CARIMAC Intern accounts on Millsborough Ave Homeless MSM/Observer Stoning incident

Welcome to the real world as the author got a taste of what an angry set of gay youth can be like after being neglected by not only their families but also their more privileged peers as well

photos from Observer at the time of the original report featuring some older members of the displaced populations from the closed Safe House Pilot 2009

Terror, as gays armed with bottles chase photographer

Danger on the streets logo

By KIMBERLEY HIBBERT

MY first real taste of journalism was during internship for the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) when I was placed at the Jamaica Observer. I was excited about roving with the ace crime reporter.

One Wednesday morning we got word that a group of gay men had illegally occupied a house on Millsborough Avenue in Barbican, North East St Andrew, and were being a nuisance to residents there.

Our news team drove to the property to check out the story. On arriving, the driver instructed the photographer to be quick, and take photos from inside the vehicle.

But our photographer insisted on exiting the vehicle to get the pictures. We watched and waited anxiously.

"Weh him deh man, how him a tek so long fi come back? Mi tell yuh bout him enuh, weh him a do up deh so long?" mused the senior reporter.

Within a second of his expression of impatience, we saw the photographer racing towards the vehicle, arms and legs pumping, his camera over his shoulder. Behind him, the men in question were also sprinting with two crocus bags filled with glass bottles which they started hurling.

I was terrified. The driver turned on the engine and started signalling to the photographer to get in the vehicle quickly.

But, out of fright, the photographer started pulling too hard on the door latch and the central lock engaged. He was in for the fright of his life.

Realising what had happened, instead of waiting a few seconds to try the door again, the photographer ran, as the men were within 10 metres of him. For about 10 minutes they stood outside the vehicle playing dandy shandy with the bottles, while the senior reporter, the driver and I sat crouched in the vehicle. At one point the photographer opened the driver's door in a bid to enter, but failed.

When one of the bottles hit the vehicle the driver started going down the road slowly, with the photographer jogging behind. Eventually he ran to the passenger side of the vehicle and by that time more men had joined the bottle throwers. The driver then stretched across to the passenger door and swung it open for the photographer to jump in while the vehicle was still moving. The photographer attempted to get in and ended up having one leg inside the vehicle. Eventually he steadied himself, and we drove towards Barbican Road with a half of the photographer's body outside the vehicle.

The entire vehicle was silent up to the main road when I started snickering, then the other occupants burst out laughing.

The photographer, however, was not amused and insisted that we drive to the police station.

If our hilarity was hard for him to bear, the ordeal at the police station was something else.

We went inside and began telling the sergeant on duty what had happened. The entire station then gathered to listen. One constable sat in a corner trying to suppress his laughter.

But what knocked the ball out of the park was when the sergeant, while smirking, sarcastically asked: "So what you want me to do? Go up there for them?"

The senior reporter, not the least bit amused, gave a dry laugh and said in a very stern tone, "Yes". The sergeant then told us that if the owner did not come forward to remove the men, there was nothing he could do.

It was a hair-raising experience. I phoned my lecturer at CARIMAC and gave him the 411 about the incident. After having a good laugh, he asked in the most concerned tone, "Are you OK?" My response: "Yes sir, and I'm enjoying my internship."

We thought that was the end of it, but when we finally composed ourselves and drove back to Beechwood Avenue, we were in for more teasing.

We entered the Editorial Department and most persons appeared to be minding their business until we sat down. One brave soldier approached us and asked about the experience, some details of which had already been leaked to the newsroom. When I looked up, 12 men had gathered to hear of the showdown. While we did a re-enactment of the incident, the senior reporter and I took turns acting out what had happened to the photographer, to the delight of the editors who laughed heartily. The senior reporter jumped and I, balancing on one leg, showed them how we escaped danger.

Despite the humour of the situation, we all acknowledged the danger we would have been in if a bottle had smashed the windscreen or one of the windows, or had struck the photographer.

Kimberley Hibbert completed her first degree journalism programme at CARIMAC recently.

ENDS

The house was subsequently destroyed (the developer above) and since then the men and transgender collegues have been struggling with all kinds of deception to mask the major causation of the over populations of persons in New Kingston especially at the Shoemaker gully.

A recent documentary on UK Channel 4 (or HERE) of the newer populations deliberately overlooked the Safe House Pilot that was located at 4 Upper Musgrave Avenue under Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, JASL and suggested the property was destroyed due to homophobia by the landlord when that was not the actual reason which also led to the eviction of both JFLAG and JASL with the other tenants.

also see: New Efforts To Halt Spread Of HIV Among Gay Jamaica Men

So much for deception and why we cannot get anywhere with either frontline work or finally beating stigma and discrimination.

See more posts from sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch on the issue including the original closure entry HERE 

Peace and tolerance

H

Human Rights of Most Marginalised Must Be Protected – Portia Simpson Miller at "Justice for All" conference 2014

also see: Promised (I mean suggested) Conscience vote on Buggery law not a priority right now (yet again)

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, says special provisions must be made, where necessary, to protect the welfare of persons who are among the most marginalised and disadvantaged.

She underscored this point in a speech delivered by Justice Minister, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding, during Wednesday’s (April 9) opening ceremony for the three-day Caribbean Consultation on Justice for All and Human Rights Agenda, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston.

