Wow! New Anti-Homophobia PSA Airing in Jamaica

As many of you must know, the island of Jamaica has a (well-deserved) reputation as "the most homophobic place on Earth" despite being a tropical paradise and tourist destination. There have been several reports of extra-judicial killings and beatings of individuals believed to be LGBT.

Anyway, a coalition of groups has organized an anti-homophobia public education campaign which includes a PSA (public service announcement) called "Unconditional Love." You can watch it here. This is great news, because it demonstrates that there is an organized effort to combat the unrelenting homophobia which has been festering in most social circles of Jamaica.

Hat/tip to Rod 2.0

Buju Banton Sentenced To 10 Years

Buju Banton, the notoriously homophobic, Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae star, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in the United States  following his conviction earlier this year on federal drug charges.

The Jamaican Gleaner reports: 

Jamaican reggae superstar, Buju Banton, 37, has been sentenced to 10 years, followed by five years of probation, in the Florida District Court in the United States this morning.

US District Judge, James Moody imposed the sentence when Buju, whose real name is Mark Myrie, appeared in a Tampa Federal Courtroom this morning.

MadProfessah has participated in public protests against appearances by Banton, due to his song "Boom Bye Bye" which had horrendously homophobic lyrics. Of course, one never likes to see anyone go to jail but Banton has been unrepentant in his disdain for the LGBT community. Karma is a *****!

GRENADA: Man, 41, Charged Under Sodomy Law

Since I was born on the island of Grenada in the Eastern Caribbean I'm always attentive when the island-nation appears in the news. According to the AP, a 41-year-old man has been arrested and charged with sodomy for having consensual sex with a 17-year-old man.

The age of sexual consent in Grenada is 16 but while the sex in question was consensual, local law prohibits sodomy under the charge of "unnatural connection."

Grenada is one of several Caribbean nations that has laws banning sex between men. The penalty in most islands, including Grenada, is up to 10 years in prison, although Barbados and Guyana have life imprisonment, according to a 2010 United Nations report.

Many islands remain socially conservative, with Jamaica considered one of the most hostile islands toward homosexuals. A gay right activist was killed there last year, and three gay men were attacked and beaten in St. Lucia in March. Gay cruises to the region also continue to draw protesters.

In Grenada, gays are discriminated against and find it hard to find employment and housing, said Nigel Mathlin, president of GrenCHAP, a local nonprofit organization that represents marginalized groups.

"The government, they are very much aware of the changes that need to be made, of bringing our laws into line with international human rights principles," Mathlin said.

I'll be following this case relatively closely. I really don't see how the Caribbean nations of Barbados, Trinidad, Grenada and Jamaica can expect to have a vibrant tourism industry while still maintaining anti-gay sodomy laws and an unwelcoming, discriminatory atmosphere.

It's good to see that there is some organized resistance and challenge to explicit homophobia on the island of Grenada in the form of GrenCHAP and Nigel Mathlin.

FOOD REVIEW: Island Flavors (Laurel, MD)

While I was on a research trip in Maryland/Delaware in early May I discovered the unassuming West Indian restaurant Island Flavors in a strip mall right off the Route 197 exit off the Baltimore-Washington Expressway (Maryland Route 295).

I'm always one to look out for really good West Indian food, and the best I have found so far is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. That's a long, long ways from my home in Los Angeles, so often when I am on the East Coast I try and sample new restaurants. In Los Angeles, there is some pretty good Caribbean food (Ackee Bamboo, Caribbean Treehouse, Kassava) and some just okay (Derrick's Jamaican Cuisine, Juicy's, Wi Jammin).

Island Flavors is in a very unassuming, somewhat unprepossessing space, with cheap plastic chairs and tables and covered steam tables. You should go to Island Flavors for the food, not the atmosphere or service.

I ordered the brown stew chicken ($7.75) and homemade sorrell ($3.50). The brown stew chicken was excellent. It is very tangy and piquant but not overly spicy. It comes with steamed vegetables and fried plantains. The sorrel was also quite good, much more heavily infused with ginger than I am used to, and quite a bit more concentrated. Halfway through eating my small brown stew chicken I knew I wanted to sample their "Curry Chicken & Roti" ($8.00) and take a large brown stew chicken to-go ($9.25) on my 6-hour flight home to Los Angeles.

The curry chicken roti ended up being very unusual, with the roti skin being uncharacteristically left open, serving as a bowl for the curry chicken stew, instead of fully enclosing the thick curry chicken stew burrito-style that I am used to. The roti skin used was delicious, lighter and more flavorable than most (I suspect butter must be involved) and by not enclosing the stew, it seemed they were able to use more tender cuts of chicken with bone attached, as opposed to the sometimes dry, boneless chicken which appears in most chicken curry rotis. The brown stew chicken I brought home to Los Angeles was just as good when I ate it microwaved after being in the refrigerator as when I had eaten it inside the Island Flavors restaurant two days before. Both dishes were better than anything I have had from any West Indian restaurant on the West Coast, except perhaps for what's served at Kassava.

