members of the community literally understood what it meant to 'cross dress' as they were all vexed to the point of stoning the building. Taking a break from prophesying and counter-prophesies, the church, with Bishop Herro Blair as chief advocate, joined Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) in condemning violence against gays. Some disagree with Blair et al and suggest it was a 'Herro' to 'defend b-bwoy,' and it would be an unsuccessful Blair Witch Project. Homosexual cross-dressers Public Defender Earl Witter raised the arguments that male homosexuality was illegal and perhaps Jamaican gays should "hold their corners" or hide in the cracks. Just before Witter opened his mouth on the subject, gay men from the aforementioned Montego Bay, advanced upon the non-rival regional paper, the Western Mirror, threatening to harm the reporter who had written a story about homosexual cross-dressers buying female underwear. It was a rather amusing story as it is difficult to imagine male genitalia fitting into thongs. Women, with far less to accommodate, often complain tha very appealing, they are notoriously uncomfortable. Nonetheless, amusement apart, the recent sorties point to some fundamental issues. First of all, we are too violent a society and are far too prone to such acts. No one should be subject to violence unlesshe or she is in the process of harming others or is seriously resisting arrest. That is the rule in a law-abiding society. People ought not to be beaten simply because their lifestyles are offensive. One can, however, excuse the public when there is pederasty (child-targeted homosexuality), or other attempts to force one's sexual will unto a victim. Therefore, it is difficult to reproach an unsuspecting gardener, who accepts a drink from the boss, who then plies him with alcohol and attempts to violate him in his stupor. Neither can one have much sympathy for those predators who lure and drug young boys and have sex with them against their will. The same goes for those 'bad men' in prison who try to 'bow' new inmates, and those outside of institutions, who feel that having sexual contact with an enemy or disobedient 'soldier' is an acceptable means of punishment. However, two adult men, consensually engaging in samurai-type activities or fencing, in the privacy and the confines of their homes is a different kettle of fish. According to the 2003 case of Lawrence v. Texas, the state has no place in a citizen's bedroom as long as there is no crime being committed. True, the act of male-to-male homosexual intercourse is the crime of buggery, but how does that affect us straight 'vaginophiles?' Yet, these recent face-offs between the homophobes and the homophiles raise two fundamental questions. First, it is whether we should expand our human rights to accommodate this type of 'diversity'. Second, whether we should widen the tolerance of a violent Jamaican public. Anti-gay countries However, there is a big difference between allowing gay persons to live peacefully and uninterruptedly and making sexual orientation a fundamental right. The United Nations, the conceptualiser and guardian of human rights, has not gone in that direction. Try as you may, only a small number of countries legalise homosexuality. In virtually all of Africa and Asia, it is criminal. Latin America is far more anti-gaythan Jamaica. Why would one expect the most reverend Prime Minister and deacon Golding to push for this? I bet my bottom dollar that despite the strong belief that homosexuals and bi-sexuals figure among the 60 parliamentarians, none will propose such legislation even though it would benefit them. On the matter of tolerance, I have to take issue with an editorial in this newspaper on Thursday last. One of the inviolable elements in a democracy is freedom of conscience and most important, freedom of expression. This is further consolidated as freedom of the press, one principle upon which this publication was founded. The public defender makes sense, because I would not walk into a Ku Klux Klan-dominated neighbourhood in Alabama with a Black Panther jacket. Neither would I recommend anyone to walk into Tivoli with a yellow Portia shirt, or into Payne Land with a green Bruce jersey. Discretion is the better part of valour. Cross-dressing is not the same as effeminacy. More worrisome was the attack on the press. Gay advocacy is one thing; violating the press is another. Dr. Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at UWI, Mona.
13th June 2007 7 by Tony Grew The Act reads: "It must be clear there's no space in the music community for hatred and prejudice, including no place for racism, violence, sexism or homophobia. We do not encourage nor minister to HATE but rather uphold a philosophy of LOVE, RESPECT and UNDERSTANDING towards all human beings as the cornerstone of reggae. We agree to not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community." The agreement follows the three-year-long Stop Murder Music campaign, which resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of the singers' concerts and sponsorship deals, causing them income losses estimated in excess of five million dollars. "The Reggae Compassionate Act is a big breakthrough," said human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who is coordinator of the worldwide Stop Murder Music campaign. He helped negotiate the deal with the three singers. "The singers' rejection of homophobia and sexism is an important milestone. We rejoice at their new commitment to music without prejudice," said Mr Tatchell. " This deal will have a huge, positive impact in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The media coverage will generate public awareness and debate, breaking down ignorance and undermining homophobia. Having these major reggae stars renounce homophobia will influence their fans and the wider public to rethink bigoted attitudes. The beneficial effect on young black straight men will be immense," he said. Mr Tatchell said that the campaign against the three artists will now be suspended, but he urged journalists and others worldwide to monitor the performances and statements of Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton. The fight against other homophobic performers continues: "The other five murder music artists - Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa, Vybz Kartel and Buju Banton - have not signed the Reggae Compassionate Act. The campaign against them continues. These singers have incited the murder of lesbians and gays. They should not be rewarded with concerts or sponsorship deals. The Stop Murder Music campaign urges organisations worldwide to intensify the campaign to cancel these five singers' concerts and His views are echoed by Gareth Wiliams, co-chair of the Jamaican gay human rights group, J-Flag: "This statement against homophobia and violence is a move in the right direction," he said. "We hope it is not commercially motivated by the singers' desire to maintain their concert revenues, but a sincere commitment that will encourage an end to homophobic violence and to all violence against everyone. The five artists who have not signed the statement should now follow this lead and declare their support for universal human rights, including the human rights of lesbian and gay people," said Mr Williams.