Mrs. Simpson Miller said Jamaica, like most other Caribbean countries, has signed several international agreements, designed to guarantee the human rights of individuals who “have been treated with disrespect and have to continuously confront discrimination.”

These, she pointed out, include: the United Nations (UN) Declaration on Human Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights.

The Prime Minister said the Government of Jamaica will also shortly be introducing the Disabilities Bill to Parliament, which will “protect the rights and interests of persons with disabilities, for the first time, in our law”, as also legislation addressing sexual harassment.

Mrs. Simpson Miller contended that integrity and impartiality are “essential features” for sustaining human rights, pointing out that “like all West Indian Constitutions, ours, here in Jamaica, guarantees basic human rights of all citizens.” In this regard, she added, “the state cannot justifiably favour the rights of one part of its citizenry over any other.”

The Prime Minister noted that progress and change, though slow, has been made across the region in relation to countries’ efforts to safeguard human rights.

She, however, suggested the need to develop and advance a public education agenda for promoting the rights of everyone, and assured that Jamaica is committed to justice and equality.

Mrs. Simpson Miller said the consultation is both timely and vital in helping to pave the way for developing a formula that provides the basis for achieving a level of zero discrimination.

“The Justice for All process provides opportunities for rich dialogue of various stakeholders. These include: parliamentarians, faith-based leaders, representatives of the private sector, the youth, and civil society organizations. Through this process, we hope to identify meaningful options on which there is sufficient consensus for our governments to take action,” she added.

The forum is being staged from April 9 to 11 by PANCAP in collaboration with the Government of Jamaica; the University of the West Indies (UWI); and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM), under the theme: ‘Advancing Justice for All and the Human Rights Agenda’.

Over 90 participants from Jamaica and overseas are discussing and deliberating issues pertaining to advancing the human rights agenda, in the Caribbean. Key among these are issues deemed restrictive to the successful implementation of the Caribbean’s response to HIV and AIDS.

The Justice for All Programme, coordinated by PANCAP, is an advocacy platform aimed at increasing awareness around HIV-related stigma and discrimination and their impact on access to prevention or treatment services.

The programme is being coordinated under the patronage of St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, and United Nations Secretary-General Envoy for HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean, Professor Edward Greene.

The consultations ultimately aim to develop a PANCAP Roadmap for the reduction of HIV-related stigma, eliminate discrimination, and increase national HIV responses by creating a facilitative environment and removing discriminatory laws and practices.

Living At Risk In St James (Gleaner) MSM included

(Dwayne Jones showing his injuries prior to his death

Scores of young men are fodder for human traffickers and predators

Adrian Frater, News Editor Gleaner

Western Bureau:The St James Parish Development Committee (PDC) is calling for a structured social mechanism to address issues such as homelessness, human trafficking, child labour, behavioural problems, health and deportation - all of which is said to be negatively impacting at-risk youth.

Following its regular meeting last Wednesday, the organisation released a document stating that the inability of at-risk youth to successfully integrate into the formal sector relegates them to being ideal candidates for child labour, human trafficking, drug abuse, HIV/STI, and gang activities.

"These unaccounted for street children have created a resource pool where criminal elements and gangs can recruit youth for illicit activities such as child prostitution, robbery, drug trafficking, and keep and care of guns," said the PDC.

"These children are the primary source from which human traffickers identify their victims as there is no monitoring mechanism in place within the region."

That is a position shared by social activist and head of the Community Organisation for Management and Sustainable Development, O'Dave Allen.

He argued that the state needs to move quickly to address the situation as it needs a permanent fix.

"We now have street children sleeping in the People's Arcade, in the markets and at the Dump-up Beach; also at the back of Bay West Plaza," noted Allen.

"This is clearly a case of state agencies not addressing these issues. So due to the urgency of the situation, there is now a need for the establishment of an institution to address these needs and issues," added Allen.

SEVERAL NOT FROM PARISH

Speaking against the background of an incident last Wednesday in which a group of homosexual men, who had captured and occupied a house in the Porto Bello community, were firebombed and chased out of the community, St James Public Health Department official Everald Morgan, said many of those attacked were not from the parish.

"The situation facing some young MSMs (men having sex with men) include HIV/AIDS issues, moving from one parish to another due to their lifestyle, and the capturing of houses in areas such as Rose Mount, Westgate Hills, Brandon Hill, Ironshore, and Barrett Hall," said Morgan.

"They relocate to the Montego Bay area for the opportunity of earning a living by prostitution, street vending, child labour and other illicit acts. Some are also deportees."

Rebecca Gayle, a Citizen Security and Justice Programme officer, suggested that a public-education programme about at-risk youth and their impact on society be established.

"The first step in intervention is to do a public-education programme to educate the public on the issues and how it is affecting our youth and society, and the roles and responsibilities of each citizen," said Gayle.

In supporting Gayle's position, Allen said the literacy challenges facing young males should be quickly addressed as it was causing a serious setback in regards to their ability to access services and participate in intervention activities.

In regards to the issue of at-risk children falling prey to human trafficking, the PDC statement noted that human trafficking was just one of a myriad of antisocial activities.

"These children are the primary source from which human traffickers identify their victims as there are no monitoring mechanisms in place within the region. The presence of this pool of adolescence youth has increased the risk of tourism harassment, the contraction and transmission of HIV/STI, and anti-social behaviour," the release stated.

adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com

ENDS

Sadly we had to wait until a firebombing incident of the friends of the murdered Dwayne Jones before an article finally deals with homelessness in this way. Any sensible crisis intervention department handling such a case file would have taken necessary steps or extra ordinary measures to remove the men from the obvious clear and present danger seeing the house was stoned prior to the fire bombing and persons in St James and by extension the world via Youtube and otherwise we saw the house in question. 

