The Safe House Project 2009 for Displaced & Homeless MSM/Transgender reviewed & more


In response to numerous requests for more information on the defunct Safe House Pilot Project that was to address the growing numbers of displaced and homeless LGBTQ Youth in New Kingston in 2007/8/9, a review of the relevance of the project as a solution, the possible avoidance of present issues with some of its previous residents if it were kept open.
Recorded June 12, 2013; also see from the former Executive Director named in the podcast more background on the project: HERE also see the beginning of the issues from the closure of the project: The Quietus ……… The Safe House Project Closes and The Ultimatum on December 30, 2009

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Public Comments: Writing against the epistemological colonization of Jamaica by Homo-Activists

by Coddy Burru

The following is a critique of an article by Thomas Glave titled "Towards a Nobility of the Imagination: Jamaica's Shame" published in Small Axe, 7 March 2000 pp122-126. Glave's article marks a growing trend by gay and lesbian activists of trying to shape public opinion in and of Jamaica. My critique recognizes the epistemological dangerousness of this trend and is an act of critical counter insurgency. It is a modification of a paper I wrote in Grad School.

Thomas Glave's defence of his homosexual compatriots in Jamaica deploys the same name calling, sweeping generalisations and non sequiturs he deplores when deployed against his comrades. Therefore, this writer feels no obligation to be civil towards him. According to Glave, Jamaicans are ignoble, cowardly, brutish, hypocritical, smug, lacking in compassion and shallow in reasoning. Hypocritically, he purports to advocate tolerance, charity and consideration towards his group, even as he stereotypes Jamaicans as subhuman: "In truth, we, as a society barely know what the word 'humanity' means. For in failing to love and support our fellow humans who are gay and lesbian, we are hardly human." (123) If he believes this to be true, his call for compassion and love is a lost cause. After all, one cannot hope to persuade brutes to act like humans. Furthermore, Glave's central argument is manifestly shallow and invalid: Because one does not support his chosen lifestyle one somehow becomes inhuman?


Instead of his whining, sententious, fake so-called 'humanist' argument that everyone should love everyone, homosexuals included; he might do better to argue their right to be different. Instead, he declares: "We are everywhere: like you" (124). So what? Anyone with any modicum of intelligence knows that homosexuality has long existed. Does that somehow legitimise and normalise it? Many Jamaicans find sexual congress between members of the same sex reprehensible. This is our right. We are under no obligation to love homosexuals, whether indigenous or expatriate. Those who choose to do so, that is their prerogative. Even the late Rex Nettleford, an acknowledged homosexual and former Vice-Chancellor at The University of the West Indies regarded the recently hyped homosexual debate as a waste of time. He said: "A great many productive people throughout the world are supposed to have that (homosexual) preference. What is the big thing? The wasting of time on the discussion is what will deflect us from (other important issues)..."[1] Contrary to what Mr Glave thinks, for most Jamaicans, embracing homosexuals and lesbians is not among the "critical matters" (123) facing the nation.


Like every one else, homosexuals have a right to live their lives according to their choices, so long as they don't try to foist their lifestyles on others. Homosexuals are indeed subjected to some vigilantism in Jamaica. But no more so than paedophiles, rapists, thieves and others who transgress 'social norms'. Glave is right when he suggests that Jamaica has a problem of endemic violence bequeathed by a legacy of slavery. However, Jamaica needs to address its social problems in their entirety. Mr Glave's special pleading for homosexuals will get him or Jamaica nowhere. Betty Ann Blaine has rightly observed: "Any writer who wants to examine honestly and objectively anti-gay violence in Jamaica, must place that discussion within the broader context of the staggering levels of violence that exist ... [W]ithin the context of this ... culture of violence, no particular group is immune."[2] Jamaica has to relearn the value of all life. It also has more pressing concerns of combating poverty and its offshoots such as human trafficking, child exploitation, and growing scourges of sex-tourism in general and "homo-tourism" in particular. What Glave fails to do, despite his superficial invocation of Slavery, is to contextualise his analysis within the plantation framework of economic and sexual exploitation, denial of fatherhood rights, and the concomitant so-called black male irresponsibility. He has not engaged how those factors may have impacted attitudes towards homosexuals, as well as their performance of so-called "alternative masculinities." As a poor substitute for intellectually rigorous analysis, Glave offers a maudlin plea: "With such a brutal past ... we should be the noblest people in the world." (123) Glave needs to do much better than invoking Slavery and the mantra of black victimhood and the fear these can instil. His words totally fail to convince and ring hollow: "we are quickly on our way to becoming worse off than what many have consistently attempted to make us." (123) Others have constructed Jamaicans in particular uncomplimentary ways and Glave cynically tries to manipulate these images towards his ends.