July 09, 2007 8 The aversion to homosexuality has been a major reason for the long delay in consensus on the very important Charter of Rights Bill currently before Parliament. Readers will recall, for example, that a group of Christian activist lawyers - Lawyers Christian Fellowship (LCF) - fear that the concept of privacy could be used as a basis for the Courts to declare homosexual activity, within the confines of people's homes, legal. The truth, though, is that on a global scale attitudes are changing rapidly, and in the context of homosexuality Jamaicans need to be alert as to what that means. In Europe and much of the rest of the world, buggery laws such as exist here have long been scrapped. And in the European Union (EU) the right to be homosexual is now accepted as fundamental. Countries like Jamaica are now seen by the EU and others - not least human rights groups - as being in breach of basic human rights because of anti-gay laws and attitudes. It is likely that the pro-gay pressure on Jamaica and its Caricom partners will become even greater should the more liberal Democrats overcome the Republicans in the US presidential election next year. Jamaicans are already well aware that Reggae artistes who have used their medium to campaign against homosexuality have felt the weight and power of the growing global gay lobby. For Jamaicans, caught up in our own little world, the global pro-gay trend has developed with bewildering speed - sneaking up on us like a thief in the night. Perhaps nothing illustrates the global transformation as the very word 'gay'. Not so long ago it meant happy, light-hearted, carefree. In modern dictionaries that meaning is now described as 'dated'. In the context of homosexuality, those are the realities that Jamaica's political leaders must bear in mind as they approach life after the upcoming elections. Like it or not, our political and other leaders must somehow start to nudge our people towards the day when an accommodation is made with the homosexual community. And while it won't happen anytime soon, Jamaicans will have to understand that there will come a time when our buggery laws end up on the scrap heap of history.
23rd July 2007 9 by Tony Grew "Fuck them," was his response. He made the comment to American music site Billboard.com, who asked the singer about his cancelled concerts around the world. "I have never bashed any gays before, and if I bashed gays, I bashed them 16 years ago," said Banton. "There's no tolerance from [the gay community]. I'm not a gay-basher. I'm not a homophobe." It seems the economic reality of his defiant stance has prompted a change of heart. Last month artists Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton, who like Banton had previously released anti-gay hate songs, including incitements to murder lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, signed up to the pact. The Act reads: "It must be clear there's no space in the music community for hatred and prejudice, including no place for racism, violence, sexism or homophobia. We do not encourage nor minister to HATE but rather uphold a philosophy of LOVE, RESPECT and UNDERSTANDING towards all human beings as the cornerstone of reggae. We agree to not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community." Mr Banton became notorious for his 1992 song Boom Bye Bye which advocates shooting gay men in the head, pouring acid on them and burning them alive. His decision to stop performing homophobic songs is another victory for the three-year-long Stop Murder Music campaign, which has resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of concerts and sponsorship deals, causing income losses estimated in excess of $5m (£2.5m). "The Reggae Compassionate Act is a big breakthrough," said human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who is coordinator of the worldwide Stop Murder Music campaign. "Having these major reggae stars renounce homophobia will influence their fans and the wider public to rethink bigoted attitudes. The beneficial effect on young black straight men will be immense," he said. The fight against other homophobic performers continues: "The other four murder music artists - Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa and Vybz Kartel - have not signed the Reggae Compassionate Act. The campaign against them continues. These singers have incited the murder of lesbians and gays. They should not be rewarded with concerts or sponsorship deals." "The Stop Murder Music campaign urges organisations worldwide to intensify the campaign to cancel these five singers' concerts and their record, sponsorship and advertising deals," said Mr Tatchell. A spokesman for the Jamaican gay human rights group J-Flag told The Guardian: "I really hope that his actions are genuine and it is not just because international pressure is hurting his pocket. We hope it is a sincere commitment that will end homophobic violence." Mr Tatchell commented: "This deal is already having a huge, positive impact in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The media coverage has generated public awareness and debate; breaking down ignorance and undermining homophobia. Having these major reggae stars renounce homophobia is influencing their fans and the wider public to rethink bigoted attitudes. The beneficial effect on young straight reggae fans is immense," he said. This view is mirrored by fellow Stop Murder Music campaigner, Dennis L Carney, Vice-Chair of the Black Gay Mens Advisory Group (BGMAG) in London. Mr Carney is of Jamaican descent, and also played a leading role in negotiating the Reggae Compassionate Act. He added: "I am thrilled that Beenie Man, Sizzla, Buju Banton and Capleton have signed up to this historic agreement with the Stop Murder Music campaign. We welcome their commitment to not produce music or make public statements that incite hatred and violence against gay people. This is a giant leap towards restoring peace, love and harmony to reggae music. These performers are sending a clear message that lesbians and gay men have a right to live free from fear and persecution - both here in the UK and in Jamaica," concluded Mr Carney.