While in Kingston:

photo used to shoe the area but the items may not be those of homeless MSM but the substance users instead who also use the area and who police also crack down on

also see: More MSM Homelessness Issues while agencies shift responsibilities and now comes more news of a police action on October 15th where their items were destroyed in yet another crack down on the men sadly while no real redress is being formulated or done, yet others only use the men for data collection and international public relations with pretentious concern. Recently a blog post by Maurice Tomlinson proved just that where he lamented that after JFLAG (who in essence failed the men) gave him a list of names and numbers of some of the homeless men in New Kingston he thought himself too big to call the men directly and engage them.

 

You decide readers

Peace and tolerance

H

JFLAG excludes homeless MSM from IDAHO Symposium on guess what? .......... HOMELESSNESS!

I am still trying to recover from all that has been happening in recent times with community challenges but now to see that on May 17, 2013 International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, IDAHOT a symposium named in the founder and general secretary of the defunct Gay Freedom Movement at the Courtleigh Hotel to discuss as the flyer above states homelessness yet the very representative group was NOT invited or present at the event. A war of words has since erupted and sadly I caught on late being involved in several other activities within the last few weeks, included interestingly in the ongoing spat are the former Program's Manager of JFLAG now residing in Canada, other stakeholders who are straight allies and JFLAG's management itself.

So heated as the rift become that a statement over the signature of the Executive Director Mr. Dane Lewis has come to hand which read as follows:

Response to lack of homeless at Larry Chang Human Rights Symposium

We appreciate the frustrations of all those who wonder why the voices and bodies of homeless individuals were absent from the panel at the inaugural Larry Chang Human Rights Symposium. This was not a matter of oversight, as the organization agrees that the voices in the homeless community are critical if we are to find solutions to the issue of high levels of homelessness among LGBT Jamaicans.

The coordinators of the symposium agonized over the potential absence of this group’s perspective and spoke at length about the need to be inclusive. Ultimately, they decided against inviting some of the men who are currently homeless to speak for ethical reasons. Many will disagree on this point, but we felt that fêting and tokenizing any of these men before returning them to the street while the rest of us returned to our homes was problematic and difficult to justify. In human and social development work, there is much criticism of groups who fetishize the suffering of vulnerable and marginalized groups—regardless of how great an organization's intentions are. Knowing fully well that the absence of homeless individuals from the panel would raise eyebrows, the organization made a principled decision that we stand by.

At the same time, even if it would be unethical to invite a homeless person to speak at the symposium, the coordinators of the program believed that including the perspectives of formerly homeless members of our community would help to shed some light on the homeless experience. During its operation, J-FLAG has supported many homeless individuals who turned to the organization soon after they were evicted from their homes and communities. Most were able to find a home in other communities, some sought asylum and now live abroad as refugees, while a few others remain homeless. Some of the most vocal individuals who have experienced high levels of displacement now live in the Diaspora and while many of them would be willing to return to Jamaica to speak about their experiences, they were unable to travel to Jamaica because of the conditions of their resident status in their adopted countries. We know this because we reached out to individuals who we felt were at the place in their journeys where they would be comfortable speaking to a public audience about intensely personal and painful experiences. Speakers were sought locally as well, but we were unable to find anyone who was willing to come out publicly. This is a concern we must wrestle with as J-FLAG seeks to move out of the shadows and increase the visibility of our work.

The Larry Chang Human Rights symposium was a public event open to our partners, members of the community and the public. Representatives from the media were invited and we also hired a photographer to cover the event. Recognizing the importance of documenting our programs for online audiences and for posterity, the event was live streamed and was recorded. We are now thinking about the best way to share the recording without jeopardizing the safety or violating the trust of the speakers and the attendants of the symposium.

J-FLAG interfaces with homeless LGBT group through its Crisis Intervention Programme. Both J-FLAG and Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) have participated in and facilitated numerous consultations with the subset of homeless in the Golden Triangle area in closed sessions as well as meetings with the New Kingston police, the Member of Parliament for the area, representatives of the business community, the mayor and the councillor. Despite efforts to collaborate with other NGO's and government institutions the task to launch a comprehensive project to house and rehabilitate these vulnerable individuals has fallen squarely on J-FLAG's lap. While we believe a collaborative effort that involves all stakeholders would be more successful, we recognize and take ownership of the responsibility that we have to respond to the needs of this segment of our community. J-FLAG expanded its programming for the homeless community and we have had up to three members of our staff working almost exclusively to support this group.

For over a year, J-FLAG sought a residential location for a safe house program. Until very recently, we also facilitated a feeding program that was suspended because of difficulties coordinating it without a main office in addition to funding constraints that we hope to resolve soon. The absence of homeless men from the symposium should not suggest that J-FLAG is not aware of and does not attend to the needs of these individuals. Without question, in the last year, they have received more of J-FLAG's resources on a per capita basis than any other subgroup in our community. We do not bemoan this fact. These men and transgender women are undeniably the most vulnerable group in our LGBT family and we continue to do all we can to support them.