If you're in the Laurel, Maryland area (about 30 minutes north of Washington, D.C.) I would strongly recommend that you check out Island Flavors and order yourself a roti and a brown stew chicken to go, you will not regret it!

Name: Island Flavors.
Location: 12633 Laurel Bowie Road, Laurel, MD 20708-2603.
Contact: 301-776-7208.
Visit: May 7, 2011.

AMBIANCE: B.
SERVICE: A-.
VALUE: A+.
FOOD: A.

OVERALL: A- (3.75/4.0).

Jamaica Gleaner Editorializes IN FAVOR of Gay Rights

Jamaica's leading newspaper, The Gleaner, has published an editorial in favor of LGBT equality, titled "End Discrimination Against Gays Now."

To be clear, our position is neither an endorsement nor rejection of homosexuality. Frankly, we do not care. How consenting adults choose to live their lives is none of our business. There are, however, a couple of things that concern us and which we believe should be the concern of all Jamaicans.

First, while we note and commend the advances in individuals' rights contained in the charter, we are aware that the possibility of discrimination against any group is a toehold for the erosion of the rights of others, notwithstanding the cover of constitutional protection.

Moreover, the fear of stigma, discrimination and violence pushes many people into the closet. Their talents are often underutilised, to the detriment of the society and economy. There is evidence, too, of the health problems faced by gays, many of whom prefer to live without treatment for their illnesses, including HIV/AIDS, for fear of discrimination. The public-health risks are obvious.

It is nearly 50 years since the promulgation of the Constitution; waiting a few more months to get a better charter won't hurt.

Improving the charter will require that it lie in the legislature for months in accordance with the time stipulation for amending the Constitution. In the meantime, legislators should expunge the buggery law, the main bit of existing legislation that makes homosexuality illegal.

Even though the editorial was published onFriday April 1st, it does not seem to be an April Fool's joke. The Parliament is revising Jamaica's Charter of Rights and the editorial calls for an elimination of the country's sodomy ("buggery") law during this process.

Good news at last out of "the most homophobic place on Earth"!

Hat/tip to LGBT Asylum

Eye Candy: Talvin DeMachio

Apparently Talvin De Machio is an award-winning male escort and porn star (according to Wikipedia). He gives his vital statistics as 39 years old, 5'5" and 140 pounds. I'm not sure exactly when the pictures above were taken but they are definitely Eye Candy material.

On his website he describes his (ethnic) background as "Father: German, Austrian, Czech, French, Hungarian, Italian Mother: Trinidad & Tobago (located in the Caribbean), Latino, Black, Chinese, Indian, English." You can also find many more pictures of Talvin on his website, most with him wearing far less than he is wearing here!

Hat/tip to Sexy Muscle Men.

Immigration Equality Releases LGBT Asylum Stats

Immigration Equality, the national LGBT immigration advocacy organization (on whose board MadProfessah sits) announced today that they had won over 101 asylum cases in 2010:

Immigration Equality, a national organization that helps obtain asylum for individuals persecuted in their home country based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV-status, announced today that its legal and pro bono teams won a record 101 cases in 2010.  An overwhelming number of those wins – 38 - were for clients from the Caribbean, with 28 of those for individuals from Jamaica.  Other cases included 24 asylum seekers from Central and South America; 16 from Eastern Europe (including seven Russian clients); nine from the African continent and five from the Middle East. 

Immigration Equality maintains the largest pro bono network of attorneys – in addition to its in-house legal staff – dedicated solely to securing asylum for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers.  Firms providing pro bono representation for Immigration Equality clients include Dewey & LeBoeuf; Jones Day; Kirkland and Ellis; Latham Watkins; Ropes and Gray; Skadden; Weill  Gotshal; and White & Case. In addition to the 2010 wins announced today, the organization has 97 additional cases, filed in 2010, which are awaiting a ruling, as well as several cases filed prior to 2010. 

“For too many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, the world remains a dangerous place,” said Rachel B. Tiven, the group’s executive director.  “In many cases, the clients who turn to Immigration Equality for help are literally running for their lives.  They have been mistreated and beaten by authorities in their home country, disowned by their families and ostracized by society.  By offering them safe haven, the United States is not only saving their lives, but benefitting from the talent, skills and service these asylees bring to our country.  We are proud, and honored, to help them begin life anew here in their adopted homeland.”

[...]

Immigration Equality 2010 Asylum Wins by Country *

Jamaica                        28
Russia                          7
Grenada                       4
Peru                             4
Uzbekistan                  4
Venezuela                    3
Mexico                         3
Ghana                          3
El Salvador                  3        

* Countries from which Immigration Equality had 2 or fewer wins are not listed.
Total 2010 wins include six individuals who won withholding of removal or secured relief under the Convention Against Torture Treaty (CAT).

Notice that 2 of the top 3 countries are in the West Indies. In fact, Grenada is the country where I was born.