July 26, 2007 10 The following is a revised and expanded version of an article written for Gay City News, which published it today: Two Jamaican reggae stars want to have it both ways: they've signed a pledge to put an end to their songs calling for the murder of gays and lesbians -- and thus halt a successful boycott of their hate music -- but back home in Jamaica (one of the world's most culturally homophobic countries) they're trying to pretend they didn't sign the pledge. Banju_banton This week, gruff-voiced reggae mega-star Buju Banton (left), notorious for his song lyrics calling for the murder of homosexuals, signed a pledge to cease his homophobic music-making after a successful three-year global boycott initiated by the U.K.-based Stop Murder Music campaign. The Stop Murder Music campaign, a joint project of the militant British gay rights group OutRage!, the Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), and the British Black Gay Men’s Advisory Group (BGMAG), caused the cancellation of hundreds of concerts and sponsorship deals, costing homophobic reggae artists more than $5 million. Banton — the stage name of 35-year-old Jamaican dancehall music star Mark Anthony Myrie — signed the Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA), by which he agreed to not make homophobic statements in public, release new homophobic songs, or authorize the re-release of previously-recorded hate-gays numbers, the British daily The Guardian reported on Monday, July 23. Among Banton’s particularly poisonous anti-gay songs, his "Boom Bye Bye" features sounds of gunfire "in a batty-boy’s head" — "batty-boy" being Jamaican patois for "faggot" — and says of any "batty-boy," "burn him up bad like an old tire wheel." The Reggae Compassionate Act states, "There’s no space in the music community for hatred and prejudice, including no place for racism, violence, sexism, or homophobia." The pledge was drawn up by the Stop Murder Music campaign, and was also signed at the beginning of June by reggae stars Beenie Man (famous for singing, "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays"), Capleton (one of whose hit songs says "Blood out di chi chi, bun out di chi chi," Jamaican patois meaning "kill and burn gays"), and Sizzla, also noted for kill-gays lyrics [ADD: like "shoot queers, my big gun goes boom."] Dennis Carney, vice-chair of the U.K. Black Gay Men's Advisory Group, who is of Jamaican descent, said: "These performers are sending a clear message that lesbians and gay men have a right to live free from fear and persecution, both here in the U.K. and in Jamaica. And Gareth Williams, co-chair of the Jamaican gay rights group J-FLAG, added in a statement, "This statement against homophobia and violence is a move in the right direction. We hope it is not commercially motivated by the singers' desire to maintain their concert revenues." But, back home in Jamaica, Radio Jamaica's website claims Banton's manager has denied that the singer signed the RCA pledge: "Speaking with RJR news, Buju's manager Donovan Germaine dismissed the report out of hand," the Web site said. While providing no direct quote, it continued, "He added that the [Banton] management team would not comment further on the issue as it was being used by the gay rights group to gain mileage for their cause." Pandering to the hometown homophobic fans, wouldn't you say? Meanwhile, the newspaper Jamaica Observer reported on Sunday that Grammy-winner Beenie Man, in remarks also apparently designed only for home-turf consumption, has denied having signed the RCA agreement, which he blamed on profit-hungry European promoters, and said he would not pledge to honor it. "‘It's a ting from the promoters of Europe. They are getting so much fight from the Christian and ‘g’ organisation and everything,’ said the self-proclaimed 'King of the Dancehall,' who apparently could not bring himself to say the word gay," the Jamaican Observer reported, adding that Beenie Man "said he did not personally sign any agreement and could not promise that he would be abiding by it. ‘I do music,’ he argued. ‘Dancehall mi do, I can't promise nuh man dat. And mi neva sign it, yuh hear sah.’" But contacted by this reporter, Peter Tatchell of OutRage! (left), which has coordinated the Stop Murder Music campaign, provided me with photocopies of the RCA statement signed by Banton and the other three reggae stars, all of whom used their real names. The photocopies of the signed statements are also now posted on Tatchell’s Web site. "The signatures were obtained on our behalf by the U.K. reggae promoter Eddie Brown of Pride Music," Tatchell told Gay City News, adding, "I have total confidence that he obtained their real signatures." Tatchell explained to this reporter how the stop-gay-hate agreement was reached with the Jamaican singer-songwriters. "Negotiations over the RCA began in March this year," he said, recounting how, "Eddie Brown of Pride Music U.K. — not a gay company despite the name, but a straight reggae promotion and PR firm — approached me expressing concern that the ‘murder music’ tag was harming the Jamaican music industry. He admitted the SMM boycott campaign had hit the artists hard financially and also damaged promoters like him. He offered to try to broker a deal to end the singer’s incitements to murder LGBTs . Our aim is to stop murder music, so we agreed to cooperate. Eddie acted as the go-between." Then, Tatchell told me, "Within the framework agreed with J-Flag, OutRage!, and BGMAG, Dennis Carney of BGMAG and I drafted the statement, and I sent it to Eddie Brown. Our draft consciously pitched it to reject all hatred and violence, and to appeal to reggae’s tradition of one love, peace, and justice." After that, Tatchell said, "Eddie forwarded our version to the singers and to his fellow reggae promoters. The artists rejected our first draft and we rejected the revised version they sent back to us. The title Reggae Compassionate Act was the idea of Eddie and his fellow promoters. Eventually, Eddie and his colleagues accepted our second draft, which was a slightly softer-worded version than the first. Nevertheless, it included all the essential points we wanted. He then put our new version to the singers on our behalf. One by one the four artists agreed to sign it." According to Tatchell, "Eddie arranged the actual signatures with the artists while some of them were in Jamaica and while others were on tour. He negotiated face-to-face with some of their managements. The four