Larry questioned the potential absence of homeless individuals in his presentation and Yvonne McCalla Sobers, convener of FAST (Families Against State Terrorism) noted the concern as well during the discussion segment. We are thankful that they raised the matter, because it shows that our community feels comfortable holding J-FLAG accountable to its mission. As representatives of the LGBT community in Jamaica and advocates for inclusivity, we agree that the absence of the perspectives of current or formerly homeless individuals may have reduced the quality and the impact of the symposium. We, too, are disappointed but we are content that we tried our best to bring together a cohort of speakers that could help to spur conversations about the treatment of LGBT people in Jamaica. This is one in a number of conversations that needs to be had about the issue.

As noted in our invitation, the symposium considered high levels of homelessness among Jamaican LGBT people as an outcome of the hostile cultural environment. While their unique perspective was not featured on the panel, some of the presenters spoke at length about the need to humanize the homeless in our community and to critically assess how our treatment of them betrays our self-hatred. The symposium also explored homelessness as a philosophical concept related to citizenship. Through various agents of socialization, we are taught that gender and sexual minorities do not belong in our communities. LGBT people therefore understand that they can be evicted from their communities without notice and might be forced to flee the island. LGBT

identities in Jamaica are shaped by an understanding that our sexual and gender identities do not align with our cultural and national identities. This creates angst, dissonance and ambivalence in our sense of being Jamaican.

The documented dangers of identifying and being recognized as LGBT in Jamaica led countries like Canada, the United States and the Netherlands to grant refugee status to those who can prove that there is a reasonable possibility that someone may try to hurt them. This is the first time J-FLAG hosted a forum to openly discuss the situations that lead to asylum and the process for obtaining refugee status in the United States, which is one of the major locations that LGBT Jamaicans seek refuge. The symposium also offered us an opportunity to honor the work of Larry Chang, and to situate the modern movement for LGBT equality in Jamaica as a decades-long struggle as opposed to a 21st century phenomenon.

J-FLAG welcomes feedback from our community. We will continue to develop and sustain programs that address the needs of the most vulnerable among us. We know there is much more work to be done and so we will continue to work towards a successful rehabilitation program. If anyone has any additional concerns or suggestions for how to improve our programming, not just around homelessness, we encourage you to send us an email at admin@jflag.org, send us a message on our Facebook page, or ask us a question here. Myself, Jaevion and Javed monitor this space and we are more than willing to listen and learn as we try to make J-FLAG a more effective organization.

Dane Lewis
Executive Director

ENDS

 Yvonne McCallah Sobers of Families Against State Terrorism makes a point during the symposium, apparently she was the one who asked the all important question as to the absence of the homeless men

Singer Tanya Stephens of "Do You Still Care" fame makes her presentation

Carole Narcisee of the Jamaica Civil Society Coalition makes a point 

No report has been released since the symposium or as at the preparation of this entry.

Sad that this is where we are with this issue with marked culture of secrecy continuing as open discourse on social media groups is quashed (to hide something?) and trying to justify this most egregious error in judgement of the representative population being left out on a discussion about them, I was invited to attend but never bothered and thankfully I made the right decision. Some of the comments now coming to light have reflected my concerns about the service delivery and response to a long standing problem of the lack of proper leadership and foresight coupled with an elitist corporatist mentality, for e. g.

"What you do here is exactly what an organisation like the JCF is so skilled at doing to those perceived as its critics, Twisting words, dealing with personalities rather than issues or principles, assuming that comments are intended to "wear down individuals" rather than to challenge the organisation to do better at what it was set up to do. And then there is the labelling and the name-calling that says more about the person who uses the terms - like "callous and uncaring" - than those who are the targets of the barely veiled cussing. Been there and experienced that for over a decade when people corn get mash.

Hopefully, the defensiveness can end soon, and some problem-solving can begin. Meantime, have fun!!""............... your position sounds like something I hear from politicians when I advocate accountability when police kill people's children in what the police claim to be a shootout. So good people will say something like this, to borrow from your post,"I would just love for us to keep our discussions at the level that does not tear down an entire infrastructure just to make a small point. The people who work in [the police force] have real lives and they live in a real society. When we disagree with them by attacking them and they get worn down by that pressure, we gain nothing. In fact, we all lose. One thing that marginalised people must unlearn is the division around inessentials. We have been so thoroughly schooled in divisiveness it has become difficult for us to see the essentials." In other words, don't critique in the hope of improving the work of the JCF (or J-FLAG in the present discussion) because they will see a critique as an attack on the hardworking men and women of the force." 

"It is my view that a lot of the rot in this country was caused because too many people kept quiet about things that were just not right. So those who spoke out were silenced or silenced themselves. As a result, coming generations pay the price for deterioration that could have been stopped if leaders had put their egos aside for a while, and used the criticism to grow the organisation and the country."

"As an example, I was in a meeting 20 years ago between the then Minister of Education and a group of students. One student asked the Minister what he was going to do about the violence in schools that most were not aware of at the time, it was so relatively minor. The Minister became irate and construed the concern as an attack. he said that matters like that should be raised with the police as security was not an educational matter. The Minister may well have seen the youth as trying to "tear down the infrastructure to make a small point." The lesson the youth learned that day was to mistrust his instincts and keep his opinions to himself no matter how valid he felt his concerns to be. Today, violence in Jamaican schools is close to endemic."

