Advocate

Kingston, Jamaica
Advocate

Thursday, March 5, 2015

WARNING!!! Alleged Gay Youth Stoned to Death in Jamaica (VIDEO)

A recent video of an alleged homosexual youth was stoned to death in Jamaica was posted on On-the-ground-news (a Jamaican online news) facebook page, which was then removed on March 3, 2015. The video below depicts the lifeless body of a young man clothed in tight pants with long hair (female "Bob" hair style) laying in a pool of his own blood and continuously being stoned by his executioners. In the video, one can hear clearly anti-gay slurs being used by one of the executioners with a Jamaican accent while carrying out the barbaric act lamented, "Batty-man yuh fi dead", in translation it means "gay, you should die", repeatedly. The identity of the deceased and location where the execution took place in Jamaica are being investigated.


Members of the Jamaican LGBT community are deeply sadden and heartbroken by the gruesome public execution of this young man in the streets of Jamaica. The video brought tears to my eyes and causes anger to permeate my heart. Many believe that all hopes for tolerance and respect for LGBT lives in Jamaica was shattered. Fear currently ripples through the entire community. 

One could hear the deadly silence coming from the Jamaican government, media and "LGBT community" which fosters and proliferates such inhumane acts against LGBT Jamaicans. Far too often such barbaric acts against perceived or known homosexuals living in Jamaica goes unreported and unpunished. Dwayne Jones, 16-year-old transgender woman, otherwise known as "Gully Queen" was murdered on July 22, 2013. No indictment or arrest was made in the death of Dwayne Jones.

We need the intervention of the international community/council on human rights to demand the end of LGBT persecution in Jamaica. Enough is enough! (Jamaica's Prime Minister) shame on you! Blood is on your hands. 

LGBT LIVES MATTER!






Tuesday, September 9, 2014

52 Years of Independence - Yet Jamaica Is Not Truly Independent

1st International Day of Action Against Jamaica's Anti-gay Laws
in Canada on August 6, 2014 at the Jamaican Consulate.
On August 6 – Independence Day, I asked my fellow Jamaicans to reflect on how independent Jamaica is.  Despite the agreements that were forged with Great Britain 52 years ago, Jamaica is not truly independent, not when most Jamaicans owe their allegiance to an antediluvian Queen.  I am not referring to Elizabeth. Rather, I am talking about Victoria and the values of the era over which she reigned.  The British Empire’s hypocrisy and overall social and political oppression characterized the 19th century for Jamaica and much of the world.  Over half a century after our purported independence is too long to wait to dismantle a legal system imposed on the island to enslave us and, after abolition, exploit us, as well as to deny us of our dignity.

Like modern Jamaicans, Britons of Victorian days had trouble being honest about sex and sexuality.  In the arrogance of their “civilizing” mission, they gave their colonies laws that reflected their absurd views, and today’s Jamaica desperately clings to the most absurd of these: the buggery law.  The retention of this odious law has empowered the most retrograde elements of Jamaican society.  These elements use the buggery law and “Christianity” to create a toxic atmosphere of hatred in which a particular group is singled out for appalling levels of discrimination and violence.  What passes for Christianity on the island is in no way reflected in the teachings of Jesus. Many who prophesizes, whether true or false, in the name of God especially Christians, have to yet to learn or accept that all judgment belongs to God alone, and discrimination is the face of human condemnation. Even Pope Francis of the conservative Roman Catholic Church, asked, “Who am I to judge a gay person?”


In their minds, some Jamaicans are not living in Victorian times but, instead, many centuries previous.  Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of Dwayne Jones, a transgender teenager whose earthly life was cut short in an act of astoundingly brutal violence reminiscent of medieval torture.  As Dwayne was trying to leave a party last July, a mob of “Christians” beat, stabbed, shot, and ran over this child of God.  Reports said he slipped in and out of consciousness for two hours before another attack finally killed him.  No one lifted a finger to help him.  Dwayne’s biological family refused to identify the body.  