signed agreements were delivered to him. He then sent us PDFs of these signed documents, which I have put on my Web site." (To see the signed documents, go to Tatchell's Web site and click on the rubric "Pop Music.") Tatchell added, "Eddie is totally confident that all four artists have signed — and we have their signatures, including Banton’s, to prove it. Eddie also believes that more dancehall stars will eventually sign up to the RCA." In a note to editors accompanying its press release on Banton's signing of the RCA, the Stop Murder Music campaign asked, "To test the singers' sincerity, we urge you to assign your journalists to interview them to make sure they personally confirm their commitment to renounce and oppose homophobia." In view of the reported denials in Jamaica, it looks like that was a wise precaution. A key figure in the SMM campaign, Brett Lock of OutRage!, said: ""We have never accepted any agreement whereby an artist agrees to not perform homophobic lyrics at concerts in Europe and the US, but continues performing them in the Caribbean. The idea that these singers can incite the murder of gay people in Jamaica and then come to Europe and be accepted as legitimate artists is morally sick and indefensible. The only agreement we will accept is an agreement that they will not incite homophobic hatred and violence - in lyrics or in public statements - anywhere in the world, including Jamaica. This is what the Reggae Compassionate Act says, and this is the pledge made by the four singers who have signed it," Banton has a record of homophobia that is a lot more than musical. In 2004, Banton was charged with being part of an armed group of homophobes who invaded the home of several gay men in Jamaica and badly beat them, sending two to the hospital. "Mr. Banton was allegedly one of a group of about a dozen armed men who forced their way into a house in Kingston on the morning of June 24 and beat up the occupants while shouting homophobic insults, according to the victims," the Guardian reported on July 17 of that year. Banton was later acquitted by a jury, at a time when a public opinion poll showed that 92 percent of Jamaicans believe homosexuality should remain criminalized. Gay sexual behavior currently carries a penalty of 10-15 years in prison. Several gay and lesbian leaders in Jamaica have been murdered in recent years, and gay men walking in the streets are frequently targeted by lynch mobs (for details, see this reporter’s articles, "Jamaica, Island of Hate," October 5-11, 2006, and "Jamaican Mob Threatens to Murder Gay Men," February 22-28, 2007.) British reggae DJ Mark Richards from the reggae label Xtremix records, asked by the Guardian about this week’s signing by Banton of the RCA agreement, said, "I can see why he’s done it. He doesn’t want to jeopardize his whole career over just a few songs. But it doesn’t mean he’s going to change any of his opinions." The Stop Murder Music Campaign is continuing to target other reggae artists whose lyrics incite murder of lesbians and gays — among them Elephant Man, Bounty Killer, Vybz, and TOK.
September 8, 2007 11 by Patrick Falby, Newsweek International Falby: What’s it like being a homosexual in Jamaica? When did you realize you were a homosexual? How did people find out? You are no longer in contact with your family? How were other homosexuals and lesbians treated? Why is homophobia is so strong in Jamaica? How did you end up applying for asylum in the United States? I’m not going to work now, but I’m going to college at the present, and I’m in the process of looking for jobs. I’ve been in America for three years. I also volunteer for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a nonprofit organization in New York. Do you think you’ll ever return to Jamaica? 12 According to a 2007 Jamaican study, almost 100 gays and lesbians were
targeted in mob attacks over a six-month period. When Jamaica's leading
gay rights activist was murdered in 2004, a crowd gathered at the crime
scene to celebrate. In New York City, Staceyann makes her living with her powerful voice.
In Jamaica, she says her decision to speak out about her sexuality
made her a target. When Staceyann
decided to come out to her family, she says her brother had the most
difficult time accepting the news. "My mother and
father did not raise me and they weren't around when I was a child.
My grandmother, I don't think she cared," Staceyann says. "I
think that my brother was most challenged because he was a Jamaican
boy who was very against homosexuality, and I think his love for me
conflicted with [that]. So now he's maybe a little better about it."
9th November 2007 13 by PinkNews.co.uk staff writer "I am grateful to the United States government for saving my life," said Mr. Messam. "My life in Jamaica was constantly in danger, with angry mobs carrying machetes, stones, knives, and guns, threatening to kill me because I am gay. When I tried to contact the police for help, the police instead threatened to arrest me and told me to leave the country if I wanted to stay safe." Sex between men in Jamaica is illegal, and punishable with up to ten years in jail, usually with hard labour. According to Amnesty International, the gay and lesbian community in Jamaica faces "extreme prejudice" and are "routinely victims of ill-treatment and harassment by the police, and occasionally of torture." Amnesty has highlighted the growing problem of vigilante action against gays and lesbians. In 2004, the organisation revealed that "gay men and lesbian women have been beaten, cut, burned, raped and shot on account of their sexuality," and that they are one of the "most marginalised and persecuted communities in Jamaica." Political parties have ignored the issue of gay rights. Indeed, homophobia is flourishing amongst politicians and the police. Columbia Law School's Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic secured asylum for Mr Messam. Professor Suzanne B. Goldberg, director of the clinic, said: "This asylum grant highlights the particularly severe dangers facing gay Jamaicans. From election campaigns that use songs which promote burning and killing gay people to police support for violent, anti-gay mobs, the Jamaican government is actively menacing and endangering its gay citizens." "Mr. Messam's personal story, and the stories of countless other Jamaicans demonstrate the terrifying situation facing GLBT individuals in Jamaica" said Simrin Parmar, one of the Columbia law students who worked on this case.
