As the furor in a sense continues over former local advocate and lawyer Maurice Tomlinson controversial departure from Jamaica in the form of asylum in Canada and a marriage which he complained that photos were published of his wedding that originally occured way back in August 2011 yet he supplied them to the Star News Canada while the local newspaper simply republished them. Some persons have been vigorously trying to defend his actions obviously missing the point of ethical professionalism needed and missing in this latest open blunder and is reflective of the self serving nature of our or so self appointed representatives when most of the time they speak on our behalf supposedly without any meaningful consultation for a more balanced points of view from the LGBTQIQ2S body politic.

Was this letter even penned by a member of the community really or a homophobe posing as such?

As for his students well they are up in knots along with the administration of the University of Technology, here is the letter from a member of the community, pity their name was not placed. Also what is glaring is that other former activists have left Jamaica without any cloudy and controversial circumstances as the reasons for their departure was clear as crystal to everyone. The letter reads as follows:

Questions For Maurice Tomlinson

THE EDITOR, Sir:

IN YOUR editorial on Tuesday, you made mention of the fact that as law students, those who Maurice Tomlinson teach should take into consideration Section 13 (3)(a) of the Charter of Rights in Jamaica's Constitution which speaks about the right to life. As a member of the Lesbian Bisexual Gay and Transgender community, I know all to well the negativity, such as threats and physical attacks, that we as lesbians and gays have to go through at times.

I can also relate to what the students are going through, especially those who have to work while attending school.

I might get a backlash from the community for what I'm about to say, but who gives a damn?

Mr Tomlinson, being a well-known activist, is fully aware of the dangers members of the community face, and as a well-thinking adult, he could have gone about things differently. There's no way his marriage could have remained a secret with him being a well-known activist, and more recently, with him receiving the David Cato award. Mr Tomlinson should have foreseen the current events. It's no business of mine what goes on in Mr Tomlinson's personal life, but he needs to answer a few questions.

1. Why didn't you put a plan in place for your students in the event of incidents like this?

2. Why couldn't you have ended the semester and then take care of your personal life (your wedding)?

3. I'm sure you are capable of using our current technology. Why didn't you plan webinars and make use of various related tools for your students?

It was very rude of Mr Tomlinson to just tell his students to sit in with other lecturer(s).

I'd be very upset too.

Concerned Gay

ENDS

Also see the post below for more as there have been other members of the community including the intelligentsia who have expressed some outrage at the whole matter and the timing of the wedding article, the timing of the departure of Mr Tomlinson from Jamaica (January 10, 2012) and then the subsequent travel to London to collect the David Kato award and cash grant along with it just looks too suspicious and manipulative of the systems for personal gain. The systems seemed to have been worked especially the lobby for the award in London so enough publicity had to be done via TV appearances and a leaked hint to the wedding in Canada which originally took place in August.

This comment when first made/posted was deleted from a Facebook group where JFLAG operatives converge by one of the administrators who work with the organization I have since gathered. Another dangerous precedence for muzzling and or dictatorship and the prescriptive nature to the rest of the community? yet we ask for tolerance elsewhere.

it stated:
Frankly, from reading this article, I don't get a sense of someone who's been forced to "flee". People who "flee" don't have a return date scheduled. If someone is fleeing for their life because of circumstances beyond control, how exactly did he suddenly regain enough control to be able to"schedule" when his safety concerns had been resolved? What I do get a sense of is someone who's taking advantage of the reputation that Jamaica has gained, and using it to his own ends. That is, how convenient that such "safety concerns" emerge as significant right around the same time when he goes to London to go pick up his award?
http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/jamaican-activist-tomlinson-wins-first-david-kato-award

And who told the newspaper that he was away from work? Let me guess....

Suffice it to say, this story reeks of unprofessional and unethical behaviour on Maurice's part. It may well be that faculty members in Jamaica can and do mistreat students however they want - cancel classes, don't show up, don't give the students their grades, etc. - with no repercussions. But to use homophobia as the excuse for not showing up, ad to have the administration in knots over how to deal with this crisis, when I'm sure they sense that things are not as they appear - that is beyond selfish and self-involved.