Almost as shocking as the perpetrators’ attitude toward Dwayne’s life was the reaction of the Jamaican public: save for a few scattered voices, an expression of outrage.  No candlelight vigils.  No mass rallies.  No outpouring of support for Dwayne and his community.

1st International Day of Action Against Jamaica's Anti-gay Laws  in London on August 6, 2014 at the Jamaican High Commission.

In dehumanizing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, Jamaicans have shown how hardened their hearts are, how utterly devoid of compassion, and how eager to find a convenient scapegoat to keep us at each others’ throats ran than moving the country forward.  Our British colonial masters would be proud.

Despite the gruesome death of Dwayne and many others, the utter contempt many Jamaicans have for each other, and the inertia that touches all areas of society, I see faint glimmers of hope.  At great risk to their lives, many individuals within Jamaica, who will someday be hailed as national heroes, work to protect our LGBT brothers and sisters. Many others work from adopted countries to shed light on the crisis.  Prominent straight allies, such as, Yvonne McCalla Sobbers have recorded public service announcements calling for respect for all.  Most promising is the growing national support for repeal of the buggery law.  All of these ripples are gathering into a tidal wave of change.

As the South African anti-apartheid anthem proudly proclaims, “Freedom is coming…oh, yes I know!”  My dream, as well as, many other LGBT Jamaican refugees scattered around the world, is to return to a truly free Jamaica, free from fear, oppression, discrimination and persecution, and free to celebrate Dwayne’s life for the bold expression of love that it was.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

No Room For HATE Music In Queens, New York: Gay Activists Protest Queen Ifrica



NYC Councilman Daniel Dromm and Jamaican LGBT activists call on
Queen Ifrica and Amazura Concert Hall to stop the hate
On May 23, 2014 New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm and Jamaica Anti-Homophobia Stand (JAHS) joined together to condemn anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) music. The protest called for the cancellation of Queen Ifrica’s performance immediately, as well as condemning the promotion of and profiting from hateful music here in NYC, where LGBT lives and rights are valued.

Queen Ifrica, a reggae musician from the country of Jamaica, was scheduled to perform at Amazura Concert Hall. Fortunately, “She has been pulled as headliner at Amazura Concert Hall, Queens, New York, due to mounting pressure from the gay community.”

She is known in her home country as well as throughout the world for her homophobic lyrics, which contribute to the violently anti-LGBT climate in Jamaica. In a 2010 performance, the singer clearly expressed her discriminatory views on LGBT people and their rights: “We not going to legalize any faggotism in Jamaica.” She was even denied status as a UNICEF ambassador because of her homophobia. Despite the outcry, she has continued to use her performances to advocate for the criminalization and persecution of LGBT Jamaicans.

At a time when the reggae/dancehall music industry is becoming more aware of these issues, Queen Ifrica insists on condemning LGBT people in her music. Jamaican LGBT leaders are fighting for the most basic human rights; Queen Ifrica’s anti-LGBT propaganda makes it even more difficult for this particularly vulnerable population. LGBT leaders, who have had to flee for their lives, have had to lead the campaign against murder music from their adopted countries.

Dwayne Brown, founder of JAHS, said, “Queen Ifrica’s words help create a climate where human rights violations against LGBT Jamaicans are rampant. Such promotion of hate music and its creator Queen Ifrica is unacceptable and not welcome in New York.”

Council Member Daniel Dromm added, “Queen Ifrica’s anti-LGBT outbursts are not acceptable anywhere. Queens has historically been a haven for marginalized people around the world, including LGBT Jamaicans who have had to flee their country. I am proud to join with these brave activists who are using the freedom they have in this country to continue to fight for the embattled LGBT community in Jamaica.” He further added, “We don't want homophobic people like her coming to Queens to spread their message of hate.” 

Last November, several members of the New York City Council including the current Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, sent a letter to Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller expressing their concern about the rampant human rights violations against LGBT individuals in Jamaica.