Mr Glave and his local and overseas homo-activist friends utilise pieces like this to stir up sensationalist fervour and to promote the exaggerated claim that the average "heterosexist" Jamaican is just waiting for the opportunity to murder some hapless 'battybwoy': " 'We shoulda kill you the first chance we did get,' they would say. Shot, stabbed, stoned. Boom bye-bye." (123) The truth is not as simple as this. There is no genocidal design against homosexuals. But Glave would have the overseas audiences he melodramatically panders to believe this: Jamaicans, he claims, are possessed of "a willingness to persecute and destroy...gay[s] and lesbian[s] ...." (123) Betty Ann Blaine has commented on a malicious article published by Times Magazine, Wednesday April 12, 2006 which declared Jamaica "The Most Homophobic place on Earth" in the following manner: "the fact that an individual could openly and callously use one broad brush to tarnish an entire nation of people is reprehensible at best."[3] This statement is also applicable to Glave and some of those who support his project.

What Mr Glave neglects to note is that a significant number of murders of homosexuals in Jamaica are reprisal against economically well-off homosexuals by the men they have exploited. For instance, the much publicised murder of Brian Williamson, a late homo-activist (compatriot of Glave) turned out to be a crack addict 'friend' of Williamson who regularly 'visited' him for money. Also, a couple years ago Ambassador King was found with his throat slit while four other men were found asleep on beds in the house and the murderer escaped. There were no signs of breaking and entering (of the house at least). Also, a collection of homosexual pornographic tapes involving King, prominent members of Jamaican society (including medical doctors, politicians and even a dance-hall deejay) and exploited men and children were found. Figure it out Mr Glave. Or must we spell it out again for you, Sir? Blaine rightly notes that "many of the murders of gays that have been reported in the press have been classified as crimes of passion committed by other gays who are known to the victims. Why has the writer disregarded that type of evidence?"[4] The trial and conviction of Mr. Pusey for Ambassador King's murder lends support to Blaine's argument. Mr. Glave, you claim on behalf of the homosexual community that "we are none of the terrible things many would have us be" (123). This is not quite true. Half the story has never been told, Mr Glave. There is something quite rotten in upper middle class Jamaica. And, as Bob Marley said: "If night should turn to day a lot people would run away."[5]

In a newspaper article titled "Boys for hire and desire"[6] Betty Ann Blaine documents the disturbing sexual exploitation of Jamaican children generally and the sodomy of vulnerable boys especially. She notes that "the issue of the sodomy of our boys is something that many people know about, particularly people from the upper echelons of the society, but choose to cover up." But Mr. Glave advances a spurious claim of special nobility in gays who participate in the Jamaican economy and society: "We process your loans and bank accounts and teach your children ... And in this there is a kind of nobility ..." (124) The fact of the matter is that gays are not a special noble breed. Like other humans, they are capable of both ignoble and noble deeds. Who is he trying to fool with his mythification?

Glave would have us believe that gays in Jamaica are under constant threat of being mobbed and gunned down. Overseas agitators with an agenda of discrediting Jamaicans to advance their cause make reference to "rampant violence against gays"[7] in Jamaica. What about the violence perpetrated by them against our children? Most homosexuals who get chastised or killed in Jamaica are not innocent, slaughtered lambs. The instances cited above and myriad other cases suggest otherwise. Many of them are sexual reprobates and predators who become victims of their own bedfellows. One recalls Cliff Lashley, the UWI lecturer, who was slain by his homosexual lover. Also, there was the case of the fake soothsayer of a TV personality, Safa, who suffered a similar fate. What about the former track and field coach of Kingston College High School who was fired after years of sodomising his charges? What about the once famous former sports presenter who tried to molest a track and field athlete from Jamaica College at the Penn Relays? What about other prominent members of Jamaican society, some of whom are married, who are known to prey on hapless street children? What about the mentally challenged boy whom a "volunteer from some other country fondled and kissed ... and proceeded to place his penis in the little boy's rectum"[8]? What words about "Nobility of the Imagination" do you have for him and his parents, Mr. Glave? You are so full of it!