I am totally sick and tired of lgbt Jamaican individuals manipulating the already hostile situation at home by making themselves into scapegoats and victims, just so they can appropriate resources and attention for themselves. I was wondering where the leaked story of the wedding was going, and I can already see.

In my opinion, there needs to be a total news lockout against Maurice Tomlinson unless what he's talking about or doing DIRECTLY involves broader community, and there's sufficient corroboration of his accounts. He is being very manipulative in his conduct, and is harming the movement in many ways. Others have pulled similar stunts in the past, but Maurice is taking the situation to a whole other level. And he's counting on the silence and gullibility of lgbt Jamaicans as well as the fears of straight people to help him accomplish whatever he's set his mind to, and which won't benefit anyone but himself. Enough already."

Obviously this one is being kept alive as the letter above is published by the Gleaner. While some days ago Mr Tomlinson gave a statement via AIDSFREEWORLD

Remarks by Maurice Tomlinson, AIDS-Free World’s Legal Advisor on Marginalized Groups, upon receiving the inaugural ‘David Kato Vision and Voice Award’ London, UK, January 29, 2012, 6:00 PM

more on audio

Peace and tolerance

H

J-FLAG's recent Statement

J-FLAG SADDENED BY UNTIMELY PASSING OF COMMUNITY MEMBER

December 5, 2010 by editor

J-FLAG is saddened by the murder of a member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community whose body was found with stab wounds behind the National Solid Life and General Insurance Branch Limited on Half-Way-Tree Road in St Andrew on Friday, November 3, 2010.

This unfortunate event highlights the serious safety and security challenge that confronts the LGBT community in Jamaica, as well as those who engage in sex work. While the reason behind his death is not yet known, allegations are that his life had been under threat for some time. J-FLAG condemns the rampant breach of rights meted out to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Jamaicans, who are often denied their human rights to life, privacy, respect and dignity because of stigma, discrimination and violence.

We urge the security forces to thoroughly investigate this case so that justice is served. We encourage the Jamaican parliament to demonstrate leadership and publicly condemn violence against all people regardless of their sexual orientation. J-FLAG also encourages Parliamentarians to promote the respect of gay Jamaicans as we work towards making Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.

(ENDS)

We are indeed saddened by this awful crime committed and condolences to his family and friends of the deceased even if they do not see this post we hope the sentiments will be passed on to them eventually but the J maybe partially at fault for this I fear and needs to wake up in real terms. Press releases in my view reflect in glaring terms the culture, mindset and inner workings of an organization, so we must learn from this folks. Concerns please!

see GLBTQ Jamaica for a full post on the matter

also take the time to track some of the previous issues on homelessness from this BLOG

and from GLBTQ Jamaica to have some understanding as to why the urgent calls for interventions for displaced GLBTQI Jamaicans.

Yadda yadda yadda so the well oiled press release machinery goes into motion again a matter brought to my attention by some of you my avid readers which is not surprising, interestingly the comments section of the website that carries this release is closed so much for forumatic activity and engaging the community and allowing of venting from readers and supporters and even detractors isn't Forum in the acronym? JFLAG you need to do better than that. This elitist crap needs to go and begin to lead from in front not play step n fetch it with nice public relations and a pretty website using the right descriptions, real lives are in danger here!!!!! you have to talk the community and let them talk back.

Yes some of the concerns are valid in terms of legislation and the recognition of persons rights under the law as equal which is good, a message reiterated several times over and rightly so which should continue to be pressed for but the J missed the boat when it comes to really engaging the on the ground matters and association and recognition of itself as the group on the same level as Charms and others with better access to funds and resources to set up interventions working internally to solve those community issues as well.

