On the down-low

Photo by Chrysaora - Anti gay grafitti in JA

I know men who have sex with men but they hide that homosexuality by publicly having relationships (and sex) with women.  It’s called being on the down-low.

The subject has been raised by Jamaican Senator for the opposition PNP party, Sandrea Falconer who wants guys who do this, prosecuted under a new sexual offences bill going through the parliament.

She’s also concerned that the new bill is going to legalise sex between men.

What I don’t appreciate about bi-sexual men or men on the down-low is the deceit and the general pain and hurt that will inevitably come about from their actions.  However hard it is, surely it is better to be open about your sexual status than to hide it in this horrible web of lies?  Jamaican society should help them to be open rather than maintaining the hypocrisy and pretending that it doesn’s exist by driving these men further down on the down-low.

Gaza or Gully?

Photo by h-sinc

Rather than paintings of Haile Selassie on the walls in Kingston, you are more likely to see tags saying Gaza or Gully right now.

Photo by amataiclaudius

The battle going on between dancehall artist, Vybz Kartel (who’s uncompromising and tough sound from the streets gives him the Gaza tag) and Movado – the singjay, a cross between DJ and singer – better known as the Gully God because of the place he comes from in Kingston- Cassava Piece, with its’  huge gully running through it.  This photo is not Cassava Piece, but just in case you’re wondering what a gully looks like.

So Gaza or Gully?

I have said on this blog before, that I am long standing Kartel fan, but I was feeling Movado more.  But there’s been a turnaround.  Kartel is back on top.  I’m really feeling his track, Money on My Mind and even ramping shop I was liking that.   But will musical battle spill over into violence?  I don’t reckon so, but with the mix of social problems that inner city Kingston has, I can understand why some might be worried.  Are you?

Right now, I am mainly listening to …

Mr Vegas – So Blessed

Laden – Time to Shine

Sweet JA

Photo by skibler - it's sugar cane water

I’ve been looking into the sugar industry in Jamaica because thousands of workers are about to get redundancy payments.

I came across this article and it confuses me.

I have posted before about the IMF’s relationship with Jamaica and how disastrous it has been - see this post here.

Photo by choheisel

If the IMF were making these recommendations to get rid of JA’s sugar industry in 2006, and that this is being implemented now, well – this does not bode well for a new way of doing business in terms of putting conditions onto future loans.  Losing the sugar industry is creating unemployment and perhaps greater food insecurity in Jamaica?   See what happened in Haiti.

How about tackling the rich countries and the subsidies they offer their farmers rather than saying that the sugar fields of Jamaica should go?  But it’s probably too late now – I wonder if the loss of sugar is that bad a thing anyway – given its’ history  – see this great photo here.

10 Jamaican police forced into retirement

These 10 police officers in Jamaica were forced into early retirement because they were thought to be involved in criminal activity.  A huge lottery scam a subject I have blogged about before, see this post.

But instead of bringing criminal charges against them, they have been retired early in the “public interest”.   Is it just me, or does this seem odd?

How can there be no evidence against them for such a wide scale fraud?  Do they have no assets?  There must be some pretty strong suspicions if they were forced to retire. In fact, the force couldn’t even prove misconduct against them.  If they cannot investigate matters like this, what does this say about the ability of the police to investigate themelves  – especially when it comes to the issue of police shootings in the form of extra judicial killings or is that a euphemism for murder.

Jungle Justice

South Camp prison in Kingston photo by Christina Xu

What I am about to write, is not unrelated to my last post about police in Jamaica dispensing their own kind of justice.

In a clear admission that the court system is not working, the Prime minister says the system is under “severe stress”; he and his Justice Minister have come up with this idea of  “restorative justice”.  It’s a project where, as far as I can tell,  ordinary people can get some kind of training and then dispense this within their communities.

I’d be interested in looking at the whole system of justice in Jamaica – or rather the lack of it.  Starting off at the gun court, where witnesses are afraid to speak out and murderers go free.  Then to look at how the law works through the eyes of one of the island’s lawyers.  I knew someone who always had to go to the police station to get her nephew bailed out all the time, but those youths (his friends) who did not have a family member knowledgable in the law, then there was an entirely different kind of justice for them – usually ending up in GP.

Then there’s  jungle justice that this new programme is trying to replace.

But why replace it?

Jungle justice is cheap, because it doesn’t involve expensive lawyers, it’s quick because no court delays hold it up,  it’s a deterrent because it usually involves an execution and it’s a clear for all to see, because it happens right there on the street.

Seems rather more effective than what happens in the Gun Court.

Police killings, rape and gay bashing

The M16 rifle is used by police

I know two people personally who have been shot and killed by police in Jamaica.  Those sons are still mourned terribly by their mothers and the pain of missing them does not go away ever in their families, no matter how many years go by.

Amnesty International’s new report says that there were 222 people killed by the police.  They give a couple of examples -like 13 year old Jevaughn Robinson who was shot in the head.

They also report that 655 women were raped between Jan -Oct 2008 and then there’s the usual discrimination against gay people.

In all these cases, government action is stalled – legislation which could help do something about these things is stuck in Parliament.  I wonder if Jamaica will ever get to grips with these long standing problems.

sex trips for girls

I watched this documentary on Channel 4 – based in Dominican Republic but could be Jamaica or Cuba or any other popular but poor holiday destination.  It reminds me of a guy I met who worked at a hotel in Montego Bay and also another guy I met in Cuba.

So the Montego Bay hotel guy I met was very good looking and told me how women shower him with gifts and pay for his every need.  He was very open about it and actually seemed to enjoy the life – he was very young – 18 years of age.  It’s not a simple sex transaction for women though,  a very different scenario to the aging white man accompanied by the pretty young Jamaican woman who sits at an expensive restaurant with him, trying (unsuccessfully) not to look bored.

For the Jamaican men looking for the tourist bride, the power is still with the man to a large extent.  It is he who is fooling her, playing with her feelings and dare I say it, exploiting her vulnerability and loneliness.  I think women have to be careful not to fall for this shit.

New money, same old story

Photo by Dejagib

A new 5000 dollar Jamaican bank note, is not much to celebrate.

It is, in economic terms, a sign that inflation is happening.  That the money in your hand (or till) is worth less.

You can hardly buy much with your one Jamaican dollar any more, so you need a higher denomination note to buy things.

It is a sign of the times, showing how Jamaica’s economy is suffering, devalued you could say.  Rather than accept this fate, you would think that the Finance Minister would at least try to put a positive spin on things, to give the markets some sense of confidence, or shred of hope to hang onto.  He actually is quoted as saying,

“The dollar is losing its value because we are losing our competitive advantage … because we as Jamaicans are becoming less and less productive as the years go by!”

Not the most constructive of comments.   The note will be released in September.

Dead with nowhere to go …

You know crime is bad when there’s nowhere to put the bodies.

Photo by MeraM

For the last few decades, one place has been taking in all of Jamaica’s dead bodies on behalf of the government.  That’s the Madden’s Funeral Home with offices in  Montego Bay and Kingston.

Now there is supposed to be funding for a new public morgue , but I just wonder what people in Madden’s have got to say about what they have seen over the years.

They’ve been clearing up bodies from gullies, holding the hands of children away from the scene of murders and burying Jamaica’s dead for so long and business continues to be as brisk as ever.