Glave unctuously appeals for special treatment for gays and lesbians by invoking Bob Marley and God! If Glave were truly attuned to Jamaican culture as he pretends to be, he'd recall that Bob Marley sang: "Man to man is so unjust, yah don't know who to trust."[9] Those who are in tune know that Bob was "throwing words" against homosexuality and those who tried to assassinate him. Homosexuality is against the tenets of Rastafarianism and Christianity. But Mr Glave is willing to affirm whatever is convenient to advance his specious arguments: "Our greatest prophet singer admonished us: we must free ourselves from mental slavery." (125) Glave has elsewhere mocked Marley's Rastafarian faith by dubbing himself a Jamaican "Rasta Battyman."[10] But now he wants to hug up Bob Marley's lyrics? He reminds me of those Danish cartoonists who disrespected the Islamic faith with derogatory images and then expressed surprise when the Muslim community responded in righteous indignation. Glave's gesture also recalls the boorish insensitivity of American soldiers during the Abu Grabe prison scandal. One cannot claim to be promoting tolerance by disrespecting others' beliefs.

Mr Glave needs to know that Jamaicans who are aware of the real situation will not be taken in by his "drama queen" histrionics. We will not be bullied. Nor will we be swayed by fake emotionalism. UWI's urban anthropologist, Herbert Gayle, offers a useful perspective: "Jamaica has to be a target because you want the culture that is most visible on this issue to bow ... if you can get Jamaica to accept something, you have not (simply) made a dent, you have literally closed a chasm. And that is what it is all about; it is not primarily about so many people being mistreated, because it is not true."[11] Glave and other local and overseas homo-activists need to know that the average Jamaican refuses to be used to further their perverse cause. Any change that takes place in Jamaica will be determined by its people of their own volition within the national context. Not by a wolf in sheep's clothing oxymoronically self-styled as a Jamaican Rasta battyman. We will not be controlled by remote. We naw bow to spiritual bankruptcy and decadence neither! Glave and his compatriots need to tek wey demself!

Endnotes

[1] Rex Nettleford, quoted by Peter Williams, "The Gay Debate" The Jamaica Observer, December 5, 2004 www.jamaicaobserver.com

[2] Betty Ann Blaine, "Jamaica the worst case on earth" The Jamaica Observer, May 02, 2006. www.jamaicaobserver.com

[3] Blaine, "Jamaica the worst case on earth"

[4] Blaine, "Jamaica the worst case on earth"

[5] Bob Marley, "Who the Cap Fit"

[6] Blaine, "Boys for hire and desire" The Jamaica Observer, March 28, 2006

[7] Tim Padgett quoted Times Magazine, April 12, 2006

[8] Blaine, "Boys for hire and desire"

[9] Bob Marley, "Who the Cap Fit"

[10] Thomas Glave, quoted by Tanya Batson-Savage, "Thomas Glave, a man in between" Jamaica Gleaner, February 12, 2006 www.jamaica-gleaner.com

[11] Quoted by Peter Williams in "The Gay Debate"

0 comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Bad Man Nuh F*** Batty (Masculine Men Don't F*** Ass) (The Fear of The Feminine in JA ) 16.04.15


A look at the fear of the feminine (Effemophobia) by Jamaican standards & how it drives the homo-negative perceptions/homophobia in Jamaican culture/national psyche.



After catching midway a radio discussion on the subject of Jamaica being labelled as homophobic I did a quick look at the long held belief in Jamaica by anti gay advocates, sections of media and homophobes that several murders of alleged gay victims are in fact 'crimes of passion' or have jealousy as their motives but it is not as simple or generalized as that.

Listen without prejudice to this and other podcasts on one of my Soundcloud channels

hear recent pods as well:

Information & Disclaimer


Not all views expressed are those of GJW

This blog contains pictures and images that may be disturbing. As we seek to highlight the plight of victims of homophobic violence here in Jamaica, the purpose of the pics is to show physical evidence of claims of said violence over the years and to bring a voice of the same victims to the world.

Many recover over time, at pains, as relocation and hiding are options in that process. Please view with care or use the Happenings section to select other posts of a different nature.

Not all persons depicted in photos are gay or lesbian and it is not intended to portray them as such, save and except for the relevance of the particular post under which they appear.

