Gays Live--and Die--in Fear in Jamaica

I read an article about how the country of Jamaica is against Gays and when i was reading this article it upset me to see how unfair they were being to the gay people that live in Jamaica. One of the guys named Sherman that is gay and lives in Jamaica says, "It gets like five, six o'clock, my heart begins to race. I just need to go home, I start to get nervous,"Like many other gays, Sherman won't give his full name for fear of retribution.This is sad because people loose their identity and are afraid to tell people who they really are, based on the sexuality they are. If i was afraid to just walk outside because I was afriad to get abused or even murdered I would feel so low about myself and be devistated. This is probably how the Gay people in Jamaica feel which really upsets me. In the article, it also says that despite the easygoing image propagated by tourist boards, gays and their advocates agree that Jamaica is by far the most hostile island toward homosexuals in the already conservative Caribbean. They say gays, especially those in poor communities, suffer frequent abuse. But they have little recourse because of rampant anti-gay stigma and a sodomy law banning sex between men in Jamaica and 10 other former British colonies in the Caribbean.
In the same article it talks about how for gays, the reality of this enduring hostility is loneliness and fear, and sometimes even murder.Then it goes on to talk about another individual named Andrew, a 36-year-old volunteer for an AIDS education program, said he was driven from the island after his ex-lover was killed for being gay--which police said was just a robbery gone wrong. He moved to the U.K. for several years. Andrew says,"I'm living in fear on a day-to-day basis," he said softly during a recent interview in Kingston. "In the community where my ex-lover was killed, people will say to me when I'm passing on the street, they will make remarks like 'boom-boom-boom' or 'batty boy fi dead.' I don't feel free walking on the streets." These quotes had a big influence on me because I was shocked into what extreme measures people would go because they hated gay people.This article made me realize that something needs to be done, especially in countries like this. McFadden, David. "Gays Live--and Die--in Fear in Jamaica." Miami Herald (Miami, FL) 20 Jul 2009: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 02 February 2010.