"Smart organisations prefer to have criticism in the open, and regard critics as friends intent on seeing the organisation improve. For the good of the LGBT community, JFLAG needs to appreciate take the criticisms as providing the organisation with evaluation that consultants would charge hefty fees to do only half as well and with none of the heart. J-FLAG needs all the help it can get. but some of the sentiments expressed on this thread suggest that J-FLAG leaders are trying to jettison those who have supported the cause before the organisation was created. I for one was trodding with Brian Williamson from the 1980s."

"The request to move the question to private e-mail does not say much for transparency. The question is not about someone's private business, but about a public event. Trust comes with transparency, and secrecy resembles fear of being found out, unless the questions relate to personal and private matters."

The best one:

Inviting the homeless to a symposium on homelessness would be relevant only it it were assumed that the topic needed the input of those actually experiencing homelessness. Just as it would have been useful to have HIV+ persons invited to a symposium on living with HIV. 

However, i am learning that the symposium was really about the homelessness of gays who are forced to migrate. However, it seems the keynote speaker, Larry Chang (gay and forced to migrate) was under the same mistaken impression. He addressed himself to the homeless gays in New Kingston, and said he hoped some of them were present in the audience. He was the only speaker to offer some kind of solution for the problems of our homeless gay men. 

The attorney who spoke confirmed what is known - that Jamaican gay men who apply for asylum have few problems getting it. So the topic of the symposium was essentially a non-issue for the LGBT community. No wonder there needed to be no "next steps" or no action such as fund-raising or deepening of partnerships to solve a problem however identified.. 

Such a pity the symposium was not used as a catalyst for addressing the challenges gay and lesbian youth face when they are thrown out of their homes and join forces to survive on Kingston's volatile streets. But that may have needed a different event with organisers making different "considered decisions" and presentations targeting different goals.

The press release factory kicks into effect again, see what you make of all this folks but it is clear what is at work here and my voice will not be closed by the establishment as a recent comment to one of my audiopost/podcast on the eviction issue of the J in the context of the homelessness matter over time from a former Management Committee member of JFLAG reflects the culture that still resides there:

I am concerned: In a homophobic society, is it fair to expect J-FLAG to easily find a home? Is it fair to compare the homelessness of these young men with the homelessness of J-FLAG? The bigger picture is being missed, I think. It seems as if there is some gloating over the officelessness of J-FLAG, as if that helps the homeless men. Officelessness is not comparable to HOMElessness! Bellyaching about the loss of a space by J-FLAG is less a problem for J-FLAG than it is for those served by the organisation!

I just saw it...and i waiting to know who is the producer and the writer and the person speaking to ask them a few questions of my own..hopefully some light will be shed soon

"We are pretending here as if J-FLAG is awash with cash to support a safe house. The thinking and introspection necessary is for us to strategise as a community to make the work being done by organisations such a J-FLAG possible."

it is obvious we have a long way yet to go on anything especially social justice issues on the ground and I am glad I saw the criticism of my audio entry as those usually are remained hidden. I am just beside myself with the clear blatant disregard for the least amongst us save and except when one of them gets really hurt or maimed then we see the PR goes into full effect crying homophobia!

more on my podcast:

Also in the Observer May 26, 2013

Youth homelessness is no joke

Residents say gays take over Barbican house

UPDATE June 5, 2013 - the video finally has arrived watch and listen carefully

Peace and tolerance

H

Equality doesn’t mean justice

I didn’t know if I should have entitled this entry as a question, a definitive statement or a mere headline so I left it for the latter but it can be all three given the circumstances that now obtain, I was struck by the above split photo though showing the differences in how equality versus what is just and fair is depicted. The word “Equality” has been banded about so easily by LGBT groups and influentials I guess as a rub off from the North American agitation for such in the business of same sex marriage in a far more tolerant society and a justice system that provides room for seeking redress though itself is not perfect but when the state or another citizen runs afoul of the law remedies come and come sometimes swiftly (the Boston bombings case comes to mind). What is equality though in a rights based sense? Some may say marginalized groups getting the same treatment if not rights as privileged groups, the Collins Gem English Dictionary I have at home defines the word as “State of being equal, uniformity” but is this really real given our local context and the struggle for overall justice.

It struck me as the photo above was posted in the Jamaica for Justice Facebook page some time ago and some comments on it since has had me thinking for real. JFJ has given support to a recently launched online campaign by JFLAG entitled “We are Jamaicans” while it looked sleek and laudable on the face of it the populations that are really affected by the societal challenges and indifference were nowhere present in the close to twenty videos released thus far almost presenting a false sense of who are LGBT people and their allies really when the lower socio-economic groups get overlooked coincidentally with the homeless MSM challenges and the agency themselves becoming office-less via an eviction notice from their landlord related to the behavioural challenges from the same homeless over the years. Just a small percentage of the “community” feeling the impact of JFLAG’s work while the vast majority out there either do not trust, are unsure of their role and or are totally ignorant of the campaigns and objectives. Community engagement is still low save and except for remote sanitized outreach via Facebook the real forumatic activity is nonexistent and may be so for a time to come as they hunt for new office space.

Some questions come to mind:

Is it coincidental or sheer consequence that the agencies are made to become homeless themselves following the failure of nerves to directly address homelessness in key representative populations?

Is the eviction fiasco an attempt to start afresh so as to avoid addressing some key issues, a different location and geographical change connotes isolation and insulation from the problematic homeless populations?