Please use the snapshot feature (if available for your device(s) to preview by pointing the cursor at the item(s) of interest. Such item(s) have a small white dialogue box icon appearing to their top right hand side.

God Bless

Other Blogs I write to:

Recent Homophobic Incidents CLICK HERE for related posts/labels from glbtqjamaica's blog & HERE for those I am aware of.

contact:

APJ Website Launch & Link


Aphrodite's P.R.I.D.E Jamaica, APJ launched their website on December 1 2015 on World AIDS Day where they hosted a docu-film and after discussions on the film Human Vol 1




audience members interacting during a break in the event


film in progress

visit the new APJ website HERE

See posts on APJ's work: HERE (newer entries will appear first so scroll to see older ones)

The Hypocrisy of Jamaican Anti Gay Groups & Selective Actions of Societal Ills


The selectivity of the anti gay religious voices on so called societal ills is examined in this podcast as other major issues that require the "church" to have spoken up including sexual abuse by pastors in recent times yet mere silence on those matters is highlighted.

Why are these groups and so called child rights activists creating mass hysteria and have so much strength for HOMOSEXUALITY but are quiet on corruption in government, missing children, crime in the country and so much more but want to stop same gender loving persons from enjoying peace of mind and PRIVACY?

Also is the disturbing tactic of deliberately conflating paedophilia with same gender sex as if to suggest reforming the buggery law will cause an influx of buggered children when we know that is NOT TRUE.

MSM/Trans homeless - From gully to graveyard



When are lives interrupted be allowed a real honest chance to move from interruption to independence and stability? I just cannot tell you friends.

An article appeared in the gleaner today that just sent me into sadness mode again with this ugly business of LGBTQI homelessness. The author of the piece needs an intervention too as he (Ryon Jones) uses terms such as cross dressers and or homeless men which if transgender persons are present they cannot be described or seen as such, sigh another clear display of the lack of impact and reach of so called advocacies and advocates who are more interested in parading as working but really aint having much impact as they ought to or claim.

We are told of houses being put together from time in memorial; the Dwayne’s House project seems dead in the water, the Larry Chang (named after a JFLAG cofounder) seems stuck in the mud and Colour Pink’s so called Rainbow House seems insignificant in relation to the size and scope of the national problem. JFLAG as presented on this blog is obviously not interested in getting their hands dirty really on homelessness save and except for using the populations as cannon fodder and delegating same; as far as I am concerned presenting them as victims of homophobia which is true but where are the programs and the perceived millions donated or granted since President Obama’s visit to address LGBTQ matters?

More HERE

Dr Shelly Ann Weeks on Homophobia - What are we afraid of?


Former host of Dr Sexy Live on Nationwide radio and Sexologist tackles in a simplistic but to the point style homophobia and asks the poignant question of the age, What really are we as a nation afraid of?


It seems like homosexuality is on everyone's tongue. From articles in the newspapers to countless news stories and commentaries, it seems like everyone is talking about the gays. Since Jamaica identifies as a Christian nation, the obvious thought about homosexuality is that it is wrong but only male homosexuality seems to influence the more passionate responses. It seems we are more open to accepting lesbianism but gay men are greeted with much disapproval.

Dancehall has certainly been very clear where it stands when it comes to this issue with various songs voicing clear condemnation of this lifestyle. Currently, quite a few artistes are facing continuous protests because of their anti-gay lyrics. Even the law makers are involved in the gayness as there have been several calls for the repeal of the buggery law. Recently Parliament announced plans to review the Sexual Offences Act which, I am sure, will no doubt address homosexuality.

Jamaica has been described as a homophobic nation. The question I want to ask is: What are we afraid of? There are usually many reasons why homosexuality is such a pain in the a@. Here are some of the more popular arguments MORE HERE

also see:
Dr Shelly Ann Weeks on Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation


Sexuality - What is yours?

The Deliberate Misuse of the “Sexual Grooming” Term by Antigay Fanatics to Promote Their Hysteria



Just as I researched on-line in NOT EVEN five minutes and found a plethora of information and FACTS on Sexual Grooming (and thanks to Dr Karen Carpenter for some valuable insight I found out what Sexual Grooming was) so too must these fanatics go and do the same and stop creating panic in the country.