Queen Ifrica













LGBT protesters/activists















References:


 Anti-gay Jamaican singer axed from US concert http://bit.ly/1npqs1X
 Gays block Queen Ifrica  http://bit.ly/S2V0dX
  Toronto music festival to feature homophobic Jamaican headliner http://bit.ly/1qwRfwZ
 Gay rights activists to protest Jamaican reggae star Queen Ifrica’s upcoming show  http://nydn.us/1lK3uym
  Council of New York City Letter to Jamaica’s Prime Minister  



Sunday, January 19, 2014

Response: LGBT tolerance growing in Jamaica, push to repeal of anti-gay law (Reuters Article)

Protester in NYC
The article titled – ‘LGBT tolerance growing in Jamaica, push to repeal of anti-gay law’[1] dated January 18, 2014 published on Reuters by Aileen Torres-Bennett is misleading, ambiguous and irresponsible. The notion of an increasing atmosphere of tolerance towards LGBT individuals living in Jamaica, so strongly advocated by the writer is nothing but a theoretical assumption posited by a privileged few in Jamaica.

The conspiracy theory of ‘growing LGBT tolerance’ in Jamaica is unfounded and there is no evidence to prove otherwise. The continuous opposition to rid Jamaica of its punitive laws against same-sex intimacy and sexual intercourse by the church, and the society on a whole, as well as the constant human rights abuse and loss of lives faced by LGBT Jamaicans, benign the essence of the writer’s arguments.

The article failed to demonstrate the existence of ‘growing LGBT tolerance’, by not providing the reader with plausible evidentiary support or arguments. I must concede that the acknowledgement of LGBT individuals by the Jamaican Prime Minister – Portia Simpson-Miller represent progress, however, this should not be misconstrued as a growing tolerance towards gays in Jamaica.  The Prime Minister did not argued for a repeal of the buggery law as indicated in the article but simply responded to a question posed during a televised political debate leading up to the General Elections in 2011.

Portia Simpson-Miller is of the view that the Buggery Act should be brought to the House of Representative where after consulting with their constituents all MPs should vote based on their conscience.[2] Yet unfortunately, the reluctance of the Jamaican government to stem mob attacks, beatings and killings of Jamaicans perceived or known to be LGBT is alarming.

The writer failed to give an account of the numerous crimes against LGBT persons in Jamaica and ignored the significance of the 25-year-old gay man – who moved to the United States from Jamaica in November 2012 and now has a job raising awareness for LGBT asylum-seekers.  The article quoted the young man saying, “My cousin was murdered on suspicion that he was gay. A friend of mine was stabbed to death.”

According to the IACHR  2012 report, “discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression is widespread throughout Jamaica, and that discrimination against those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI)  communities  is  entrenched  in Jamaican  State  institutions.    Those  who  are  not heterosexual  or  cisgender face  political  and  legal stigmatization,  police  violence an inability to access the justice system, as well as intimidation, violence, and pressure in their homes and communities.”[3]

There have been numerous reports of homophobic violence in the past year which contradicts the writer’s suggestion of ‘growing tolerance toward LGBT Jamaicans’. In the year 2013:
§  A homeless young gay man was set on fire and thrown into a gully to burn on the 24th of January,[4]  
§  Dwayne Jones, 16-year-old transgender woman was murdered on July 22nd ,[5]
§  A mob called for the head of an alleged gay constable on July 31st in Kingston,
§  On August 1st, two homosexual men were mobbed and wounded in St Catherine,[6]
§  On the 10th of August police rescued a transgender woman after a mob gave chased in Portmore,[7]
§  On August 22nd , five gay men were trapped and barricaded by an angry mob in Green Gully Manchester,[8]
§  On August 23rd, two men were trapped by a homophobic mob for ‘appearing ‘gay,[9]
§  On August 27, 41-year-old gay man was murdered and burnt by unknown assailants,[10]
§  House Occupied By Gays Firebombed on the 8th of October,[11]  
§  A large patrol of police officers beat and pepper sprayed a group of homeless gays as well as set their belongings on fire in Kingston Jamaica on the 15th of October,[12]
§  31-year-old Keshema Tulloch, an openly gay woman and otherwise known as ‘Royal’ was shot by a Police Officer on the 25th of October,[13]
§  And 22-year-old Jason Reid (a.k.a Jason Jahson Reid on Facebook) ̶ a Bisexual Christian young man was brutally murdered on the 19th of December.[14]

