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The
leader
of
the
Metropolitan
Community
Churches,
a
worldwide
assembly
of
gay
and
lesbian
congregants,
is
calling
for
an
International
Day
of
Action
Feb.
14
in
response
to
a
bloody
attack
against
three
gay
men
in
Jamaica.
Rev.
Nancy
Wilson
and
leaders
of
the
MCC
are
gathering
GLBT
supporters
and
human
rights
activists
to
protest
at
Jamaican
embassies
around
the
world.
“We’re
just
horrified,”
Wilson
said
of
the
Jan.
29
attack,
which
left
two
men
seriously
injured
with
machete
wounds
and
one
man
presumed
to
be
dead.
The
surviving
victims
reported
that
a
group
of
men
came
to
their
house
in
Mandeville,
Jamaica,
to
demand
that
they
leave
the
community
because
they
were
thought
to
be
gay.
The
men
later
returned
with
a
violent
mob,
which
surrounded
the
house
and
began
throwing
stones
and
breaking
windows.
The
scene
escalated
and
soon
a
group
of
men
broke
into
the
house
wielding
machetes
and
began
attacking
the
men
inside.
The
victims
called
police,
but
authorities
did
not
arrive
until
90
minute
later.
By
then,
two
of
the
men
were
seriously
injured
with
multiple
machete
wounds
and
a
third
man
was
missing.
The
violent
attack
is
the
latest
in
a
long
string
of
homophobic
attacks
in
Jamaica,
an
island
nation
that
is
considered
to
be
the
most
homophobic
country
in
the
world,
according
to
Human
Rights
Watch.
“Roving
mobs
attacking
innocent
people
should
be
the
shame
of
the
nation’s
leaders,”
said
Scott
Long,
director
of
HRW’s
LGBT
Rights
Program.
“Gays
and
lesbians
in
Jamaica
face
violence
at
home,
in
public,
even
in
a
house
of
worship,
and
official
silence
encourages
the
spread
of
hate.”
Wilson
will
make
a
speech
in
front
of
the
Jamaican
consulate
in
Miami
Feb.
14.
She
said
the
action
is
meant
to
pressure
the
Jamaican
government
to
take
the
issue
of
violent
crimes
against
gay
people
seriously.
“There
is
no
support
on
the
ground
for
human
rights
for
gay
people,”
Wilson
said.
“There
is
only
hostility
and
apathy.
The
global
LGBT
community
will
step
up
and
say
it’s
unacceptable
for
people
to
live
with
this
level
of
violence
in
their
own
home.”
Last
year,
the
MCC’s
Sunshine
Cathedral
in
Fort
Lauderdale
launched
the
Sunshine
Cathedral
Jamaica
with
the
help
of
locals
on
the
island.
Sunshine
Cathedral’s
Rev.
Robert
Griffin
said
the
church
has
about
100
members
who
attend
secret
meetings
in
Mandeville,
Ocho
Rios,
Montego
Bay
and
Kingston.
The
members
shuffle
meeting
locations
because
of
the
high
level
of
danger
they
face
if
they
are
outed.
Last
year,
mourners
at
a
gay
man’s
funeral
in
Mandeville
were
harassed
by
a
band
of
thugs
who
threatened
to
kill
them
if
they
did
not
disperse.
“If
anything
is
going
to
[change]
in
Jamaica,
it’s
going
to
happen
through
the
church,”
Griffin
said.
“We
will
act
on
behalf
of
the
[gay
and
lesbian]
Jamaicans
because
they
will
be
killed
if
they
come
out.”
Wilson
said
she
will
continue
to
work
with
other
human
rights
organization
to
bring
international
attention
to
the
atrocities
that
continue
to
occur
on
the
island.
She
is
calling
for
the
government
to
develop
a
national
campaign
in
Jamaica
against
homophobic
violence
and
to
mandate
diversity
training
for
police.
She
is
also
working
with
several
churches
throughout
Jamaica
to
speak
out
for
tolerance
and
acceptance.
“They
need
to
come
out
and
say
enough
is
enough,”
Wilson
said.
Protesters
will
gather
at
11
am,
Thursday,
Feb.
14,
at
the
Jamaican
Consulate,
25
S.E.
2nd
Ave.,
Miami.
A
carpool
from
the
Sunshine
Cathedral
in
Fort
Lauderdale
meets
at
9:30
a.m.
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