Jamaica's violent and deadly pogrom
Aug 23rd 2007, 5:29 am
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Jamaica's violent and deadly pogrom
http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews043.htm
Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
The Black World Today, December 2, 2002
P.O. Box 328, Randallstown, MD 21133
Fax: 410-521-9993, Email: [email protected]
By Zadie Neufville, IPS
KINGSTON?When the United Kingdom (UK) granted asylum to three Jamaican
men last month, it once again shone the international spotlight on the
severe homophobia that have cost many here their homes, their jobs and
even their lives.
The men were granted asylum on the grounds that ?severe homophobia? in
this northern Caribbean island, had endangered their lives, and that
the Jamaican government failed to protect them from violence.
<snip>
Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
The Black World Today, December 2, 2002
P.O. Box 328, Randallstown, MD 21133
Fax: 410-521-9993, Email: [email protected]
By Zadie Neufville, IPS
KINGSTON?When the United Kingdom (UK) granted asylum to three Jamaican
men last month, it once again shone the international spotlight on the
severe homophobia that have cost many here their homes, their jobs and
even their lives.
The men were granted asylum on the grounds that ?severe homophobia? in
this northern Caribbean island, had endangered their lives, and that
the Jamaican government failed to protect them from violence.
<snip>
Aug 23rd 2007, 5:32 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Jamaica's violent and deadly pogrom
On Aug 22, 10:29 pm, [email protected] wrote:
> http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews043.htm
Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
The Black World Today, December 2, 2002
P.O. Box 328, Randallstown, MD 21133
Fax: 410-521-9993, Email: [email protected]
By Zadie Neufville, IPS
KINGSTON?When the United Kingdom (UK) granted asylum to three Jamaican
men last month, it once again shone the international spotlight on the
severe homophobia that have cost many here their homes, their jobs and
even their lives.
The men were granted asylum on the grounds that ?severe homophobia? in
this northern Caribbean island, had endangered their lives, and that
the Jamaican government failed to protect them from violence.
The three are among the first successful asylum claims for homosexuals
since a 1999 House of Lords ruling that allowed ?particular social
groups?, including homosexuals, to qualify for refugee status.
Barry O?Leary of the London-based law firm Wesly Gryk says he was able
to convince British officials that the Jamaican government ?is
unwilling to protect the rights of the men?.
O?Leary, also a spokesman for the Stonewall Immigration group, an
organisation that lobbies for gays, says some of his Jamaican clients
have suffered physical torture and have even seen their partners
murdered.
Another seven Jamaican men are seeking refuge in the UK and one has
been granted indefinite leave to remain there.
One of the refugees, Matthew (name withheld by request) describes
being gay in Jamaica as being in ?a hell house?.
?When I was walking down the streets, I didn?t know who was going to
attack me. The police do nothing. I would be dead now in Jamaica,? he
told reporters.
One 26-year-old, who wants to remain anonymous, told of constant
verbal abuse while working as a security guard. At home, he suffered
beatings that left him deaf in one ear and in one particularly brutal
attack his throat was slashed and he was left to die.
?I was always looking over my shoulder, thinking someone was going to
attack me or shoot me,? he said. ?It is just not possible to live a
normal life in Jamaica if you are gay,? the man said on British radio.
The success of the asylum seekers is welcome news in the Jamaican gay
community. The Jamaica Federation of Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays (J-
FLAG) reports that 30 men are currently homeless after being forced
out of their communities, while some have been driven to insanity.
Since 1980, about 40 gay men have been killed and hundreds of alleged
homosexuals viciously beaten and driven from their homes. The threat
of violence is so prevalent that the only known names and faces behind
J-FLAG live overseas, the group?s telephone number is unlisted and its
office location a secret.
In Jamaica, sympathising or associating with gays can be deadly, J-
FLAG says.
The organisation has recorded dozens of incidents of violence against
gay men, but says that many of those who suffer beatings or threats
are simply too scared to report them to authorities.