The hysteria continues from the Professor Bain so called protests to protect freedom of speech and bites at the credibility of the LGBT lobby collectively continues via Duppies Dupe UWI articles when the bigger principle of the conflict of interest in regards to the greater imperative of removing/preserving archaic buggery laws in the Caribbean dependent on which side one sits is of greater import when the professor’s court testimony in Belize went against the imperative of CHART/PANCAP goals is the more germane matter of which he was former head now temporarily reinstated via a court ex-parte injunction. The unnecessary uproar and shouting from the same hysterical uninformed quarters claiming moral concerns ....... MORE CLICK HERE

also see if you can

JFLAG Excludes Homeless MSM from IDAHOT Symposium on Homelessness



Reminder

In a shocking move JFLAG decided not to invite or include homeless MSM in their IDAHO activity for 2013 thus leaving many in wonderment as to the reason for their existence or if the symposium was for "experts" only while offering mere tokenism to homeless persons in the reported feeding program. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO ENTRY HERE sad that the activity was also named in honour of one of JFLAG's founders who joined the event via Skype only to realize the issue he held so dear in his time was treated with such disrespect and dishonor. Have LGBT NGOs lost their way and are so mainstream they have forgotten their true calling?

also see a flashback to some of the issues with the populations and the descending relationships between JASL, JFLAG and the displaced/homeless LGBT youth in New Kingston: Rowdy Gays Strike - J-FLAG Abandons Raucous Homosexuals Misbehaving In New Kingston

also see all the posts in chronological order by date from Gay Jamaica Watch HERE and GLBTQ Jamaica HERE

GLBTQJA (Blogger): HERE

see previous entries on LGBT Homelessness from the Wordpress Blog HERE

Steps to take when confronted by the police & your rights compromised:


a) Ask to see a lawyer or Duty Council

b) Only give name and address and no other information until a lawyer is present to assist

c) Try to be polite even if the scenario is tense

d) Don’t do anything to aggravate the situation

e) Every complaint lodged at a police station should be filed and a receipt produced, this is not a legal requirement but an administrative one for the police to track reports

f) Never sign to a statement other than the one produced by you in the presence of the officer(s)

g) Try to capture a recording of the exchange or incident or call someone so they can hear what occurs, place on speed dial important numbers or text someone as soon as possible

h) File a civil suit if you feel your rights have been violated

i) When making a statement to the police have all or most of the facts and details together for e.g. "a car" vs. "the car" represents two different descriptions

j) Avoid having the police writing the statement on your behalf except incases of injuries, make sure what you want to say is recorded carefully, ask for a copy if it means that you have to return for it

Vacant at Last! ShoemakerGully: Displaced MSM/Trans Persons were is cleared December 2014





CVM TV carried a raid and subsequent temporary blockade exercise of the Shoemaker Gully in the New Kingston district as the authorities respond to the bad eggs in the group of homeless/displaced or idling MSM/Trans persons who loiter there for years.

Question is what will happen to the population now as they struggle for a roof over their heads and food etc. The Superintendent who proposed a shelter idea (that seemingly has been ignored by JFLAG et al) was the one who led the raid/eviction.

Also see:

the CVM NEWS Story HERE on the eviction/raid taken by the police

also see a flashback to some of the troubling issues with the populations and the descending relationships between JASL, JFLAG and the displaced/homeless GBT youth in New Kingston: Rowdy Gays Strike - J-FLAG Abandons Raucous Homosexuals Misbehaving In New Kingston

also see all the posts in chronological order by date from Gay Jamaica Watch HERE and GLBTQ Jamaica HERE

GLBTQJA (Blogger): HERE

see previous entries on LGBT Homelessness from the Wordpress Blog HERE


May 22, 2015, see: MP Seeks Solutions For Homeless Gay Youth In New Kingston


New Kingston Cop Proposes Shelter for Shoemaker Gully LGBT Homeless Population




Superintendent Murdock

The same cop who has factored in so many run-ins with the youngsters in the Shoemaker Gully (often described as a sewer by some activists) has delivered on a promise of his powerpoint presentation on a solution to the issue in New Kingston, problem is it is the same folks who abandoned the men (their predecessors) from the powerful cogs of LGBT/HIV that are in earshot of his plan.

This ugly business of LGBTQ homelessness and displacements or self imposed exile by persons has had several solutions put forth, problem is the non state actors in particular do not want to get their hands dirty as the more combative and political issues to do with buggery's decriminalization or repeal have risen to the level of importance more so than this. Let us also remember this is like the umpteenth meeting with the cops, some of the LGBT homeless persons and the advocacy structure.