Do you believe equality must also be an ideal to strive for within the LGBT community?

Was Jamaicans for Justice clandestinely sending a message to groups like JFLAG that their agitation is a mere peripheral attempt to seek LGBT rights in Jamaica or the decriminalization of buggery?

Is mere equality just a hairy fairy schism ideal just to play catch up with the heterosexual privilege?

Is it that due to the inability for one to live ones truth one is forced to be pretentious hence this practice to live in stealth has becoming engrained in the population’s psyche?

Why not go for the greater goal that of justice and true fairness?

What about the context of a marginalized group being wholesome within itself before it attempts to reach out to more privileged populations?

Do we have a hypocritical advocacy then in terms of asking for virtues that are not espoused generally by them or leading the populations to such espousing?

Why are we afraid to really be truthful in our scope and ideologies towards truth inclusivity, equality and justice for ALL?

Should persons at leadership of the agencies by held accountable for the recent evictions and failure to properly address the welfare issues?

And if after all the proper agitation devoid of the schisms and buggery is repealed, what is next?

Where is genuine openness and truth in the scheme of things?

Are you expecting any resignations given the recent developments?

When campaign decisions are planned are the general community issues taken into account and a plan B in case of a fallout?

My mind has been changing on this call for equality in Jamaica by the LGBT lobby not even a name change to an old campaign has convinced me thus before seeing this photo and now it has sped up my resolve, the ideal is indeed JUSTICE not just to be mere observers by the fence struggling to see over it on tippy toes as captioned in the little boy or the centre figure. The left partition of the photo suggest mere playing to the needs or hue and cries of aggrieved groups more so than the right partition showing ALL on an equal footing but also espousing the correctness of it where the crates are not mere rights handed out to silence a noisy penny section but rights privileges and freedoms on a truly equal footing to all concerned.

If on the onset the least amongst us are not viewed as equal then it should not be surprising that the corresponding programs, systems, strategies, public relations campaigns and so on will reflect those ideologies which explains why the only time in essence there is serious attention placed on any individual is when their lives are at risk via near death homophobic fallout and even that is troubling as after a while when they recover there is hardly any follow up. Overall then we can deduce that the one of the self made reasons why we seem stuck with very little gains made over the three decades plus is the oversight, dithering and ignoring of some key front-line issues that affect the representative populations chief among them homeless MSM, same gender loving women and transgender persons as the buggery law gets first priority. The fact that the present advocacies are male dominated is an issue as far as SGL women issues are concerned and the leaders in the groups are often way removed from the realities while getting close to them after the fact when the aggrieved makes a report. The threat levels as well for most concerned is minimal so there is a feeling of distance from the on the ground matters in a “that won’t ever happen to me” mindset or a tragic case of individualism. The “followers” as it were and apologists for the agencies also seem occasionally display the contempt and disregard for the lower socio-economic groups sans any reprimand or correction by the leadership or superstar advocates, just check the social media landscape on any given day and you see the indifference spewed whenever the subject matter is raised, the thrust is all about repealing or decriminalizing buggery, who cares about some dirty gay men under our the radar?

The agencies have and seem to be continuing to systematically ignore queer homeless as legal challenges, media presence and how agencies look from a public relations and programmatic standpoint are prioritised as more important much to their peril and to the greater community’s peril.

Our flawed advocacy has repeatedly failed to deliver on several fronts with the lack of principled centred leadership, reinforcing societal deficiencies, lack of proper planning and strategizing in community issues versus the national platform, poor timing and roll out of programs (or lack of relevant programs), warped ideologies both within the structures and outside of them in the LGBT populations itself on the backdrop of a national psyche that evokes separatism, classism and elitism. Anancyism is also a major problem in many respects many of us LGBT people have been forced over time to be circumspect or operating in stealth normalizing ourselves to fit the hetero-normative and hetero-patriarchal constructs and in so doing we adopt a deceptive way of living which seems to have crept into every other facet of our lives. Ideally one would have imagined an advocacy that would be far more open and indeed honest about many of the tiers of issues affecting us yet we tacitly support half truths, deceptive methods of toying with very important international support while advocates ingratiate themselves in spots and play on a gullible LGBT population in the name of speaking on or behalf.

And then we wonder why that after some thirty plus years of agitation between the two major groups that have been at the forefront of this be they Jamaica Forum for Lesbians Allsexuals and Gays, JFLAG and its predecessor GFM, Gay Freedom Movement and we seem stuck in a groove hardly moving from where we were with more social welfare challenges than ever and a roofless JFLAG presently along with its parent Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, JASL? The escapists response is the usual rebuttal for scrutiny inclusive of historical references in abid to dismiss criticisms about the stewardship of the groups/individuals with strong support from the apologetics. Then how are we to ever achieve over freedom with this kind of mindset. NGOs these days in HIV/AIDS and LGBT agitation look and feel more like quasi-political bodies mimicking the political directorate’s indecisions and bereft of new objective thought along with bureaucratic committees, bi-laws and organizational systems that impede more than assist with service delivery, program development and rollout, funding accessibility, fiduciary responsibility, flawed ideological positions, poor and slow decision making and execution of same, non community based consensus, corporatism and elitism.