December 4, 2007 14 by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff Education Minister Andrew Holness has issued a warning to all schools instructing them to submit to the government any book they were uncertain about. Holness said that schools would be held accountable for breaches of regulations governing the use of textbooks. Jamaica has what has been described as the worst record of any country in the New World in its treatment of gays and lesbians. Gay sex is illegal in Jamaica, punishable by ten years in jail, with the possibility of hard labor. More than 30 gay men are believed to have been murdered since 1997 Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) says. In most of the cases the killers have never been brought to trial. Arrests, however have been made in several cases which received international attention. In 2004 Brian Williamson, Jamaica's leading LGBT civil rights advocate was brutally murdered. He had been stabbed at least 70 times in the neck. A 25 year old man is currently serving a life sentence for the murder. In December 2005 Lenford "Steve" Harvey who ran Jamaica AIDS Support for Life was killed.. Harvey was shot to death on the eve of World AIDS Day. (story) His organization provided support to gay men and sex workers. Four men were arrested almost a year later. Last year the bodies of two women believed to have been in a lesbian relationship were found dumped in a septic pit behind a home they shared. The killers of Candice Williams and Phoebe Myrie have not been caught. Students at University of the West Indies in Kingston rioted last year as police attempted to protect a gay student and escort him from the campus. The incident began when the student was chased across the campus by another student who claimed the gay man had attempted to proposition him in a washroom. Also last year a young man plunged to his death off a pier in Kingston after reportedly being chased through the streets by a mob yelling homophobic epithets. (story) In February of this year three men in "tight jeans" and wearing what some witnesses described as makeup were cornered by a mob of 2000 in a drugstore. There were yells of "kill them" along with gay slurs and demands the three be sent out "to face justice". Police had to fire teargas into the crowd to rescue the three. Reggae, or Jamaican dancehall music, is blamed for fueling homophobia. Reggae star BujuBanton's hit song Boom Boom Bye Bye which threatens gay men with a "gunshot in ah head".
December 2007 15 by Jean-Cosme Delaloye, Kingston At the time, Janice moved in with a friend. « When I left home it was quite ok for a while until I was on my own on the streets, she adds. I left my friend’s place when I was 17. It was just hell for me because I could not just walk to a person and say “hey I am gay, but it’s ok” because Jamaicans are so much against it”. Jamaica has anti-sodomy laws and gay sex is punishable with up to 10 years in jail. Sexual acts between women are not mentioned in the law and are therefore legal but are not tolerated by most Jamaicans. At the same time, the crime rate is skyrocketing on the Caribbean island. Over 1440 people have been killed since the beginning of 2007 and the country could match its record of nearly 1,700 murders in 2005. In this context, violence against gay people is a common occurrence. In June 2004, Brian Williamson, a gay rights activist, was brutally murdered. A 25-year old man is currently serving a life sentence for the murder, whose motive was officially given as robbery. But supporters of Mr Williamson, 59, say he has been stabbed with a machete at least 70 times and in the neck and talk about a hate crime. In 2004, a gay teenager survived a lynching at school by a mob invited by the father of the boy. In December 2005, Lenford Harvey, a gay activist who ran Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, was also killed. In April 2007, a cross-dresser, was beaten up in broad daylight by a mob at a bus stop in Falmouth, a town in Western Jamaica. Janice tells of a similar story. “ One day, I met a girl I knew at a bus stop, she says. We were talking and when two guys came up and called me a lesbian. They liked the girl and beat me up ». Jay describes herself as a tomboy. She wears a wide white t-shirt, straight jeans and white Reebok shoes. She also a large silver cross necklace. Her voice is deep when she speaks about her daily struggle. « To survive here when you are gay, you have to decide what you are living for and what you are hoping, she says. I am hoping that one day I will be able to walk on the streets and be who I am. But instead, I have to fight for that. I have to fight very hard. (…) This is Jamaica : once you are gay, you have no rights ». Garymary is gay. The 26-year old Jamaican AIDS activist from Kingston says he is not trying to hide his sexuality but does not talk about it outside homosexuals circles. « Being openly gay here is a risk. Groups of men will tell me things. They will call me a “battyman” (n.d.l.r.: an abusive term for a gay man) I look a bit different. I talk a bit different. I walk with a flair, with a swing. They look at me as if I am strange. But for my own comfort, I try not to think about what they are thinking. I want to be me ». The situation is not about to improve for gay people in Jamaica. Last October, the Education Minister Andrew Holness reacted to the mention of same-sex unions in a textbook: « We want to make it absolutely clear that the Ministry of Education does not endorse or support the teaching of homosexual relationships as the accepted standard of family, Mr Holness told the Jamaican Observer. We don’t teach it and we don’t recommend it”. Last July, the former leader of opposition and now Jamaican Prime minister Bruce Golding, addressed the matter of homosexuality on the campaign trail: “We don’t believe that the state should be pushing down people’s bedroom doors to find what they do there, because, if you push it down today to enforce laws that relate to sexual activity, you will push it down tomorrow for some other purpose, Mr Golding told the Sunday Observer. But in so far as providing official sanction to that kind of [homosexual] activity, we are not going there”. In the windowless room of uptown Kingston, Janice says she dreams of a day when she will be able to come out as a lesbian : “Everybody deserve to live their life the way they want to live it, she says You are supposed to live what you feel. This is who I am. We don’t adapt, this is in us”. She says she wants to become a clothes designer and a gay model: “I would design men’s clothes and wear them ».