Remember JFLAG's exclusion of the group from that IDAHO symposium on LGBT homelessess? See HERE, how can we ask the same people who only want to academise and editorialise the issue to also try to address their own when they do not want to get their hands dirty but publish wonderful reports as was done earlier this month, see HERE: (re)Presenting and Redressing LGBT Homelessness in Jamaica: Towards a Multifaceted Approach to Addressing Anti-Gay Related Displacement also LGBT homelessness has always been with us from the records of Gay Freedom Movement(1974) to present but the current issues started from 2009, see: The Quietus ……… The Safe House Project Closes and The Ultimatum on December 30, 2009 as carried on sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch. CLICK HERE for FULL post of this story.

Gender Identity/Transgederism Radio discussion Jamaica March 2014





Radio program Everywoman on Nationwide Radio 90FM March 20th 2014 with Dr Karen Carpenter as stand-in host with a transgender activist and co-founder of Aphrodite's P.R.I.D.E Jamaica and a gender non conforming/lesbian guest as well on the matters of identity, sex reassignment surgery and transexuality.

CLICK HERE for a recording of the show

BUSINESS DOWNTURN FOR THE WEED-WHACKING PROJECT FOR FORMER DISPLACED ST CATHERINE MSM



As promised here is another periodical update on an income generating/diligence building project now in effect for some now seven former homeless and displaced MSM in St Catherine, it originally had twelve persons but some have gotten jobs elsewhere, others have simply walked away and one has relocated to another parish, to date their weed whacking earning business capacity has been struggling as previous posts on the subject has brought to bear.

Although some LGBT persons residing in the parish have been approached by yours truly and others to increase client count for the men costs such as gas and maintenance of the four machines that are rotated between the enrolled men are rising weekly literally while the demand is instead decreasing due to various reasons.



Newstalk 93FM's Issues On Fire: Polygamy Should Be Legalized In Jamaica 08.04.14



debate by hosts and UWI students on the weekly program Issues on Fire on legalizing polygamy with Jamaica's multiple partner cultural norms this debate is timely.

Also with recent public discourse on polyamorous relationships, threesomes (FAME FM Uncensored) and on social.


What to Do .....




a. Make a phone call: to a lawyer or relative or anyone

b. Ask to see a lawyer immediately: if you don’t have the money ask for a Duty Council

c. A Duty Council is a lawyer provided by the state

d. Talk to a lawyer before you talk to the police

e. Tell your lawyer if anyone hits you and identify who did so by name and number

f. Give no explanations excuses or stories: you can make your defense later in court based on what you and your lawyer decided

g. Ask the sub officer in charge of the station to grant bail once you are charged with an offence

h. Ask to be taken before a justice of The Peace immediately if the sub officer refuses you bail

i. Demand to be brought before a Resident Magistrate and have your lawyer ask the judge for bail

j. Ask that any property taken from you be listed and sealed in your presence

Cases of Assault:An assault is an apprehension that someone is about to hit you

The following may apply:

1) Call 119 or go to the station or the police arrives depending on the severity of the injuries

2) The report must be about the incident as it happened, once the report is admitted as evidence it becomes the basis for the trial

3) Critical evidence must be gathered as to the injuries received which may include a Doctor’s report of the injuries.

4) The description must be clearly stated; describing injuries directly and identifying them clearly, show the doctor the injuries clearly upon the visit it must be able to stand up under cross examination in court.

5) Misguided evidence threatens the credibility of the witness during a trial; avoid the questioning of the witnesses credibility, the tribunal of fact must be able to rely on the witness’s word in presenting evidence

6) The court is guided by credible evidence on which it will make it’s finding of facts

7) Bolster the credibility of a case by a report from an independent disinterested party.

Notes on Bail & Court Appearance issues


If in doubt speak to your attorney

Bail and its importance -

If one is locked up then the following may apply:
Locked up over a weekend - Arrested pursuant to being charged or detained There must be reasonable suspicion i.e. about to commit a crime, committing a crime or have committed a crime.

