After the first town hall meeting held in years by JFLAG on November 7th as planned by the country control representative of Jamaica from the Global Fund and the last major discussion on the matter on Television Jamaica's All Angles program as hosted by Dionne Jackson Miller myself and others concerned were relieved in a sense but cautiously guarded (deliberate exaggeration) as we knew the previous Safe House Pilot project experience and its subsequent dubious closure has made us the wiser to many things.

The town hall meeting was to have addressed the designated shelter JFLAG was said to have secured and had even gone as far as to cost the labour repair bill at approximately $1.5m, they had also decided to go with the facility as is, the procurement of furniture was also said to be in full swing yet the planned opening date never seemed to have materialised which was slated for December 1. A draft of the programme was slated for the ready by November 12th and the assessments to select who would be deemed suited for the facility was slated for November 14th. All of the developmental work and or achievements were to be communicated or disseminated to those in attendance at the meeting as per questions raised by yours truly on the breakdown of the programs and the psycho social activities for the men and other matters.

None of the aforementioned has come as promised by the Executive Director Mr Dane Lewis which is not surprising to those who have had to communicate with JFLAG over the years as follow-up is not one of their strongest features and is a complaint echoed by others who engage the J, 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=82qQJkJiPB4

now a full month after that infamous town hall meeting and 6 days after the scheduled opening of the shelter comes this news of another public spectacle eviction of the men with the authorities involved this time around, the last such one in August of this year only had the truckers/movers involved and that too was filmed and broadcast on television in prime time. 

See CVM TV's previous story in August HERE - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhyZNWa83gE&feature=g-crec-u

 and More on Cargill Avenue Homeless MSMs Eviction - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDdXLnrEZJQ&feature=g-crec-u

Word has also come that the deal to rent the intended facility has fallen through but not a word was said to most.

How many more such news as this are we to continue to see with this population?

When are the appropriate responses to come into full effect?

Will JFLAG or Jamaica AIDS Support for Life for that matter under whose leadership the previous Safe House Pilot project was set up and controversially closed ever own up to some responsibility with this see-sawing involving themselves and the populations?

It was just on December 3 that there was another standoff between the men and staff at JASL where one of the men in particular stripped bear before gracing the staff with the colourful Jamaican curse words that there are. Then after the eviction the cops took the men to none other than JASL's office grounds and the cops were there again to day. 

Bearing in mind also that some of the present set of males in this very group were once apart of the defunct Safe House Pilot with peer educator training and all to boot and were incarcerated at one point yet here we have this rebellious behaviour which clearly tells anyone objective enough that simple peer educator HIV prevention training is NOT rehabilitation and to pass off such to anyone is flat out dishonest as has been done before when the aforementioned agencies refer to trying other mechanisms to engage the men but they have not worked. 

Can problematic homeless MSMs be engaged without the necessary pre-stabilization work first be done before any form of re-socialization is brought to bear? 

Everyone else seems more interested in the lime light of buggery reviews, accepting awards and such at the expense of some dirty homeless men, who cares really? The real work that is needed with this group nobody in advocacy really want to take that on as it won't involve major sound bites or hyped media appearances so the group is systematically ignored save and except for a view persons like me or when national TV stations carry the challenges nationally in prime time. Past members of the GLABCOM (gay lesbian bisexual community) committees for example who helped to form the ideas together for the initial homeless shelter back in 2008/9 now look on in shock and are wondering how our work has gone down in vain when such a solution was enacted though problem plagued and poor management but the project as I always say could have been tweaked, we never had to reach this stage.

See some historical posts on this matter from related blogs:

Gay Jamaica Watch http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/search/label/Homless%20MSMs%20in%20Jamaica

GLBTQJA (Blogger)
http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/search/label/Homeless%20Issues

GLBTQJA (Wordpress)
 https://glbtqja.wordpress.com/category/homelessness/

Also see the double murder story of two of the men in June of this year and my response. - https://glbtqja.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/jflags-needs-to-accept-some-responsibility-for-the-trafalgar-murders-homelessness-not-properly-addressed/

The inherent lack of attention to social justice issues over the years and more emphasis on the anti buggery agenda has also caused the issue to go unnoticed for extended periods as MSMs are often only engaged via HIV prevention messaging more so than anything else.


Homeless MSMs Evicted yet again on TV ..... 06.12.12

Beyond the Headlines host Dionne Jackson Miller has Arlene Harrison Henry and Maurice Tonlinson on the the removal of language in the form of sexual orientation on the Summary Executions UN Resolution - On November 21, 2012, Jamaica voted[1] against resolution A/C.3/67/L.36 at the United Nations condemning extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions which urges States “to investigate promptly and thoroughly all killings, including… all killings committed for any discriminatory reason, including sexual orientation[2].” Additionally, recent incidents of vigilante attacks on perceived gay persons continue to undermine the achievements and call into question the national commitment to equality for persons of diverse sexual orientation.

Sixty-seventh session
Third Committee
Agenda item 69 (b)
Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island: draft resolution Extra judicial, summary or arbitrary executions

The General Assembly,
Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

1 which guarantees the
right to life, liberty and security of person, the relevant provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

2 and other relevant human rights conventions, Reaffirming the mandate of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, as set out in Council resolution 17/5 of 16 June 2011,

3 Welcoming the universal ratification of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949,

4 which alongside human rights law provide an important framework of
accountability in relation to extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions during
armed conflict,

Mindful of all its resolutions on the subject of extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions and the resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights and of
the Human Rights Council on the subject,
__________________
1 Resolution 217 A (III).
2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
3 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/66/53),
chap. III, sect. A.
4 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970-973.

DOWNLOAD THE DOCUMENT HERE: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/C.3/67/L.36

RJR - Surprise Yes vote by Ja on Sexual Orientation Removal from Summary Executions Resolution

Leading antigay, anti-abortion and anti-buggery advocate Dr Wayne West interviewed by Reverend Clinton Chisholm on Love 101FM's Morning Watch hails the Russian Resolution at the UN on Family Life, a shocker to most but it has been surmised that it was an attempt to upset the US and other pro-gay states. Recorded December 3, 2012

Morning Watch - Russian Resolution on Family Life w/Dr Wayne West

Translators of the King James version of the Bible, specifically the New Testament into the Jamaican dialect have chosen to use the more condescending description of the English Reprobate as in Romans 1:28 when Paul spoke to the saints in Corinth on supposed exploitative same sex activities there in theological piece as shown in the Romans to describe homosexuals
. 
"Dutty life" in Jamaican terms is not a wonderful terminology when used on a day to day basis as is conotates a contemptuous and quarrelsome tone as it it  mostly used to curse out another person.

Are the translators of God's word therefore intent of further cementing their open bigotry now via the word as interpreted in the Jamaican Dialect?
Listen to the audio and decide for yourselves.

"Dutty Mind" used in Patois Bible to describe homosexuals

Reverend Clinton Chisholm and guests rubbished the "Gay Bible" as nothing more than an ordinary book without the validity of scholars of theologians coming forward to back the work.

Love 101FM's Morning Watch on the Gay Bible with theologians

Homeless impatient with agencies over slow progress for promised shelter

The US Supreme Court DOMA strike down has had many Jamaicans talking and a vox pop was done in Kingston and on Facebook by Nationwide radio as to how persons felt about same sex marriage overall and its possibility in Jamaica

(Jamaica) Nationwide Radio DOMA strikedown Poll

Gay Jamaican blogger looking squarely at local and overseas issues ............ 

glbtqja16