Jamaica Unsafe for Gays

[CraigTPE]

I've only been to Jamaica once, for a visit to several SuperClubs resorts. While the resorts were really nice, I never felt comfortable offsite. I'd also heard that Jamaica is not a very accepting place for gays, but then read this which clinched it for me:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/world/americas/24jamaica.html

February 24, 2008
Attacks Show Easygoing Jamaica Is Dire Place for Gays

By MARC LACEY (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/marc_lacey/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
MANDEVILLE, Jamaica (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/jamaica/index.html?inline=nyt-geo) — One night last month, Andre and some friends were finishing dinner when a mob showed up at the front gate. Yelling antigay slurs and waving machetes, sticks and knives, 15 to 20 men kicked in the front door of the home he and his friends had rented and set upon them.

“I thought I was dead,” Andre, 20, a student, recounted in a faint voice, still scared enough that he was in hiding and did not want his full name to be used.

The mob pummeled him senseless. His right hand, the one he used to shield himself from the blows, is now covered with bandages. His skull has deep cut marks and his ear was sliced in half, horizontally. Doctors managed to sew it back together and he can hear out of it again.

Being gay in Jamaica is not easy. For years, human rights groups have denounced the harassment, beating and even killing of gays here, to little avail. No official statistic has been compiled on the number of attacks. But a recent string of especially violent, high-profile assaults has brought fresh condemnation to an island otherwise known as an easygoing tourist haven.

[mtp51]

That whole scenario is disgusting....just inexcusable. Unfortunately that is not the only segment of society that is unsafe in Jamaica.

[Ned]

Marge is 100% right. Here are two quotes from U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs, Jamaica Information (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1147.html), which are illustrative.

Gang violence and shootings occur regularly in certain areas of Kingston and Montego Bay. These areas include Mountain View, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, and Arnett Gardens in Kingston, and Flankers in Montego Bay.Crime, including violent crime, is a serious problem in Jamaica, particularly in Kingston. While the vast majority of crimes occur in impoverished areas, the violence is not confined. The primary criminal concern of a tourist is being a victim of theft. In several cases, armed robberies of Americans have turned violent when the victims resisted handing over valuables. Crime is exacerbated by the fact that police are understaffed and ineffective. Therefore, tourists should take their own precautions and always pay extra attention to their surroundings when traveling, exercise care when walking outside after dark, and should always avoid areas known for high crime rates...

...Drug use is prevalent in some tourist areas...

[jjjenny]

This is horrible! How can anyone do something like that to another human being?
I wish the bad guys could be caught and tortured a little bit. I know it's wrong of me to think that way, but, I hate to hear of something like this.

Years ago Jamaica had a bad reputation for the bad things they did to tourists. They tried to make a comeback back around 1985. I went at that time and got special treatment from some when they heard I was a travel agent. I would hear "She's a travel agent, leave her alone."

But I was on a fam trip with two other girls and I hated the way the people acted and I understand it has only gotten worse. I was told by my manager NOT to let my feelings for the country deter others from going.
I know there are some wonderful people living there, not all are bad. What a shame! Jamaica is beautiful and has so much to offer.

Even today I bite my tongue about my feelings of Jamaica but I warn everyone not to be alone on the beach and not to be lured off the main streets and not to bring expensive jewelry there.

Incidentally, gays are not welcome in the Cayman Islands.

[pezmanffx]

We ended up stopping at Ocho Rios on one cruise and since then my hubby refuses to go to Jamaca. When we book a cruise, we do everything we can to avoid it. The forcefullness of the vendors was soo bad that halfway through our shore excursion, we refused to get off the bus. The final straw was when I was asked if I wanted to buy some weed. When I said no thank you, I was told "why? you dont like black people?". Now, with the ongoing human rights violations, how could I allow myself to anyway support them?