‘I Have Not Been Accepted By My Family’

Gay rights may be spreading in many countries, but not in Jamaica. Violence against gay men is high, and police often look the other way, say activists. When Brian Williamson, Jamaica’s leading gay rights activist, was murdered in June 2004, a crowd gathered outside the crime scene to celebrate. NEWSWEEK’s Patrick Falby spoke with Devon, a 30-year-old homosexual who was granted asylum in the United States three years ago, about growing up gay in Jamaica. Devon, who lives in New York and attends a Seventh-day Adventist church, didn’t want his last name used for fear of being thrown out of the congregation. Excerpts:

Falby: What’s it like being a homosexual in Jamaica?
Devon: Wow. Terrible. Ridiculous. I have not been accepted by my family. My sister kicked me out of her house, and I was dis-fellowshipped by my church. At church I was an usher, and I used to sing in the choir.

When did you realize you were a homosexual?
When I was born; ever since then I’ve felt that way. I used to wear my mother’s shoes on the road sometimes, and my family used to kick me with the shoes and tell me to not put them on. Because I had four sisters I played girls’ games like bandy shandy. I even used to play cricket with the girls. They used to say that I’m not a man, that I’m a woman because I play women’s games. They used to call me “battyman,” which means gay in Jamaica. I tried to keep a low profile, though, because people used to get beaten for being gay.

How did people find out?
A friend of mine came over to the house to give me guidance one day when I was 18, and one of my sisters saw him. From there on my sister said that she didn’t want me near her because I’m whatever and whatever. When my sister went to work, I used to make sure her kids were properly dressed, bathed, had something to eat, got them off to school and picked them up. I was her helper. When she said that about me it was surprising. My brother, when he found out, he told me he was going to kill me because he didn’t want somebody in the family like me. I couldn’t really believe my own family would do that, until it happened to me. I was surprised because back home I used to do anything they asked. If they called me and told me they needed anything and I had it, I’d give it to them.

You are no longer in contact with your family?
Once in a blue moon I’ll call them to say hi, and when there was a hurricane I called to find out if everyone was okay. I mostly talk to my niece and nephew, because they’re small kids and you cannot hold anything against a child. I also call my mom. She doesn’t approve of [being gay], but you know a mother will always be a mother no matter what. She will always show me a good face, but behind it she’s maybe not with me. Now that I’m in America, she might figure that I have money to send to Jamaica or something.

How were other homosexuals and lesbians treated?
Horrible. Terrible. I used to have a roommate, and when I left to come here she was killed at our place. Some men beat and cut up her and her lover.

Why is homophobia is so strong in Jamaica?
People are not tolerant with the lifestyle. Even married men, they go hide and they do their stuff, and at the end of the day they go back with their wives. If it was more accepted, people would be free and do things that they wanted. It’s also because people tend to lean on the church’s side, and say it’s not accepted by God and stuff like that. In church, when I hear them talk about it, I put up blind ears, like I don’t hear what they say. Even now, because I still go to a Seventh-day Adventist church here [in New York]. When they talk about it, I put up blind ears about it. [In Jamaica] and here [in New York], because of the church lifestyle, nobody’s going to come out.

How did you end up applying for asylum in the United States?
I just decided I really couldn’t take it anymore in Jamaica. So I went to the embassy and applied for a visiting visa and I decided I’m not going back, I’m going to apply for asylum. And here I am.

I’m not going to work now, but I’m going to college at the present, and I’m in the process of looking for jobs. I’ve been in America for three years. I also volunteer for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a nonprofit organization in New York.

Do you think you’ll ever return to Jamaica?
The only way I’ll ever want to go back is if something changes so that people can live their lives and be free. They need to put something in place to protect people who are living this lifestyle in Jamaica. They have nothing in place; the police beat them, the members of the community beat them. And I hope and pray that [the new prime minister] can put something in place so that people like me, who lived the lifestyle in Jamaica, can live their lives.


© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.
By Patrick Falby
Newsweek International

Council of Europe Chief: Germany Must Target Racism's Roots

Terry Davis, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, spoke to DW-WORLD.DE about the efforts to combat racially motivated violence in Germany and the calls by some politicians for the far-right NPD to be banned.

Recent racist attacks in Germany and the publication of the European Fundamental Rights Agency's report into rising violence against minorities have again highlighted the problem of racially motivated crime in Europe. The report stated that incidents of racially motivated violence had increased in at least eight of the European Union's 27 member states in the last six years. Germany was one of these countries.

DW-WORLD.DE: The Fundamental Rights Agency's recent report on racially motivated violence in Europe could not have been published at a more appropriate time, coming as it did in the midst of the current spate of attacks in Germany. What were the Council of Europe's reactions to the report and the upsurge of violence in Germany?