In addition to the list above are several alleged reports of ‘corrective rape’ carried out against perceived or known lesbians. Most incidents of attack and abuse often go unreported due to fear of future attacks. Also, for those that are reported, Jamaican based organizations, as well as government officials continue to down play the severity of extreme intolerance toward gays, in an effort to promote a Pro-Gay image of Jamaica.

Furthermore, the Constitutional Court in Jamaica thrown out an application challenging the refusal of three television stations to air an advertisement promoting tolerance for homosexuals in November 2013, based on a sad fact that the Jamaican Charter of Rights does not afford protection from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The National Survey of Attitudes and Perceptions of Jamaicans towards Same Sex Relationships 2012 study shows the persistence of strong negative views towards same sex relationships across all sectors of society. Most respondents disagreed with amending both the buggery law (76.7%) and the Charter Fundamental Rights and Freedoms to protect the rights of those who are part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community (65%). 85% of the respondents felt that homosexuality is immoral.[15]

Finally, a political promise of a conscience vote to review Jamaica’s Anti-gay punitive laws three (3) years ago from the Prime Minister should not be considered as a measure of tolerance, especially when the political appetite to change the Buggery law among government representatives, backed by the church and many aspects of civil society is lacking. I strongly support Javed Jaghai Aajri lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Jamaica's Buggery Law which violates all gay men  rights to privacy under Jamaica's Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.



References:


[1] LGBT tolerance growing in Jamaica, push to repeal of anti-gay law http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/18/us-jamaica-lgbt-idUSBREA0H0BI20140118
[2] PNP Clarifies Buggery Law Statement http://jamaica-gleaner.com/latest/article.php?id=34079
[3] Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: 2012 Report on Jamaica http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/docs/pdf/Jamaica2012eng.pdf
[4] CVM TV News Report (starts at 00:51 sec) http://www.cvmtv.com/videos_1.php?id=662§ion=watch
[7]
[8] CVM TV NEWSWATCH http://www.cvmtv.com/videos_1.php?id=1747§ion=watch (starts at 13:36 mins
[14] 22-year-old Jason Reid  ̶ a Bisexual Christian young man brutally murdered  http://on.fb.me/1kMGfGz
[15] National Survey of Attitudes and Perceptions of Jamaicans Towards Same Sex Relationships 2012 study http://bit.ly/1aCbuNi


Friday, October 25, 2013

Lesbian Harassed And Then Shot by Jamaican Police

31-year-old Keshema Tulloch, an openly gay woman
31-year-old Keshema Tulloch, an openly gay woman and otherwise known as ‘Royal’ was shot by a Police Officer earlier today, October 25, 2013, around 10 a.m. after being bullied and physically attacked by an anti-gay man in Half Way Tree, Kingston.

According to the victim’s father Winston Tulloch, “Royal got into an altercation with a man who called her a ‘sadomite’ (anti-gay slur) and punched her in the face. She then proceeded to chase her attacker with a knife. The man ran to a police officer at the Texaco Gas station. While running towards the police officer and her attacker, the police officer shot her in her arm and she fell to the ground. The police then opened fire and shot her a second time in her chest.”

He further stated that, “the man who physically attacked her was pressured by the police officer to pursue criminal charges (Attempted Assault) against her.”

Royal is currently hospitalized in intensive care at the Kingston Public Hospital and was formally charged with attempted assault at 5:00 p.m. She is under police guard while being treated.