That could also possibly explain the now disturbing 34% rate of HIV infection in the MSM populations despite a robust and well funded national program of which the NGOs do part take via Global Fund. When the target groups for such programs are not seen as equals to those in the annals of power and influence. Leadership is all off here to me why we cannot build on what has been laid down over the three plus decades and we just merely settle for “Equality” as our main demand. The decriminalization of buggery is the penultimate goal in JFLAG’s mind as I see it having been in the system myself any other activities are obviously distractions or secondary in the scheme of things, case in point the homeless msm in New Kingston and the agency’s dithering on developing meaningful programs to address that massive problem that was allowed to get so.

True equality has to come from within the so called community as it now stands and how we treat with those who are the least amongst us at every level – socially and the NGOs that claim to stand for the representative groups yet barely address the concerns via the needed programs/objectives and if so it is usually for PR to deflect scrutiny on the face of it, inclusivity and true equity not just a piece meal approach for show to impress our foreign allies and funders to get continued assistance. It is interesting for example in the middle of a tolerance campaign in 2011 by JFLAG with help from AIDSFREEWORLD and JASL that JASL was already effecting a ban on homeless MSM from their offices due to the behaviour of a few yet no rehabilitation, engaging and behaviour change responses came from any of the aforementioned agencies and the public spat that played out left the editors of both major newspapers, the opposing religious right and the public the impression that the men were “abandoned” by the NGOs. 

Another disturbing perception on the ground is that persons who do come through the systems do so to their own advantage, a young MSM in his early twenties recently asked (paraphrasing) why are so many older gay activists seem so well off and or reside overseas and don’t seem to care about the other persons locally? It shows that there are some who are watching and wondering hence the mistrust as well and the apparent lack of engagement even refusal to make reports to the NGOs by those persons who have suffered at the hand of abuse. Far too many persons are becoming more aloof and cynical at the whole set up.

Where is the credibility therefore or the moral authority to launch sleek and flowery worded campaigns on such virtues as tolerance and equality (outside of a justice call) and on what ethical strengths can such campaigns seek to make any impact on a cynical society about male homosexuality. That cynicism is fuelled also by the poor crisis communication over the three plus decades as well or half truths on issue by some who seem to be on a narcisstic quest to win awards, pats on the back and praise at the expense of the rest of us while no real change is happening on the ground due to their farcical agitations. The rejected tolerance adverts even after the initial one based on an HIV/AIDS premise was more acceptable for example was the clearest case yet that proved to those within the LGBT populations who were observant and objective and the opposition in the religious right movement as well as secular anti gay voices that we have a serious class problem and related ideologies within. The use of an Italian Jamaican face who hardly resides here or is remotely affected by direct homophobia to try to soften same in Jamaica ended up reinforcing the already hardening positions towards homosexuality from the anti gay voices and that the agitation was foreign/uptown influenced support and that Jamaicans were being forced to accept a foreign lifestyle with the added ingredient of disbelief that homophobic violence is real, most persons on the face of it still believe the sometimes public gay related incidents are gay on gay related violent episodes. Here again the quality of leadership and the decisions at the campaign levels have to be questioned, were they not cognisant of the “not our culture” perception over all these years and why are they still reaching for campaigns devoid of the new realities being taken into considerations.

Despite the fact that our motto says Out of Many, One People

The point is therefore that if we expect to gain such virtuous goals and ideals as tolerance (in the purest sense of the word), inclusivity and justice to include equality then the change MUST begin within the populations, systematically and at the leadership levels. Fiduciary responsibility these days at the leadership and influential levels is much to be desired just the recent evictions of JFLAG and JASL has brought his front and centre or at least it ought to but the code of silence (anancyism) has set in and then we expect laws to be changed to suit us, a society to suddenly accept homosexuality, HIV/AIDS infection rates to go down and the other problems to suddenly disappear? Lofty mid range objective in a restructured JFLAG for that matter as mere equality in not enough as equality is part and parcel of a greater whole that of JUSTICE. I am surely expecting far more sophistication and a total paradigm shift on advocacy overall, the “community”

Think on these things.

Peace and tolerance

H

Community based crisis sheltering is still an option for the displaced

Jamaicans have a funny way of being resilient in many respects and as the hardships hit us generally speaking via tax rises, murky job market, a trimmed budget, fiscal cliffs and wage freezes we find ways to survive despite politically messy systems, corrupt leaders, bankrupt politicians on all sides who are more interested in feathering their own nests and holding on to power than doing what is just and right by and for the people, inadvertently microcosms of the society seem to have imported the bankruptcy of ideas named the LGBT group, the thirst for power, manipulation of systems for personal gains more than to serve the representative groups who are to be serviced and defended when required for the overall improvement of the quality of life of said individuals and indeed groups.

The LGBT community (if there is a cohesive one) is no exception and in a follow up to a most interesting thread on two Facebook pages I am apart of on in essence corporate social responsibility from LGBTQ party promoters who are accused of being greedy and more interested in profits, aloof to the issues that abound on the ground with the least amongst us and poor entertainment offerings. As scrutiny of the systems, social spheres and advocacy seems to be rising as it does every now and again questions are being asked and resolves are being arrived at as a benchmark for support of some party promoters’ events is whether they are interested in donating genuinely or supporting some sort of advocacy/welfare related matter that have become far more visible in recent times. Homelessness again takes center stage and as the news of the eviction of the two main agencies namely JFLAG and JASL make the rounds with some persons just catching up to the reality persons are asking what do these agencies represent for them to have reached this stage? Pity it had to take such a long time and an embarrassing situation as the very homelessness of the agencies themselves to raise concerns when the scrutiny should have always been there to cause proper leadership with results.

