I should have stayed away Gay man beaten at dead yard amazed by relatives’ reaction
The gay man who was attacked by family members at his great grandmother’s funeral in Westmoreland recently said it’s not the first time he has been beaten because of his sexuality. The man, who identified himself as K Martin, said that in addition to daily verbal abuse, he has been chopped, stabbed, beaten and has partially lost sight in one of his eyes after his co-workers set a trap for him. But he said that as painful as those may sound, nothing is more hurtful than the beating he got from his own flesh and blood.
BESIDE THE CASKET
“If me did listen to mi mada this would not have reached me because she tell me say me shouldn’t go. Me still go because me a say a me great granny ting and me say me and me partner a go. But by the time mi aunty give me a wreath and say me fi go put it beside the casket, a man walk up to me and lick me on my shoulder,” he said. The 24-year-old said he was also hit in the chest with a gun that belonged to a relative. Martin’s partner suffered head and arm injuries. His aunt, who tried to rescue him, was also chased and threatened by the men who continued to hurl blows at them in the police’s presence.
“All a them a some cousin whe me don’t even know and me don’t do dem a ting. Dem a go tell me say dem no wah no b***y bwoy round dem and me never see dem at all. My partner is even upset because he is saying that I invited him somewhere and my family do him tings. Me feel really bad because to know that we all share the same blood and this happened,” he said.
Martin, who is based in St Ann, said he and his partner were told to leave their residence or they would be killed.
“We are not interfering with anyone. We are supposed to be an educated set of people but nothing has changed,” he said.
In a bid to escape the attacks and insults, Martin said he has stopped working at a hotel and even travels a different route whenever he has to go on the road because “sometimes the youth dem on the street take set on me.”
“I am very good at my job but for the past eight months I cannot work because a few of my co-workers set up a chemical and it spill in my eyes so now I can’t see clearly. But other than that, me just can’t manage the insult dem,” he said.
He said he has attempted suicide.
“Everyone has their life to live and I cannot live another person own or vice versa. It’s full time Jamaicans leave people to be themselves,” he said. even