ΠΕΡΗΦΑΝΕΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΚΑΤΑΛΗΨΗ ΣΤΟΥΣ ΤΡΟΠΙΚΟΥΣ ΠΑΡΑΔΕΙΣΟΥΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΑΡΑΪΒΙΚΗΣ

.

Pride and prejudice in tropical paradise Gay island travelers sometimes face violence, protests

By PHIL LAPADULA

Five days after two gay American tourists were left with fractured skulls after being brutally beaten with tire irons in an anti-gay attack on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, the island’s daily newspaper published an editorial that condoned violence against gays and blamed the victims for the attack.

The editorial writer for the publication, called Today, referred to the victims as “faggots,” “homos” and “silly homosexuals.”

“This editorial is so grotesquely defamatory that it almost defies description,” wrote Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, on the group’s website. “This is the kind of malignant bigotry — pure, unfiltered hate — that leads to and causes violence.”

Gay and lesbian travelers to the tropics have discovered, often the hard way, that in many of these islands of paradise, the blatant homophobia in that editorial is all too commonplace — and can lead to violence.

Police now have three suspects in custody in the St. Maarten beating, but they are not believed to be the ones who actually wielded the tire irons, according to Taco Stein, public prosecutor and spokesperson for the government of St. Maarten.

Stein said he has asked the chief of police to investigate his officers’ response to the incident. Witnesses said the police were slow to respond and did not take any statements at the scene or on the night of the incident.

Widespread anti-gay attacks

But St. Maarten is certainly not the flagship nation in the Caribbean when it comes to anti-gay violence. According to international human rights groups, that title belongs to Jamaica.

The island known for jerk chicken and actor Errol Flynn is also known for its “state-sponsored” anti-gay violence and harassment, according to Human Rights Watch.

In a lengthy report titled “Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence & Jamaica’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic,” released in 2004, HRW documented numerous cases of harassment, beatings and murders motivated by anti-gay hatred in Jamaica, including incidents in which police officers participated in attacks or refused to investigate.

On June 9, 2004, Brian Williamson, Jamaica’s leading gay rights activist, was stabbed to death in his home. After his body was discovered, a smiling man called out, “Battyman [homosexual] he get killed!” according to a HRW researcher who was at the scene. Others in a crowd that gathered at the murder scene laughed and said, “That’s what you get for sin,” and “Let’s kill all of them,” according to the report.

On June 18, 2004, a mob chased and “chopped, stabbed and stoned to death” a man perceived to be gay in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Gay-friendly Curacao

But not all tropical islands are so hostile to gay and lesbian travelers. In fact, at least one is making a concerted effort to reach out to gay tourists.Located in the same sun-drenched sea as Jamaica, but oceans away in its attitude toward gays, is the Dutch island of Curacao, an oasis of live-and-let-live friendliness located off the coast of Venezuela.

In January 2005, Curacao launched a website to promote the island to gay tourists.
Still, Curacao is an exception. Most islands offer few if any venues that cater specifically to gays, such as gay bars or guesthouses, according to gay travel companies. Puerto Rico, which is known for its infrastructure of gay properties and bars, is a notable exception.

For the most part, the tropics appeal to gay travelers who enjoy diving, snorkeling, sailing and windsurfing, according to John Tanzella, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association in Fort Lauderdale.

In addition, there is the less-than-friendly reception that gay cruise ship visitors have received on some islands. In recent years, anti-gay protesters have greeted gay cruise ship passengers in the Bahamas on more than one occasion.

The government of Nevis refused to allow a gay ship to dock there last year, aand the Cayman Islands refused to allow an Atlantis gay ship to call in 1998. Three years later, however, the Caymans’ government passed a nondiscrimination policy that allows gay ships to call at the port.

1 – Jamaica:June 9, 2004—Brian Williamson, a gay rights activist, was murdered in his home. The attack was just one of numerous anti-gay attacks, including police abuse of gay residents and AIDS educators, according to Human Rights Watch.

2 - Puerto Rico:This island is one of the few places in the tropics with gay-specific venues, such as guesthouses and bars.

3 - St. Maarten:April 6, 2006 – Two CBS News employees, Dick Jefferson and Ryan Smith, are beaten with tire irons in an anti-gay attack outside a bar.

4 – Bahamas:July 16, 2004 – About 100 proteste????rs confront gay and lesbian passengers as they disembark from the Norwegian Dawn. The cruise, chartered by R Family Vacations, carried 1,600 adults and children including former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell. Similar anti-gay protesters have greeted other gay cruises in recent years. But the government of the Bahamas has said that everyone is welcome.

5 - Cayman Islands

• 1998 – Cayman Islands turns away an Atlantis lesbian cruise.

• 2001 – The Cayman Islands government changes its policy and agrees to allow gay ships.

• Jan. 30, 2006 – An Atlantis ship with 3,000 gay and lesbian passengers docks without incident on Grand Cayman despite protests from the Cayman Ministers’ Association, which tried to persuade the government to deny the ship entry.

6 – Curacao:The government recently launched a gay tourist outreach program, which includes ads in gay publications.