Terry Davis: Of course the Council of Europe is very concerned, not only with the FSA report, which shows the increase of racially motivated violence, but with all kinds of violence, hate crime and hate speech in Europe. We are also concerned that the events in Germany are, sadly, nothing new. We released two reports through the European Commission for Racism and Intolerance on Germany in the last six years, in 2001 and 2004, and both were very disappointing. It's not that Germany is not trying its best to combat racism and racially motivated violence, it's just that in the last six years, whatever it's done hasn't helped.

There are some politicians in Germany who believe the most effective way to curb the violence towards minorities would be to ban the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD). As a former member of the British parliament who campaigned against extremism in your constituency, would you agree that this approach would get the best results?

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Davis campaigned against extremists as a British MP


I have been following the debate on banning the NPD and see both sides of the argument for and against it. [German Social Democratic Party leader] Kurt Beck has come out and put a lot of energy into his calls for banning the NPD. One has to realize though that banning the NPD would not be the end of it. Banning extremist parties just drive them underground only for them to resurface as new incarnations later.

As a member of parliament in Birmingham in the 1970s, I had the National Front [a British far-right party] campaigning in my constituency. After efforts to expose them as the racists they were, before engaging them in debate and ridiculing them as a way of belittling their shallow political basis, the NF eventually disappeared. However, the same people are back playing the same tune as the British National Party. Where they used to exploit people's fears over unemployment, social security etc. as the NF, these people now use the fear of Muslims and Islam to gain votes. Banning them, just like the NPD, would not be enough on its own.

Would a ban on the NPD deny a section of the population the chance to vote for a party it believes in and supports, effectively infringing the rights of these voters and denying them a democratic right?

I understand that argument, but we believe that freedom can become license. If someone takes their right to free speech and uses it to spread hate, there should be laws that prevent that, and action should be taken to correct that. The European Convention on Human Rights says there must be a balance. Freedom of expression balanced with responsibility. My personal view is that you should be allowed to voice your views but you must do it responsibly and with respect. Everyone has that right, to be respected. But it must be a mutual respect.

The German government has also debated amending the country's constitution to limit the right of assembly for organizations and parties it believes to be a threat, effectively refusing them the right to march and demonstrate. Would this be an infringement of people's rights?

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The German government has debated banning NPD marches

I would have to return to the point I made about the banning of the NPD. If people spread hate and division, be it in printed materials, oratory or demonstrations then they are not using their freedom of speech or their right to assembly responsibly. They are not conducting themselves with respect for others and their actions can be deemed offensive, although extremists are very careful about what is said and presented at demonstrations as not to break any direct laws regarding anti-Semitism for example.

What more can be done to tackle the problem of racially motivated crime, not just in Germany but in Europe as a whole?

Politicians have a responsibility to draw attention to those seeking to exploit people's fears. The best of way of exposing these people as racists is to ridicule them, to show that they have no real answers to the problems that they complain about. Besides, these extremists blame everybody else for the own problems. Politicians can create a society through working at the grass roots level, with religious and community leaders, where the NPD is seen as ridiculous, a party with no basis and with no issues. We should work together to show that differences between people are there to be enjoyed; they give our lives and our homes great color and diversity. This is what should be championed. And by doing so, the power of the racists is taken away.

There is no silver bullet when dealing with the problems of extremists and racially motivated violence. Banning the NPD may be part of the solution, but we shouldn't get distracted by it as a solution on its own. If the NPD was banned then that would be one step, but as I said before, it would not be the end. We must change the way people think through education and through the positive promotion of diversity. The roots of this problem lie elsewhere and not just in the manifesto of a right-wing political party.


Nick Amies interviewed Terry Davis | www.dw-world.de | © Deutsche Welle.

Right wing extremists arrested for attempted murder

Two members of the right-wing extremist organization Svenska Motståndsrörelsen (Swedish Resistance Movement) have been arrested for attempted murder, Expo reports.

The two men, aged 22 and 32, were among a group handing out information material at Slussen in Stockholm on Saturday when a group described as "militant anti-fascists" arrived on the scene.

A fight broke out, with one man receiving stab wounds to the neck.

Expo reports that the suspects, both of whom have previous convictions for violent crimes, were arrested and detained in custody on Tuesday.

The Swedish Resistance Movement claimed responsibility for the attack on its website on Sunday.


TT/The Local

Lankan injured in racist attack in Germany

Berlin: A Sri Lankan was injured in a racist attack in southern Germany, police said on Monday.

The 38-year-old man was knocked to the ground and kicked on the street in the southern city of Stuttgart early on Saturday by a drunken neo-Nazi.

Police said the 27-year-old attacker had record of several previous assaults and had been under investigation for wearing Nazi symbols.

The incident added to the grave public concerns over a string of recent racist attacks in Germany.

Last month, eight Indians were attacked in the eastern city of Muegeln during a local festival and two Africans were assaulted during a wine festival in a village near the western city of Mainz.

