Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…
The Jamaica Gleaner today published a remarkably downbeat little editorial about the murder of cross-dresser Dwayne Jones and the firebombing of the house where he used to live.
Implicitly, it challenges the police to take action. Explicitly, it predicts that injustice will prevail:
Dwayne Jones, also known as “Gully Queen.” (Photo courtesy of Minority-Insight)
Nothing has, so far, come of the murder of Dwayne Jones, the drag queen who was beaten, stabbed and shot by a mob at a dance in St James.
Frankly, we expect nothing to come of Mr Jones’ murder. And not only because of the police’s general incompetence in solving crime, reflected in a ‘clear-up’ rate of under 40 per cent for homicides.
Rather, Mr Jones was gay. That is likely to mean his case having even less attention.
Earlier this week, the house where Mr Jones lived, which was occupied by other gay men, was firebombed. Like with the Jones incident, we don’t expect much.
It would be good for the police to surprise us by actually doing something.
I would to taste what it feels like to be free, I love to live somewhere where I don’t have to hide the true me, I would love to live somewhere where I don’t have to worry about being murdered, I would to live somewhere where I can have gay friends, rather than being alone all the time. I want to live somewhere where loving another man is not a crime, I want to live somewhere its safe to be gay, I want to live somewhere, where am not Afraid of going to school because of the discrimination I face there because am gay. I want to be free, I want to be me. I fear that if I don’t leave Jamaica soon I won’t get the chance to.
I would to taste what it feels like to be free, I love to live somewhere where I don’t have to hide the true me, I would love to live somewhere where I don’t have to worry about being murdered, I would to live somewhere where I can have gay friends, rather than being alone all the time. I want to live somewhere where loving another man is not a crime, I want to live somewhere its safe to be gay, I want to live somewhere, where am not Afraid of going to school because of the discrimination I face there because am gay. I want to be free, I want to be me. I fear that if I don’t leave Jamaica soon I won’t get the chance to.