Seven Green Bottles Standing on the Wall...

“One by one, Caribbean AIDS activists are murdered!”

There are the chilling words and possible warning of Richard Stern - Director of Aqua Buena Human Rights Association, in reference to the recent murder of Bahamian HIV/AIDS Advocate Solomon Wellington Adderly.

Stern adds, “Wellington's murder is just latest in a pattern that has continued during many years. At the same time, gay and HIV positive tourists from the US, Canada, and Europe flock to the beaches of these countries, blissfully unaware that their local counterparts live in constant fear and terror, under archaic laws that penalize consenting adult homosexuality and provide tacit justification for these killings.”

Solomon’s fully clothed body was found in a pool of blood in his apartment on Delancy Street, Nassau, around 2:45 pm on Monday 26 May, 2008. An autopsy report revealed that he died from multiple stab wounds, primarily to the neck area.

To date there have been no prosecutions surrounding his violent and untimely death. What is certain is that our region has lost another champion and passionate advocate in the fight against stigma and discrimination directed at people living with AIDS and HIV.

Solomon Wellington Adderly served as the Bahamas AIDS Foundation’s administrator and was very active in the Bahamian community as well as the Caribbean region. He was the charter president of Bahamas National Network for Positive Living, a member of The Bahamas Human Rights Network, a charter member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Bahamas Chapter, a judge for the National Junkanoo Committee, and a member of Bethel Baptist Church.

In the Caribbean region he was a board member of Caribbean Regional Network for Positive Living, founding member of the Caribbean Treatment Action Group and the International Preparedness Coalition Regional Network (organizations dedicated to assisting the fight against HIV and AIDS and advocating for the rights of persons living with HIV and AIDS in the region). He travelled the world representing The Bahamas at HIV and AIDS conferences and networking with other community activists.

Mr. Adderley was generous and caring to those in need and always willing to defend the rights of the downtrodden.

The foundation said in a statement that he was active in the discharge of the organization’s goal of educating the public about HIV and AIDS, "He knew that the reduction of the incidence of HIV and AIDS and the accompanying prejudice would only be realized through education and awareness in the wider community."

The statement continued, "…He was generous and caring to those in need and always willing to defend the rights of the downtrodden. Mr. Adderley would not tolerate injustice and prejudice. He was determined and dedicated to the creation of a better Bahamas.”

Condolences and outcry poured in from organisations and individuals around the world, in shock, sorrow and outrage. Many are concerned that investigations in the Caribbean into the murders of men rumoured to be homosexual are often treated superficially and, in many instances, little or nothing materializes from these investigations.

Richard Stern is not so tolerant or silent of such practises and human rights infringements, he states, “High level officials in governments, and even in regional and international organizations focusing on AIDS such as CARICOM and others, continue to remain passive, collecting their salaries, and occasionally murmuring inaudible and inconsequential condolences about these tragedies. These government officials and their regional counterparts working allegedly to stem the epidemic are cowards. They could use their combined influence and power and publicly demand that archaic laws against homosexuals finally be eliminated, but they are silent. They could label these crimes as hate crimes and demand that laws be passed in their own countries against such crimes, but they don't. They could speak out and demand that international investigations into these deaths take place, because local police are as homophobic as the perpetrators of these crimes themselves, and are unwilling and incapable of responding to these murders.”

Though some time has passed, MSMNPA again expresses our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Solomon. We also urge anyone who may have any information or knowledge about this incident to report it to the relevant authorities.

//DENI
References: Bahamas Journal June 3rd, 2008
Al rights reserved.

 

 

 

Murdered HIV AIDS Activists

2005. Steve Lenford Harvey.
Country: Jamaica.
Affiliated Organisation: Jamaica AIDS Support (JAS).

For more than a decade, Harvey was a leader in the struggle to defend the health and human rights of people living with and at high risk of HIV/AIDS. He worked with Jamaica AIDS Support since 1997, and represented the interests of marginalized people and people living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica and throughout the region.

Harvey, 30, was found dead early in the morning of November 30, 2005. According to Jamaican police, at least four assailants forced their way into Harvey’s home when he returned from work around 1 a.m. They tied up Harvey and two people staying with him, stole a number of their possessions, and abducted Harvey in the company car. Harvey was found with gunshot wounds in his back and head in rural area miles from his home.

2004. Brian Williamson.
Country: Jamaica.
Affiliated Organisation: Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG).

Williamson the founder of JFLAG was among the first Jamaicans to speak out against discrimination against gays and people with HIV/AIDS, regularly giving television and radio interviews without using a pseudonym or masking his identity. He was also known for providing safe meeting spaces for gays and lesbians.

Williamson was found butchered at his home in the upscale New Kingston area on June 9 2004. According to police reports, the 59-year-old was stabbed and chopped some 70 times in his apartment in New Kingston. Williamson's confessed murderer, Dwight Hayden, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after fifteen years.