Hotel Criticized for Advertising Nazi-Era Bunker

A hotel in Adolf Hitler's mountain retreat in southern Germany is allowing guests to view a swastika-covered bunker from World War II in its cellar. Critics say the structure has been turned into a neo-Nazi shrine.

The hotel "Zum Türken" in the southern German town of Obersalzberg is being strongly criticized for allowing visitors to view part of a Nazi-era bunker located beneath its restaurant.

According to research by German public broadcaster ARD, visitors can access the bunker via an advertised passageway at the hotel. ARD research showed that it had become a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis, who come to see the Nazi propaganda, swastikas and anti-Semitic statements scrawled and carved on its walls.

Obersalzberg near Berchtesgaden, located in Bavaria near the Austrian border, became Hitler's holiday retreat in 1923. It was expanded after 1933, becoming a second seat of government along with Berlin under the Nazi regime.

The hotel "Zum Türken" and adjoining bunker were once the quarters for Hitler's personal security staff and bodyguards from the Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers (SD). Visitors to the bunker can view SD detention cells and shooting ranges.

State government should be on the lookout

Bavaria's Finance Minister Kurt Faltlhauser said the government had a clear responsibility to take in light of the bunker's growing popularity among neo-Nazis.

"We must take on the role of a sentinel," Faltlhauser said in a statement. "This shouldn't be covered up and, most importantly, there can't be any hidden or open glorification of the Nazi regime."

The ministry said it had recommended to the state prosecutor to file criminal charges. It has also appealed to local authorities to check whether it can revoke the hotel's restaurant and alcohol license.

Officials cannot close the site, however, as it is privately owned by the hotel. The hotel owner's attorney Jan de Haan said there had been problems in the past with right-wing extremists.

"The hotel owner is in no way pleased by this," de Haan said. He said that 95 percent of the hotel's guests were foreigners, many from the United States. The owner was not acquiring neo-Nazi customers, de Haan added.

Neighboring documentation center's hands are tied

The Bavarian state government, together with the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich and Berlin, set up a documentation center in Obersalzberg in 1999. A permanent exhibition informs the public of the town's past under Hitler.

The center's head Volker Dahm said the hotel's bunker had been a nuisance for years.

"But we can't actually do anything about it," Dahm told ARD. "The problem is that a relic of the Third Reich is privately owned and commercially marketed by the owner."

According to Dahm, the documentation center has its own problems to deal with. It was too small and bursting at the seams, he said. There were also too few qualified personnel and parts of the exhibition were outdated.

"It looks as if we will not be able to sustain the exhibition's scientific and professional standards, as well as the quality of its presentation with these personnel," Dahm said.

Faltlhauser, however, said he was aware of Bavaria's obligation to the site.

"I have been very consistent in my responsibility and will continue to be so," Faltlhauser said.

The ministry said Faltlhauser in May doubled state funding for the site to 320,000 euros ($434,000) and promised further personnel.


DW staff (sac)

Austria probes soldiers making Nazi salutes on YouTube

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian prosecutors are investigating young soldiers seen exchanging Hitler salutes in a video that appeared on the Internet, Defense Minister Norbert Darabos said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Darabos said suspects had been tracked down and were being questioned over the incident in an army barracks in Salzburg, captured by a mobile-phone camera and posted on the video-sharing Web site YouTube.

Any display of Nazi propaganda or symbols is a crime in Austria, which took decades to acknowledge it was more a willing party than a victim of Nazi Germany's Third Reich.

In the video shown on YouTube before being removed, a young man in army uniform marches by and stretches out his right arm in a Hitler salute. A second, shaven-headed soldier does the same, shouting: "Heil Hitler!"

"There is zero tolerance for such actions. Those involved will have to answer to the army and the law and take the consequences," said Darabos, a Social Democrat. State prosecutors had launched an investigation at his request.

Austrian news agency APA quoted Colonel Gerhard Funk at the Salzburg barracks as saying the two soldiers had been interrogated and two others seen in the video watching the spectacle would be questioned as well.

The incident came to light during a visit by Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer to Israel.

Such Nazi-style acts are punishable in the Alpine republic by up to 10 years in prison.


© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.

Swiss party accused of using Nazi techniques

Switzerland's biggest political party was accused of adopting Nazi propaganda techniques in an anti-crime campaign.

The People's Party has run an advertising campaign showing three white sheep on a Swiss flag booting out a black sheep accompanied by the slogan, “For more security.”

The ads are part of the party's attempt to enact the first law in Europe that would punish the immigrant parents of children who commit crimes by ejecting them from the country.

Ronnie Bernheim of the Swiss Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism said the proposal was similar to the Nazi practice of Sippenhaft, or kin liability, which held relatives of criminals responsible for their crimes and punished them equally.


JTA