Gay squatter dilemma

By Robert Lalah

When a demolition crew showed up at Millsborough, St Andrew, last week to level the house that had been captured by a group of lawless homosexuals, residents of the community were understandably relieved.

The stories of the squatters publicly cavorting, sometimes naked, other times nearly so, and, by some accounts, trading their bodies for money, make you realise that this group would have been a nuisance nearly anywhere.

Imagine living close to a house where that had been happening for several months. That the community folk resisted the urge to round up a mob, grab pitch forks and burning stakes to take matters into their own hands, Salem style, is commendable.

The demolition of the house will, hopefully, bring some serenity back to that area.

The question that is left hanging, though, is, what next? Members of the demolition crew were quoted in a Gleaner story saying that on the morning they went to flatten the house, roughly a dozen of the flamboyant squatters left the property and were last seen heading "down the road".

So, where will they go now? It's safe to assume, given trends of the past few years, that these men have a preference for the more affluent St Andrew neighbourhoods. There have been reports that a few sought haven on nearby Dewsbury Avenue, but the cops are already on their tail. Will they move on to an empty house in Norbrook? Or, perhaps a vacant lot in Jack's Hill?

Something tells me it won't be long before we find out. Levelling the house in Millsborough fixed that specific situation, but the problem is far from solved.

Since the issue of this roving band of homeless homosexuals first gained national attention a few years ago, all we've heard is how complicated the situation is. We've learned about the challenges the police face trying to keep them locked up. We've listened to community members talk about the trouble they cause. We've watched reports of chases, close calls and last-minute rescues when ticked off residents have tried to take the law into their own hands.

But there's been little if any action aimed at coming up with a sustainable solution. So, now we're left wondering, what will be the next chapter in this sordid saga? It seems to me that if all we keep doing is chasing these men from house to house, community to community, the problem will never really go away.

Plus, as they run out of options, aren't they likely to get more desperate and depraved? There have been reports that some of these men have been warned not to return to the communities where they were raised. They've been told they'll be killed if they do.

So, they can't go back home (one who did so was attacked and battered), they certainly can't keep squatting on people's properties, the police say their hands are tied, and the State has done little to intervene. And that's where, apparently, we're stuck. Inertia. No closer to a solution than before the walls of the Millsborough house came tumbling down.

I suppose this shouldn't come as a surprise, though. Not only are these men squatters, they're also rowdy and, horror of horrors, gay. If we have so many children on street corners and at traffic lights begging for money, and all we've really, as a nation done is say, 'My, that's a pity', what do we expect to happen to these guys?

The outlook isn't particularly encouraging, to say the least. Maybe we can hope that somehow, someday we'll see the light and realise that we in Jamaica need to start tackling some uncomfortable issues, like intolerance and homelessness.

But until then, what do we do? Should we just hope that this group of men don't turn up next to our homes? Should we only be concerned with this matter when it's actually on our own doorsteps? That seems to be the way to go.

So, for now, I'll just keep watch on my neighbour's home. As long as all is well there, that's all I need to be concerned about. That's the Jamaican way, after all.

Robert Lalah is features editor and author of the popular 'Roving with Lalah'. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com.