O?Leary says many of his clients also report abuse from police, and in
a 2001 report the international human rights group Amnesty
International (AI) outlines police beatings, beatings supported by the
police, arrests and malicious detention of gay men.
But Miguel Wynter, head of the Jamaican Constabulary?s Office of
Professional Responsibility (OPR), which investigates allegations of
police misconduct, says he has had no complaints from gay men claiming
to have been abused by police.
Wynter does admit that the Buggery Act could deter homosexuals from
making complaints.
Gay women are verbally harassed but violence against them is
reportedly rare.
AI and local activists blame a 135-year-old Jamaican law?the Offences
of the Person Act, which includes the Buggery Act?for promoting
discrimination against gay men. Under the act, homosexual intercourse
is a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years hard labour.
?Laws that treat homosexuals as criminals lend support to a climate of
prejudice,? Amnesty said in its report.
?Although not all gay men engage in anal intercourse,? says J-FLAG
spokesperson and attorney Donna Smith, ?it is so much a part of the
essence of the intimate interaction between gay men that a law against
it is, in essence, a law against male homosexuality?.
Activists say local recording stars are also to be blamed for the
violence because their lyrics often call for violence, including the
murder of gays. One of the most popular recordings in recent years
advocated ?burning and shooting ?Chi Chi Men?? (a local term for
homosexuals), while others have called for battering them to death.
According to O?Leary, ?I am representing one client who has lost his
last two partners to fatal homophobic attacks, one of which took place
in church?.
Smith believes that constitutional protection for homosexuals could
provide a buffer against some violence and discrimination. Last year,
J-FLAG lobbied the Constitutional Commission to include sexual
preference in the law as a protected right.
Government refused to consider the proposition saying, ?homosexuality
was not on its agenda?.
Public Defender Howard Hamilton is now investigating whether the
constitutional rights of 16 men killed and 40 others injured in 1997
prison riots were breached.
In what is said to be the country?s worst case of homophobic violence,
prisoners attacked and killed or injured alleged homosexuals after
prison officials announced they would distribute condoms to counter
the spread of HIV.
A Jamaican government spokesperson denies any support for homophobia,
but many like O?Leary continue to point to remarks made by Jamaica?s
head of state and chief scout, Governor-General Howard Cooke, when he
sanctioned the exclusion of gays from the Boys Scouts.
?Those are not the type of persons we wish to be part of the scout
movement,? he told a newspaper nearly two years ago.
Gay rights activists say that the failure of government to address the
situation is putting even non-homosexuals at risk. Bobby (name
withheld by request) says he was targeted because he ?was not living
with a woman?.
He told reporters that community leaders ordered him to leave his
home.
And while gays living in middle and upper-class communities may escape
the vicious beatings that their less fortunate counterparts in the
inner cities are exposed to, they still face discrimination. Many
complain of having police smash into their homes on false reports and
of searches designed to catch them in compromising situations.
So the abuse continues and those who can, seek refuge abroad. Those
with enough money and power, protect themselves behind security
fences. According to J-FLAG, those with no recourse end up dead,
others wander the streets and some lose their minds.
> http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews043.htm
Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
The Black World Today, December 2, 2002
P.O. Box 328, Randallstown, MD 21133
Fax: 410-521-9993, Email: [email protected]
By Zadie Neufville, IPS
KINGSTON?When the United Kingdom (UK) granted asylum to three Jamaican
men last month, it once again shone the international spotlight on the
severe homophobia that have cost many here their homes, their jobs and
even their lives.
The men were granted asylum on the grounds that ?severe homophobia? in
this northern Caribbean island, had endangered their lives, and that
the Jamaican government failed to protect them from violence.
The three are among the first successful asylum claims for homosexuals
since a 1999 House of Lords ruling that allowed ?particular social
groups?, including homosexuals, to qualify for refugee status.