There are two standards that must be met:

1). Subjective standard: what the officer(s) believed to have happened

2). Objective standard: proper and diligent collection of evidence that implicates the accused To remove or restrain a citizen’s liberty it cannot be done on mere suspicion and must have the above two standards

 Police officers can offer bail with exceptions for murder, treason and alleged gun offences, under the Justice of the Peace Act a JP can also come to the police station and bail a person, this provision as incorporated into the bail act in the late nineties

 Once a citizen is arrested bail must be considered within twelve hours of entering the station – the agents of the state must give consideration as to whether or not the circumstances of the case requires that bail be given

 The accused can ask that a Justice of the Peace be brought to the station any time of the day. By virtue of taking the office excluding health and age they are obliged to assist in securing bail

"Bail is not a matter for daylight

Locked up and appearing in court

 Bail is offered at the courts office provided it was extended by the court; it is the court that has the jurisdiction over the police with persons in custody is concerned.

 Bail can still be offered if you were arrested and charged without being taken to court a JP can still intervene and assist with the bail process.

Other Points of Interest

 The accused has a right to know of the exact allegation

 The detainee could protect himself, he must be careful not to be exposed to any potential witness

 Avoid being viewed as police may deliberately expose detainees

 Bail is not offered to persons allegedly with gun charges

 Persons who allegedly interfere with minors do not get bail

 If over a long period without charge a writ of habeas corpus however be careful of the police doing last minute charges so as to avoid an error

 Every instance that a matter is brought before the court and bail was refused before the accused can apply for bail as it is set out in the bail act as every court appearance is a chance to ask for bail

 Each case is determined by its own merit – questions to be considered for bail:

a) Is the accused a flight risk?

b) Are there any other charges that the police may place against the accused?

c) Is the accused likely to interfere with any witnesses?

d) What is the strength of the crown’s/prosecution’s case?

 Poor performing judges can be dealt with at the Judicial Review Court level or a letter to the Chief Justice can start the process

Human Rights Advocacy for GLBT Community Report 2009

Popular Posts

What I am reading at times ......

Thanks for your Donations

Hello readers,

thank you for your donations via Paypal in helping to keep this blog going, my limited frontline community work, temporary shelter assistance at my home and related costs. Please continue to support me and my allies in this venture that has now become a full time activity. When I first started blogging in late 2007 it was just as a pass time to highlight GLBTQ issues in Jamaica under then JFLAG's blogspot page but now clearly there is a need for more forumatic activity which I want to continue to play my part while raising more real life issues pertinent to us.

Donations presently are accepted via Paypal where buttons are placed at points on this blog(immediately below, GLBTQJA (Blogspot), GLBTQJA (Wordpress) and the Gay Jamaica Watch's blog as well. If you wish to send donations otherwise please contact: glbtqjamaica@live.com or Tel: 1-876-841-2923 (leave a message just in case)




Activities & Plans: ongoing and future

  • To continue this venture towards website development with an E-zine focus

  • Work with other Non Governmental organizations old and new towards similar focus and objectives

  • To find common ground on issues affecting GLBTQ and straight friendly persons in Jamaica towards tolerance and harmony

  • Exposing homophobic activities and suggesting corrective solutions

  • To formalise GLBTQ Jamaica's activities in the long term

  • Continuing discussion on issues affecting GLBTQ people in Jamaica and elsewhere

  • Welcoming, examining and implemeting suggestions and ideas from you the viewing public

  • Present issues on HIV/AIDS related matters in a timely and accurate manner

  • Assist where possible victims of homophobic violence and abuse financially, temporary shelter(my home) and otherwise

  • Track human rights issues in general with a view to support for ALL

Thanks again
Mr. H or Howie

Tel: 1-876-841-2923
lgbtevent@gmail.com








Peace

Battle Lines Javed Jaghai versus the state & the Jamaica Buggery Law



Originally aired on CVM TV December 8th 2013, apologies for some of the glitches as the source feed was not so hot and it kept dropping from source or via the ISP, NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED and is solely for educational and not for profit use and review. The issue of the pending legal challenge in the Constitutional Court in Jamaica as filed by Javed Jaghai an outspoken activist who happens also to be openly aetheist.

The opposing sides are covered as well such as
The Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society
The Love March
Movement Jamaica

The feature seems destined for persons who are just catching up to the issues and repositioning JFLAG in particular in the public domain as their image has taken a beating in some respects especially on the matter of the homeless MSM front. They need to be careful that an elitist perception is not held after this after some comments above simplistic discourse, the use of public agitation as beneath some folks and the obvious overlooking of the ordinary citizen who are realy the ones who need convincing to effect the mindset change needed and the national psyche's responses to homosexuality in general.


John Maxwell's House