Dear Editor,

There is a popular saying that the hallmark of a civilised society is dependent on how it treats its old and young. Today that list can be expanded to include those with different sexual orientation.

The alleged killing of a male cross-dresser because of his sexuality immediately drew the attention of the international community, but the killing of another child in West Kingston did not. Both incidents were revolting and tragic, but the cross-dresser possesses the backing of J-FLAG, the other youngster was just an ordinary Jamaican child.

There were no marches or comment by the international community, who possibly have become accustomed to such atrocities perpetrated against our children. The member of parliament has offered a reward, but who in their right mind will respond to powerful criminal gangs carrying out turf war? The police will patrol the area for a short while, and the known killers will “hibernate” and in a few days return to their killing spree.

A few days ago there was an allegation that two men were found engaging in homosexual acts inside a house. There was a massive turnout of security personnel to prevent citizens from exacting crude justice. Again the State’s response was overwhelming because the perceived fallout would be too injurious to our stature in the world.

We seem to be more concerned with what others think of us rather than what we think of ourselves. The fact that if we treat members of the gay community cruelly it draws international disapproval and damages our image is spurring special attention towards gays. We need to treat the killing of all citizens as a national tragedy regardless of status.

Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) has also found that putting the floodlight of the international community on a subject which embarrasses the Government elicits sharp responses. This move is not to injure Jamaica’s reputation abroad; more so it is a desperate move to ensure the state’s compliance with promises to remove children from state lock-ups. This shouldn’t be necessary given wide local exposure of such happenings, but enough still isn’t enough. The Ministry of Youth and Culture, the Jamaica Coalition on the Rights of the Child, Child Development Agency, and the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) are all local institutions which should effectively protect our children against abuses, but are probably useless against murderers.

Mark Clarke

Siloah, St Elizabeth

mark_clarke9@yahoo.com