"Oh lord here I go again on homelessness"
Then there is the matter of the hypocrisy of it all, the very office space that JFLAG now occupies was a half way house of sorts known as the "Safe House Project" which was a pilot project designed by a former Executive Director of the parent NGO of JFLAG which is Jamaica AIDS Support (for Life), she eventually found herself at logger heads with the board of JASL and resigned on January 25, 2010, if the interest was really there ought to have provided some distraction or activities for persons such as Charms who was murdered as we all know in carrying out her version of commercial sex work, the half way house and shelter JFLAG stood and watch close before its very eyes and did and said almost next to nothing to prevent it or at best reach out to the population that occupied the space afterwards. But instead they the mostly homeless MSMs were to be extricated to the streets because they were trouble makers deemed unworthy of any holy benefits as the J were their betters. So much for independence as the incestuous nature of the whole thing stinks to high heaven. Any self respecting non aligned advocacy voice would have spoken out and continue to speak for the real folks who are the fronline of abuse in this country not the far removed advocates who only get around to things through one or two embattled crisis personnel using the press release factory to look good. The on the ground staff themselves would love to be able to do more but can't. Talk about advocacy?

Let us also not forget that many of the homeless persons were displaced from western Jamaica from a private gay party DVD that went public and was sold on the streets which outed many of the men.

Why not give the proper details of the story to bring home the points far better on homophobia, transphobia and homo-negativity and talk about the way in which the public also dealt with the issue, the jeering and negative remarks by onlookers, the alleged homophobic comments by a few officers present on the scene? it was the talk on the bus this morning as I made my way to the market and we know how colourful Jamaicans can get with issues like this, the repeated battyman fi dead stance was hinted to several times over.

What is going to be done now about the others who walk the streets? commercial sex workers or not which by the way has grown so much now it's frightening and with real trouble makers now joining the fold to lead impressionable younger possible msms or bisexuals who are in the population some as young as their mid teens. The release speaks to no concern for the others or any inter-community planned or ongoing actions on their behalf to begin to solve some of the problems in that section of the GLTBQI populations.

Why does no one want to touch this group and what are we afraid of? we understand the resource issue may be sticky but it is not impossible to develop on ideas that are on paper somewhere filed in a cabinet.

Do we have to wait until someone else is killed again to complain to the "Not in my Cabinet" government? when we know fully well no Jamaican administration this time is going to touch that with a long stick as that is political suicide and they are more in preserving power, remember Jamaica is a homo-negative and homophobic space. Our culture though painstakingly slow is showing very small degrees of tolerance and is not ready in my view to handle the question of full coexistence of GLBTQI people and the mainstream, there are long ways to go.

Low Support
I know I may have low support on this but it must be highlighted, it is just beyond me that we have an organization that willingly shouts to the world it is doing this and that with great ease but the realities say something totally different. While myself and others try to discourage the street walking and at risk behaviours as much as we can often times much to our own dismay as we feel it falls on deaf ears and while we also have to face certain realities the capacity and putting together of interventions one would have expected from such a long standing organization as JFLAG is abysmal. Lest we forget they celebrate 13 years this year on December 10th.

There is a disturbing trend I notice also whenever Jamaica Forum for Lesbians Allsexuals and Gays speak on paper mostly or otherwise it hardly ever refers to the whole community in an equal level or sense, why is that? The insensitivity of the release is just beyond me. Do you notice that not even condolences were extended to his friends and family even if they don't see it, also any cautions rightly directed to the community at large to be vigilant out there were missing. So this deceased is reduced to another victim that oils the press release factory along as a talking point when there is no real human side to caring for persons at the level of a Charms.

Ugh!

Rest in Peace yah Charms!!!

Further reference to get some early background:

MSMs employ Civil Disobedience to get Board's Attention ....

MSM homelessness issues

SHOTS FIRED AT HOMELESS GAYS IN KINGSTON, HOMELESS SITUATION SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL

MSMS RESCUED BY TAXI DRIVER

Homelessness still a major problem ......

Homeless MSMs to feel the pinch as JASL issues ultimatum

What can be done to begin to solve these lives interrupted?

Peace and tolerance.