Barry O?Leary of the London-based law firm Wesly Gryk says he was able
to convince British officials that the Jamaican government ?is
unwilling to protect the rights of the men?.
O?Leary, also a spokesman for the Stonewall Immigration group, an
organisation that lobbies for gays, says some of his Jamaican clients
have suffered physical torture and have even seen their partners
murdered.
Another seven Jamaican men are seeking refuge in the UK and one has
been granted indefinite leave to remain there.
One of the refugees, Matthew (name withheld by request) describes
being gay in Jamaica as being in ?a hell house?.
?When I was walking down the streets, I didn?t know who was going to
attack me. The police do nothing. I would be dead now in Jamaica,? he
told reporters.
One 26-year-old, who wants to remain anonymous, told of constant
verbal abuse while working as a security guard. At home, he suffered
beatings that left him deaf in one ear and in one particularly brutal
attack his throat was slashed and he was left to die.
?I was always looking over my shoulder, thinking someone was going to
attack me or shoot me,? he said. ?It is just not possible to live a
normal life in Jamaica if you are gay,? the man said on British radio.
The success of the asylum seekers is welcome news in the Jamaican gay
community. The Jamaica Federation of Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays (J-
FLAG) reports that 30 men are currently homeless after being forced
out of their communities, while some have been driven to insanity.
Since 1980, about 40 gay men have been killed and hundreds of alleged
homosexuals viciously beaten and driven from their homes. The threat
of violence is so prevalent that the only known names and faces behind
J-FLAG live overseas, the group?s telephone number is unlisted and its
office location a secret.
In Jamaica, sympathising or associating with gays can be deadly, J-
FLAG says.
The organisation has recorded dozens of incidents of violence against
gay men, but says that many of those who suffer beatings or threats
are simply too scared to report them to authorities.
O?Leary says many of his clients also report abuse from police, and in
a 2001 report the international human rights group Amnesty
International (AI) outlines police beatings, beatings supported by the
police, arrests and malicious detention of gay men.
But Miguel Wynter, head of the Jamaican Constabulary?s Office of
Professional Responsibility (OPR), which investigates allegations of
police misconduct, says he has had no complaints from gay men claiming
to have been abused by police.
Wynter does admit that the Buggery Act could deter homosexuals from
making complaints.
Gay women are verbally harassed but violence against them is
reportedly rare.
AI and local activists blame a 135-year-old Jamaican law?the Offences
of the Person Act, which includes the Buggery Act?for promoting
discrimination against gay men. Under the act, homosexual intercourse
is a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years hard labour.
?Laws that treat homosexuals as criminals lend support to a climate of
prejudice,? Amnesty said in its report.
?Although not all gay men engage in anal intercourse,? says J-FLAG
spokesperson and attorney Donna Smith, ?it is so much a part of the
essence of the intimate interaction between gay men that a law against
it is, in essence, a law against male homosexuality?.
Activists say local recording stars are also to be blamed for the
violence because their lyrics often call for violence, including the
murder of gays. One of the most popular recordings in recent years
advocated ?burning and shooting ?Chi Chi Men?? (a local term for
homosexuals), while others have called for battering them to death.
According to O?Leary, ?I am representing one client who has lost his
last two partners to fatal homophobic attacks, one of which took place
in church?.
Smith believes that constitutional protection for homosexuals could
provide a buffer against some violence and discrimination. Last year,
J-FLAG lobbied the Constitutional Commission to include sexual
preference in the law as a protected right.
Government refused to consider the proposition saying, ?homosexuality
was not on its agenda?.
Public Defender Howard Hamilton is now investigating whether the
constitutional rights of 16 men killed and 40 others injured in 1997
prison riots were breached.
In what is said to be the country?s worst case of homophobic violence,
prisoners attacked and killed or injured alleged homosexuals after
prison officials announced they would distribute condoms to counter
the spread of HIV.
