Caribbean IRN Blog

Left : Cropped image of Mariela Castro in IDAHOT 2017 via Ontop mag, Right : Cropped Image from Bermuda via Caribbean 360 Colin Robinson writes from Trinidad to Guyana to hold out faith  in the leaders and citizens will reject the idea of a referendum to 'legalise homosexuality'. The Attorney General of Guyana and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana had talked about the Government's reluctance to 'legalise homosexuality' In Guyana, the Anglican Diocese convenes its Human Rights & Social Justice Commission which is expected to "work assiduously to confront social issues .. such as discrimination (racial, against persons living with disabilities, sexual orientation and gender identity and torture) ..." A gay  Canadian couple get engaged in Antigua where 'homosexuality is still illegal', while in the Bahamas a gay tourists man is attacked at Junkanoo.  Bermuda will will a llow same sex marriage , after a case which was initiat...

News broke in 2017 of a letter written by 289 Christians to President Donald Trump to shine a moral beam from the City Upon a Hill.  Activists in St Maarten , St Lucia , Guyana and the Bahamas have commented on the letter. The Caribbean is probably sunny and bright enough. Another kind of American interest though, seems to be countering the Pastors as American tourists are said to be 'improving queer life' in Cuba.  T asheka Lavan mourns her birth place Antigu a while on a visit to Cuba. Transit Havana is a film about gender reassignment  in Cuba. In Jamaica, the LGBT citizens are assured of the support of the Canadian Government though Pride walking Prime Minister Trudeau knows that advancing LGBT rights in the Commonwealth is a 'delicate task'.  "This is Who I am"  is another film  about being LGBT in Jamaica. Dancehall and Gay bashing   seem to inspire some International stars according to the Jamaica Observer. Jamaica was al...

Left - from Transmission Gallery, Right from Demerara Waves In Guyana, the Court of Appeal dismisses the appeal on the "cross-dressing" challenge . The same day   Magistrate Dylon Bess refuses entry to Petronella  (Ronel Trotman) - a transender complainant in an assault case - until "she dresses like a man". Petronella is subsequently locked out of the court when the case is dismissed.  All of this would mean more work for the Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton who has committed to leading the ant-discrimination law reform . There is no indication that the Minister would be facilitating meetings  to promote cohesion between the Magistrate Bess and the citizens who have been refused entry to the courtroom.  In Guyana also, SASOD has launched a campaign against anti-LGBT hate speech and music on radio. In Suriname, the Government has filed an appeal against the Court decision to recognise transgender Yvanna Hilton as a woman In Trinidad and...

L - Caleb Orozco from Pink News, C- Yvanna Hilton and Audrey Tjong a Sie from DWT , R - Winston Godwin and Greg De Rouche from The Royal Gazette In Suriname,  transgender citizen Yvanna Hilton has won the right to change her gender at the Census Office after a year long court battle. In Bermuda, preservers of marriage continue to pray as the court hears the case brought by Winston Godwin and Greg De Roche . Caleb Orozco from   Belize collects the 2017 David Kato Vision and Voice Award in the UK. See his speech on Youtube There is news from Cuba that activist  Nelson Gandulla Díaz is harassed and prevented from leaving the country. There is no news of Mariela Castro's response. The Jamaica Star reports that Mayor of Maypen , Winston Maragh is concerned about a gang of homosexuals warring with a gang of heterosexuals.  The J amaica Star also reports on the launch of Outpages, whose developers failed to respond to request for interviews. In Cayman ...

On Left - image from thepolitic.org , Right - image from San Pedro Sun Divergence Recent votes at the United Nations on the role and function of the SOGI expert show the tendency of the Caribbean to keep voting against gay rights at the UN. Global politics might be the reason as countries like Suriname which does not criminalise homosexuality and Guyana where the political parties committed to equality for all in the last elections seemed to succumb to things other than family values and colonial culture . Trinidadian Colin Robinson writes about being   thrown out of a meeting he was invited to by the Office of the Prime Minister.  He and others protested the lack of representation of communities affected by HIV/AIDS on the National AIDS Co-ordinating Committee. Jamaica continued to provide nuances to the story of the homophobic Caribbean. J FLAG celebrated its 18th Anniversary at the US Embassy in Jamaica, while Jamaican refugee Gareth Henry tells his story of ...

(Left - Curaçao  Pride Walk 2016 image from Curaçao Chronicle ; Right -Coming Out Week Suriname by Regilio Derby on  Dagbland Suriname   "We are all God's Children' is the headline given to a letter from Retired Ugandan Anglican Bishop Christopher Senyonjo  appealing for religious people to recognise diversity in human sexuality. He had joined in the celebration of   Montego Bay Pride Curaçao Pride was described as a great succe ss, with a series of events including a huge Pride Walk. Suriname's Coming Out Week was also described as a success. In Dominica, Opposition Senator Isaac Baptiste calls for decriminalization of buggery (while also appearing to oppose the criminalization of marital rape). The Government of Belize decides to appeal the judgement in Orozco vs A.G of Belize   on two grounds while in Guyana , the hearing on the cross dressing appeal has been delayed. Grenadians are reassured that  there will be no same-sex...

Flag of Belize Six years after Caleb Orozco went to court in Belize to challenge s53 of its Criminal Code , the Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin handed down a decision.  Section 53 makes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature’, which includes anal sex, a crime punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. The court ruled that s53 is unconstitutional. The Government of Belize and the opposition agree to leave the decision alone. Some of the Christian groups want to appeal. The case had its own Caribbean integration nuance - in addition to the parties from Belize, the Guyana born Judge and the legal advisory team which included lawyers from Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Guyana and other places. The press conference after th e decision is reported by 7 News and available in the video . The Jamaica Gleaner publishes an editorial on the decision and in another editorial, e ndorses Maurice Tomlinson's case against the Jamaican buggery laws. J-FLAG reports tha...