1st February 2008 16 by PinkNews.co.uk staff writer The attack took place on Tuesday in the town of Mandeville. Two men were hospitalised, one with serious injuries, while another man is still missing. According to reports, the men were attacked in the privacy of their dwelling by an angry mob who had days before threatened them if they did not leave the community. JFLAG is calling for the leadership of the country, beginning with elected officials, to honour their obligation by protecting citizens from violent attacks, regardless of the circumstances. "They must extend the full arm of the law to make examples of any proven perpetrators so that mob violence can be seen as a punishable offence under the law," said a spokesman. "As the global village becomes smaller in real terms, Jamaicans will have to realise that targeted acts of violence which infringe human rights will only serve to further undermine our reputation in the international community. This extends from the basic breach on individual human rights to undermining the confidence of potential investors who seek a civil and stable environment in which to do business. We are cultivating an uncivil society which seems to be itching for a reason to resort to mob violence as a redress for real or perceived grievances. When those with whom we entrust the responsibility of leadership fail to act decisively, they betray all Jamaicans. Our leaders must work to create a safe environment for every Jamaican regardless of colour, gender, religious affiliation, sexual orientation or other status." International human rights organisations have described Jamaica as one of the most homophobic places in the world. Gay and lesbian relationships are largely conducted in secret. Sex between men in Jamaica is illegal, and punishable with up to ten years in jail, usually with hard labour. In December 2003, a World Policy Institute survey on sexual orientation and human rights in the Americas concluded: "In the Caribbean, Jamaica is by far the most dangerous place for sexual minorities, with frequent and often fatal attacks against gay men fostered by a popular culture that idolises reggae and dancehall singers whose lyrics call for burning and killing gay men. Draconian laws against sexual activity between members of the same sex continue to be in force not only in Jamaica, but in most of the English-speaking Caribbean." According to Amnesty International, the gay and lesbian community in Jamaica faces "extreme prejudice" and are "routinely victims of ill-treatment and harassment by the police, and occasionally of torture." Amnesty has highlighted the growing problem of vigilante action against gays and lesbians. Political parties have ignored the issue of gay rights. Indeed, homophobia is flourishing amongst politicians and the police. For example, opposition leader Bruce Golding vowed in 2006 that "homosexuals would find no solace in any cabinet formed by him." The homophobic island nation is given money by the British government. "The Department for International Development (DFID) have an aid programme for Jamaica worth in the region of £2.5 million a year," according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. "In addition, the UK also waives approximately £5-6m of Jamaican debt annually. Major projects include assistance to the programme to reform the Jamaican police force; assistance to the private sector to enhance the competitiveness of Jamaican exports; support for the Government's public sector reform programme and other programmes related to social development and giving disadvantaged groups of Jamaican society a stronger voice in the development of policy by the Government."
14th February 2008 17 by PinkNews.co.uk staff writer An angry crowd had gathered outside the pharmacy, hurling insults and threatening to kill the men. Officers dispersed the crowd with tear gas. As many as 2,000 people were involved in the attack. Mr Henry, 22, told CBC: "When you find police officers who are leading mob attacks, turning up at people's home like myself, pointing guns at my window, with civilians with them, and saying that I need to leave or they're going to kill me, it reinforces homophobia." Two weeks ago an attack on a group of men alleged to be homosexual left one man seriously injured and another missing feared dead. International human rights organisations have described Jamaica as one of the most homophobic places in the world. Sex between men in Jamaica is illegal, and punishable with up to ten years in jail, usually with hard labour. In December 2003, a World Policy Institute survey on sexual orientation and human rights in the Americas said: "In the Caribbean, Jamaica is by far the most dangerous place for sexual minorities, with frequent and often fatal attacks against gay men fostered by a popular culture that idolises reggae and dancehall singers whose lyrics call for burning and killing gay men."