Tongues have been wagging but while that is happening many more young gay and bisexual men are finding themselves teetering on homelessness for varying reasons, several unconfirmed reports suggest more and more persons are finding themselves exposed on the frontline with no support systems apart from the few that benefit from the very limited feeding program offered devoid of the properly structured psycho social interventions to compliment the street based interventions since the shelter residency is not a reality. Despite the deep mistrust in assisted living at the community level with some well publicised incidents of pilferage, high visibility of the problematic New Kingston homeless men via the press, the perception that the men are irredeemable of the anti-social behaviours they are accused of, tabloid press stories of issues and noted embarrassing scenarios on the social scenes there are some who still have faith and the belief in assisting those who need it and can be trusted to benefit from such assistance. I can understand clearly the need for the hesitation in opening ones home to sometimes a stranger despite their plight at the time, the costs also that one has to absorb is a major concern these days with the two hundred percent rise in property taxes, electricity fuel charge climb and other new taxes imposed on us that spending dollar is shrinking and affording shelter to another who is not working especially is a serious decision and when that help can only be for a short time to avoid the consequences that can follow. I have stopped assisting persons for now as it is too expensive to do so seeing I am on a limited income but would love to help. The advocacy systems do not over financed community assisted living programs as well which shows the lack of forward thinking in creating programs that respond to the immediate service needs of a growing homeless MSM cohort. To add insult to injury I suggested such a concept at a recent town hall meeting that JFLAG hosted prior to their eviction in November 2012 and they seemed repulsed by the idea even on the face of a promised shelter that never came to fruition.


I received a message on Facebook from an individual not on the friend’s list who wanted to know what to do in assisting someone who is displaced in their homes, this is not an unusual request but in this case what was different was the variables that were involved, what was to have a been a commercial sexual transaction ended up in a deep conversation between the “client” and the “buyer” a solution was being contemplated if only for a short period. In furtherance the gentleman wanted to continue some sort of remote assistance but being not used to engaging this section of the population and hearing of the other persons who extended such assistance getting burnt he is treading most carefully and rightfully so. I am hopeful once again that all is not lost and the classism that so pervades our society and even seems more so pronounced in the LGBT population though real has some exceptions. I do not suspect ulterior motives hidden in the gentleman’s intentions as that too are also an issue via this kind of community based crisis intervention method; I had warned of this in a podcast/audio post on a question on would listeners assist someone who was displaced?

I had hoped that by now we would have had an improved residency program following the launch of the only full residency concept idea for transitional rehabilitation for LGBT persons who are displaced or homeless but was summarily closed by the JASL board in 2009, funny they are now on the hunt for office space while the populations are nomads. The lack of forward thinking frankly visionless leadership is what has landed us in this mess over the years and to think MSM displacement and homelessness pre-dates any agitation for LGBT rights or homosexual tolerance over the past thirty plus years. With a population of displaced persons growing and it seems the only time they get help is when they become material for the homophobic public relations narratives after the fact when they are beaten or chopped up.

Even with multiple solutions sitting on the paper they were recorded on for this group of MSM and the other HIV prevention related matters (yet we have a 34% infection rate) many of the homeless men are also HIV positive and with limited service delivery now since JASL’s temporary closure the health of some of the men lie in the balance, also what is even more disturbing is the code of silence on their closure that not even in the press has no mention of their closure (JASL & JFLAG) made known. Instead foreign matters take centre stage, namely the UNIBAM trial in Belize, who could care less about our own down trodden?

The gentleman in question has expressed some concern for the numbers of men on the streets and why are they not getting the correct tailored response to the prevailing issue which I agree is a powder cake, concerns are also being raised by some frontline persons that the men are now relocating to other parts of town nearing other residencies that may cause a backlash unlike what occurred in New Kingston where the residents and business district populations were up in arms were very passive and did not resort to a more violent resistance. There are other community influentials who have been trying despite the difficulties and challenges with both finances and the behaviour of the men themselves but a more formal solution is long overdue with so many MSM who have fallen through the cracks over the life of the agencies. Temporary housing is one thing but the requisite counselling for both the client and the shelter provider is critical to navigate their co-existence over the period but as was said above the forward thinking is just not there despite more funding available to the agencies and an increase in the staff compliment with separation of roles and responsibilities. Those of us older in years and experience who in part or in full were apart of the various branches of the systems were and are expecting far more in both results and in leadership but what have we to show for it? Hardly any serious movement on anything if one were to just take a cursory look, not building on what has worked, poor judgement on programs or the lack thereof to respond to the ever widening challenges.

While we hail the interest by this gentleman some tuff decisions have been made by others who have opened their doors as well to discontinue the arrangement due to the mostly behavioural issues of the temporary resident. If not a managed street based initiative, controlled and monitored community based assisted living response or a full on transitional living and or transitional independent living housing all will happen it was has obtained over the past five or more decades with MSM forced evictions. God knows the umpteen incidents with the men too numerous to mention in this post as all kinds of crap happen.

I thought prevention was better than cure in just avoiding fallouts or even allowing self-made mistakes to overtake or impede activities but apparently not as the decision makers dither on the proper responses to MSM homelessness and displacement, now here we are wondering. For those who feel so moved we should continue to help where we can it is in the true caring spirit we should act.

Think on these things

Peace and tolerance

H