For the past three years Royal has been targeted and abused by police officers for her sexual identity, ‘a lesbian’ and her manly demeanor. In March 2011, at the Pavilion Mall in Half Way Tree, Kingston, she was brutally beaten by a few police officers. An anti-gay slur such as ‘Sadomite’ was hurled at her and she was mocked for appearing as a man before the attack began. It is believed that she sought help from the Jamaica Forum for Lesbian, All-Sexuals and Gay (J-FLAG) as well as reported all incidents of abuse and other attacks, however, no help was received from the local LGBT Advocacy organization, J-FLAG.

Recently on October 15, 2013, at 7:00 p.m, a large patrol of police officers beat and pepper sprayed a group of homeless gays as well as set their belongings on fire in New Kingston Jamaica. Royal’s family is deeply worried that the police officer is going to kill her and put her away for a crime she didn’t commit.

Gays in Jamaica, or those suspected of being gay, are routinely victimized by all forms of ill-treatment and harassment by the police. J-FLAG continues to report serious human rights abuses, including assault with deadly weapons, “corrective rape” of women accused of being lesbians, arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, setting on fire, harassment of LGBT patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of such persons.

The abuse, discrimination and shooting of lesbians living in Jamaica should not be tolerated by Jamaica’s security force.  We are urging the government of Jamaica to step in and free Keshema Tulloch, as well as charge the police officer for attempted murder. It is time for Portia Simpson-Miller to protect the lives of lesbians and gays. Enough is enough!


JUSTICE FOR KESHEMA TULLOCH


31-year-old Keshema Tulloch, an openly gay woman

31-year-old Keshema Tulloch, an openly gay woman

31-year-old Keshema Tulloch, an openly gay woman



31-year-old Keshema Tulloch, an openly gay woman

31-year-old Keshema Tulloch, an openly gay woman

31-year-old Keshema Tulloch, an openly gay woman


























Citations:


CVM TV News Watch (From 12:42-13:33) mins http://www.cvmtv.com/videos_1.php?id=2065§ion=watch
Amnesty International 2001 
U.S.A Department of State. June 21, 2013. Travel Advisory to Jamaica: Special Concerns for LGBT Travelers http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1147.html




Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Jamaica's Anti-gay Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding Speech Disrupted By Gay Activists In New York: Protest

Tuesday night (October 22, 2013) in New York a dozen queer activists from Jamaica Anti-Homophobia Stand protested a speech by Jamaica's anti-gay and authoritarian former Prime Minister Bruce Golding at the Schomburg Center of. 

Golding’s talk was part of the Caribbean International Network Lecture Series sponsored by the Jamaica Observer, First Global Bank, Golden Krust, Jampact and Bejamins. Yes! These are the sponsors of state terrorism in Jamaica. 

Chanting,“Bruce, your wanted! Unrepentant murder!” and “Gay rights are human rights!” the protesters lined the sidewalk outside the Harlem institution for over an hour and received comments from supportive and non-supportive bystanders.

In May 2010 under Prime Minister Bruce Golding's watch, over 73 Jamaican residents were massacred in Tivoli Gardens by Jamaica security forces. No one has since been held accountable.

Famously, Golding is also symbolic of Jamaica's homophobic culture. He publicly announced his opposition to gays serving in his Cabinet on BBC Hard Talk in 2008 and has since made other vitriolic homophobic statements.

Jamaica Anti-Homophobia stand feels strongly that Bruce Golding must be held accountable for the human rights offenses he oversaw during his tenure, including the Tivoli Gardens Massacre and the perpetuation of anti-gay attacks.






















Sunday, October 20, 2013

Jamaican Police Officers Attacked Homeless Gay Men Inside Road Drains

Gully/drains where homeless Gay Men live in Jamaica: Photo (Courtesy of Maurice Tomlinson)
Gays in Jamaica, or those suspected of being gay, are routinely victims of ill-treatment and harassment by the police, which occasionally leads to torture by the same force that is to serve and protect.[1] The latest of such attack occurred on October 15, 2013, at 7:00 p.m, when a large patrol of police officers beat and pepper sprayed a group of homeless gays as well as set their belongings on fire in Kingston Jamaica.