February 24, 2008 18 by Marc Lacey The mob pummeled him senseless. His right hand, the one he used to shield himself from the blows, is now covered with bandages. His skull has deep cut marks and his ear was sliced in half, horizontally. Doctors managed to sew it back together and he can hear out of it again. Being gay in Jamaica is not easy. For years, human rights groups have denounced the harassment, beating and even killing of gays here, to little avail. No official statistic has been compiled on the number of attacks. But a recent string of especially violent, high-profile assaults has brought fresh condemnation to an island otherwise known as an easygoing tourist haven. “One time may be an isolated incident,” said Rebecca Schleifer, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who has studied the issue and regularly gets calls from the island from gays under attack. “When they happen on a repeated basis across the country, it is an urgent problem that deserves attention at the highest levels.” Disapproval of gays is an entrenched part of island life, rooted, Jamaicans say, in the country’s Christian tradition. The Bible condemns homosexuality, they say. But critics say islanders are selective in the verses they cite, and the rage at gay sex contrasts sharply with Jamaicans’ embrace of casual sex among heterosexuals, which is considered part of the Caribbean way. While some other Caribbean tourist destinations have made a point of marketing to gay travelers, Jamaica has notably not joined the trend. The double standard on the island is reflected in the antigay lyrics of Jamaican dance hall music, the headlines of more hyperventilating tabloids — “homo” is the term most often used — and the fact that homosexuality remains illegal here, with the specific crime called “buggery.” No place has shown that hostility recently more than Mandeville, a prosperous and quiet town in the South Coast area that rarely makes big news. A couple of weeks back, a local tabloid, The Jamaica Star, ran a screaming headline when a local police officer, disturbed by the attack on the dinner party guests, decided to disclose his sexual orientation to the paper. He said he had been harassed regularly by his colleagues because he is gay. He said the police did not take violence against gays seriously. “Jamaica’s motto is ‘Out of Many, One People,’ and I say, ‘What about us?’ ” said the police officer, Michael Hayden. Mr. Hayden, who has since taken leave from the force, is in hiding out of fear that his colleagues might kill him. Not even funerals are safe for gays. A year ago, just down the road from the disrupted dinner party, a gay businessman’s funeral was interrupted by a mob that gathered outside the church. The mob, outraged that effeminate mourners wearing tight pants and shirts had dared to show up, threw bottles and rocks through the church’s windows, then barged inside and ordered that the service be stopped. The pastor, who had not known the dead man was gay, pressed on, furious at the protesters for what he considered a defiling of his church. “The same religion they use to justify these attacks, I use to show what they do is wrong,” said the pastor, the Rev. Amos Campbell, of True Vine True Holiness Church. No one was prosecuted in the episode. The country’s public defender, Earl Witter, later condemned the violence at the funeral, but he also reinforced the common view that if only gays would be less flamboyant, there would be less violence against them. Speaking to the Mandeville Rotary Club last April, he urged Jamaica’s gays to avoid flaunting their sexual orientation. “Hold your corners,” he said in the local vernacular, because “it may provoke a violent breach of the peace.” As it is, Jamaica’s gays socialize at underground nightclubs and worship at secret church services that move around the island. The leading gay rights organization, Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, must lie low even as it pushes for societal change. Gareth Henry, a former leader of the group, fled to Canada last month, saying he had grown tired of being threatened. “Here, I’m no longer living in fear,” he said in a telephone interview from Toronto. “I’m finally able to be myself, to be an out gay man.” The commander of the Mandeville police station, Inspector Claude Smith, while making clear that his religious beliefs firmly oppose homosexuality, rejected the notion that the police condone violence against gays. Enforcement of the law against homosexuality, he said, should be up to the police, not angry mobs. In an interview, he recalled protecting a gay man who was chased through the streets of Mandeville about 15 years ago for wearing lipstick and carrying a purse. He predicted that the climate would not change for gays any time soon. “Based on the response of these mobs, people get very angry when they come across them,” he said. “I don’t think they can survive in the open.” The issue, though, is certainly out in the open. Last November, The Gleaner, the largest daily newspaper here, published an article saying that some of the island’s schools were using a home economics textbook that suggested same-sex unions were a type of family. Andrew Holness, the new education minister, swiftly pulled the book from circulation. “We are reviewing all our books to ensure that they adhere to the moral view of society,” he told reporters. Last April, the local news media reported that gays had protested outside the offices of the Western Mirror, a Montego Bay newspaper, after it published an article that said gays were responsible for a shortage of women’s underwear in the city. Then there was the recent attack in Mandeville, which is still under investigation, with no arrests. Next to Andre, huddled in a corner during the attack, was his boyfriend, 22, who goes by the nickname Junior. Deep machete slashes run up and down the arm he held in the air to protect himself. His head was also battered, though he escaped a more vicious beating by running through the mob waving a kitchen knife. Two other men at the dinner got away, but the fate of one guest remains unknown. He had fled into the yard before the attackers broke in and has not been heard from since. The police found blood at the mouth of a deep hole nearby; they suspect he may have been attacked in the yard, then fallen to his death. Since the attack, Andre said, he has been trying to undo his gayness, following a common view here that it is an acquired behavior that can be dropped if only one prays more and pays more attention to the opposite sex. He fled Mandeville after the attack and found refuge at the home of a pastor, who now delivers at-home sermons to him on how he must change. With the pastor standing over him, Andre said he would try to be attracted to women, if only so he would never be beaten again. But he mentions another option, as well: leaving Jamaica. The pastor says he has a son who is gay and has been unable to turn him around. But he is intent on converting Andre. “Instead of cutting him, people should be counseling him,” said the pastor, who declined to be identified out of fear that his family might be attacked for protecting a gay man. “He needs to get over this demonic thing.”