A Jamaican government spokesperson denies any support for homophobia,
but many like O?Leary continue to point to remarks made by Jamaica?s
head of state and chief scout, Governor-General Howard Cooke, when he
sanctioned the exclusion of gays from the Boys Scouts.
?Those are not the type of persons we wish to be part of the scout
movement,? he told a newspaper nearly two years ago.
Gay rights activists say that the failure of government to address the
situation is putting even non-homosexuals at risk. Bobby (name
withheld by request) says he was targeted because he ?was not living
with a woman?.
He told reporters that community leaders ordered him to leave his
home.
And while gays living in middle and upper-class communities may escape
the vicious beatings that their less fortunate counterparts in the
inner cities are exposed to, they still face discrimination. Many
complain of having police smash into their homes on false reports and
of searches designed to catch them in compromising situations.
So the abuse continues and those who can, seek refuge abroad. Those
with enough money and power, protect themselves behind security
fences. According to J-FLAG, those with no recourse end up dead,
others wander the streets and some lose their minds.
Aug 23rd 2007, 8:14 am
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Jamaica's violent and deadly pogrom
Am Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:29:20 -0700 schrieb [email protected]:
> The Black World Today, December 2, 2002
Why you post an article that is 5(!) years old?
> The Black World Today, December 2, 2002
Why you post an article that is 5(!) years old?
Aug 23rd 2007, 1:52 pm
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Jamaica's violent and deadly pogrom
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] oups.com...
> http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews043.htm
> Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
Excellent program!
Maybe we should send American fags somewhere too!
news:[email protected] oups.com...
> http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews043.htm
> Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
Excellent program!
Maybe we should send American fags somewhere too!
Aug 23rd 2007, 1:53 pm
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Jamaica's violent and deadly pogrom
"Frank Hucklenbroich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Am Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:29:20 -0700 schrieb [email protected]:
>> The Black World Today, December 2, 2002
> Why you post an article that is 5(!) years old?
Because his steady diet of island-nigger cock is threatened!
news:[email protected]...
> Am Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:29:20 -0700 schrieb [email protected]:
>> The Black World Today, December 2, 2002
> Why you post an article that is 5(!) years old?
Because his steady diet of island-nigger cock is threatened!
Aug 23rd 2007, 7:37 pm
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Jamaica's violent and deadly pogrom
On Aug 23, 6:52 am, "Patriot Games" <[email protected]> wrote:
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected] oups.com...
>
> >http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews043.htm
> > Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
>
> Excellent program!
>
> Maybe we should send American fags somewhere too!
Sorry, there is a pesky little thing called the "Bill of Rights" that
prevents hill billies like you from acting out their sick political
fantasies.
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected] oups.com...
>
> >http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews043.htm
> > Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
>
> Excellent program!
>
> Maybe we should send American fags somewhere too!
Sorry, there is a pesky little thing called the "Bill of Rights" that
prevents hill billies like you from acting out their sick political
fantasies.
Aug 23rd 2007, 10:15 pm
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Jamaica's violent and deadly pogrom
"zeez" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] ups.com...
> On Aug 23, 6:52 am, "Patriot Games" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected] oups.com...
>> >http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews043.htm
>> > Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
>> Excellent program!
>> Maybe we should send American fags somewhere too!
> Sorry, there is a pesky little thing called the "Bill of Rights" that
> prevents hill billies like you from acting out their sick political
> fantasies.
Yeah... That's true...
I guess we'll have to stick with the tried and true "Make 'em want to leave"
program.
news:[email protected] ups.com...
> On Aug 23, 6:52 am, "Patriot Games" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected] oups.com...
>> >http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews043.htm
>> > Violence Forces Gay Jamaican Men to Seek Asylum Overseas
>> Excellent program!
>> Maybe we should send American fags somewhere too!
> Sorry, there is a pesky little thing called the "Bill of Rights" that
> prevents hill billies like you from acting out their sick political
> fantasies.
Yeah... That's true...
I guess we'll have to stick with the tried and true "Make 'em want to leave"
program.