According to CVM TV News Watch, “St Andrew Central police launched a crackdown against youths  who they said are unruly gay men, in new Kingston. Several items of clothing as well as utensils and belongings to the men were burned in a gully where some of them lived near Trafalgar road. The men fled on the approach of the security team but slowly return to see their belongings going up in smoke. The youths could be heard pleading and begging for urgent assistance.”[2]


20-year-old Marlondo, a homeless gay man and one of the victims assaulted by the police, reported that,” I was inside the gully with about twenty of my gay colleagues when I heard one of them shouted Police! Police! I was naked and I did not believe that Police was there until I look up and see the blue flashing lights, so I hastily put on my clothes and was about t climb out of the gully when I saw the police jumped out of the vehicle so I turn back and ran inside the gully. The police cornered me at the opposite side of the gully between Scotia building and Island Car Rental on Trafalgar Road where they used pepper spray on us, as well as beat two (2) of my friends.” Similar stories of arbitrary detention and harassment by police officers are often not investigated.[3]

Anika Gray, an Attorney-at-law, was shocked at the hostility the police displayed towards these men, three of whom were brave enough to show up at the police station the following day to file a report. “The officers flatly refused to take the report of the alleged attack by the other officers claiming that it had to be handled by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM),” said Miss Gray.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has received information which indicates that in some instances, police are also perpetrators of violence, threatening and beating individuals suspected of being gay.  Police abuse has reportedly led to mob killings or other violence, and there are accounts of men who are suspected of having sex with men who have had to flee their homes out of fear of being attacked after police abuse prompted violence by private community actors.  Police violence not only reaffirms the message to the gay community that there is no recourse to justice and gay men can will get no protection from the state, but it is often a catalyst for further violence and abuse from the rest of the community.[4]

For several years, young gay men who have been, beaten and chased out of their communities by their families and neighbors have been living inside the city’s drains, gullies and underground tunnels, where sewage and waste water continuously flows. Underground sewage plants and drains are no place for human domicile. With no help from the government and the wider society, homeless gay men rely on each other to survive.

These young men are constantly hiding underground to avoid prosecution from state security forces that threatens to beat and arrest them for loitering within the corporate area of Kingston. A recent incident within the corporate area, saw homeless young gay man was set on fire then thrown into a gully and left to burn by unknown assailants January 24, 2013.[5] Without any collaborative evidence, the police superintendent concludes that the victim attackers were his gay peers.

The insistent harassment and constant violence against persons based on their sexual orientation by armed police forces goes against any human’s rights as a citizen of his or her country. The freedom from arbitrary detention, torture and other cruel inhumane treatment by the government and its agents are non-exist within the LBGTQ community living in Jamaica.

How long will the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights  continue to watch Jamaica and its ruling government breach international human rights laws by beating, terrorizing, and arbitrarily detaining suspected and known homosexuals?


Gully/drains where homeless Gay Men live in Jamaica:Photo (Courtesy of Maurice Tomlinson)

Gully/drains where homeless Gay Men live in Jamaica:Photo (Courtesy of Maurice Tomlinson)






































Citations: 


[1] Amnesty International 2001
[2] CVM TV News Watch (From 12:42-13:33) mins http://www.cvmtv.com/videos_1.php?id=2065§ion=watch
[3] Country Report on Human Rights Practices (2011) http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/186737.pdf
[4] Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: 2012 Report on Jamaica http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/docs/pdf/Jamaica2012eng.pdf
[5] Homeless Gay Youth Set Ablaze in Sleep And Left to Burn: Jamaica https://minority-insight.org/2013/09/homeless-gay-youth-set-ablaze-in-sleep.html  




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