26th February 2008 19 by Tony Grew Mr Henry, a prominent member of gay rights group J-FLAG, Jamaica's Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, claimed refugee status in Canada earlier this month. He spoke at Pride London last year about the plight of lesbian and gay people in his country. Mr Henry told the Toronto Star that the situation is getting worse. On Valentine's Day last year he was one of three gay men stoned by a huge mob in a homophobic attack. Police eventually escorted the men from a pharmacy in Saint Andrew Parish, where they had been hiding for almost an hour. An angry crowd had gathered outside the pharmacy, hurling insults and threatening to kill the men. Officers dispersed the crowd with tear gas. As many as 2,000 people were involved in the attack. Mr Henry, 22, told CBC: "When you find police officers who are leading mob attacks, turning up at people's home like myself, pointing guns at my window, with civilians with them, and saying that I need to leave or they're going to kill me, it reinforces homophobia." Two weeks ago an attack on a group of men alleged to be homosexual left one man seriously injured and another missing feared dead. International human rights organisations have described Jamaica as one of the most homophobic places in the world. Sex between men in Jamaica is illegal, and punishable with up to ten years in jail, usually with hard labour. In December 2003, a World Policy Institute survey on sexual orientation and human rights in the Americas said: "In the Caribbean, Jamaica is by far the most dangerous place for sexual minorities, with frequent and often fatal attacks against gay men fostered by a popular culture that idolises reggae and dancehall singers whose lyrics call for burning and killing gay men."
3rd March 2008 20 byTony Grew Sex between men in Jamaica is illegal, and punishable with up to ten years in jail, usually with hard labour. Hatred for gay people is often publicly expressed by political and religious leaders in Jamaica. Opposition leader Bruce Golding vowed in 2006 that "homosexuals would find no solace in any cabinet formed by him." A World Policy Institute survey on sexual orientation and human rights in the Americas said: "In the Caribbean, Jamaica is by far the most dangerous place for sexual minorities, with frequent and often fatal attacks against gay men fostered by a popular culture that idolises reggae and dancehall singers whose lyrics call for burning and killing gay men." Gareth Henry, a prominent member of J-FLAG, claimed refugee status in Canada earlier this month. He spoke at Pride London last year about the plight of lesbian and gay people in his country. Mr Henry told the Toronto Star that the situation is getting worse. On Valentine's Day last year he was one of three gay men stoned by a huge mob in a homophobic attack. Police eventually escorted the men from a pharmacy in Saint Andrew Parish, where they had been hiding for almost an hour. An angry crowd had gathered outside the pharmacy, hurling insults and threatening to kill the men. Officers dispersed the crowd with tear gas. As many as 2,000 people were involved in the attack. Mr Henry, 22, told CBC: "When you find police officers who are leading mob attacks, turning up at people's home like myself, pointing guns at my window, with civilians with them, and saying that I need to leave or they're going to kill me, it reinforces homophobia." Last month two men were hospitalised, one with serious injuries, while another man is still missing and may be dead. The men were attacked at a private home in Mandeville by an angry mob who had days before threatened them if they did not leave the community. Despite repeated calls for help, police 90 minutes after they were first called and half an hour after the mob broke into the house and attacked the men. That most recent attack echoes another incident in the same town on Easter Sunday 2007. Approximately 100 men gathered outside a church where 150 people were attending the funeral of a gay man. According to mourners, the crowd broke the windows with bottles and shouted, "We want no battyman [gay] funeral here. Leave or else we’re going to kill you. We don’t want no battyman buried here in Mandeville." Several mourners inside the church called the police to request protection. After half an hour, three police officers arrived. But instead of protecting the mourners, police socialised with the mob, laughing along at the situation.
May 21, 2008 21 by Krishna Rau SMMC — a coalition of groups including Egale Canada and the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto — had demanded that the Jamaican government immediately denounce homophobic violence in the country and begin work on repealing laws criminalizing homosexuality, including sexual orientation in the Charter of Rights and developing education campaigns for the country and for the police. Bonner's response doesn't specifically address any of those demands, although it does address questions of police accountability and structural reform. She writes that she wants to "draw attention to some of the relevant actions being taken by the government of Jamaica: "A bill for consideration by Parliament at this session to establish an independent authority to have statutory responsibility for investigating instances of abuse by members of the security forces; A bill to establish a special coroner to conduct speedy inquests in cases where a citizen dies at the hands of agents of the state... Budget provided for continuation of the Citizens Security and Justice Program (CSJP), which had a positive impact on community strengthening and crime reduction." The Jamaican Ministry of National Security describes CSJP as a "national crime and violence prevention strategy." Bonner writes that "The government is focused on the need to dramatically reduce the incidence of crime in the country, regardless of cause.... You would be aware of the public statement issued by the government on Apr 14, 2008 reiterating its strong condemnation of 'mob attacks and violence against any individuals or groups for any reason whatsoever,' whilst underscoring the obligations of the state, in particular the police in such cases. "In the context of your specific concerns it is to be noted that the constitution and laws of Jamaica provide protection for the rights of all. There is not an intention to write into the constitution specific reference to any particular group, as all groups and individuals have equality under the law." Larcher says he is not disappointed by the letter's failure to mention homosexuality. "That was totally pretty much expected," he says. Larcher admits that the defiant response of Jamaican prime minister Bruce Golding also made SMMC think twice about a boycott, as has the possibility Golding may soon call a snap election. On Apr 23 Golding told reporters asking him about a possible boycott that he had "seen nothing yet to convince" him to repeal Jamaica's antisodomy laws, saying, "There is a road down which I'm not going to allow this country to go under my leadership." But Larcher says the boycott call has had positive effects. "It has not left us where we were," he says. "It's forced the Jamaican government to face the issue head-on. It's put them on alert. In terms of the international support it has raised the level of support." Larcher says SMMC will try to force the Canadian government to use its trade relationship with Jamaica to eff |
