- CARLINGTON WILMOT/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
Jenny Cameron mother of the late Michael Gayle.Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
UP UNTIL August 21 1999, Jenny Cameron fit the profile of many women in inner-city Kingston - a 'struggler' doing 'day's work' to provide for her family.
But that day, Michael Gayle, the second of her six children, was beaten by members of the security forces in the community of Olympic Gardens where his family lives.
The mentally-challenged man, whom it is alleged attempted to breach a curfew manned by the security forces, died from his injuries at the Kingston Public Hospital two days later. Since then, his mother's life has not been the same.
"Mi don't have nuh privacy anymore, but because of the child that I lost, I have to keep doing it," Ms. Cameron, now 56, told The Sunday Gleaner last week. "The public have the right to know what happened ... There should be no cover up."
The Michael Gayle case became a flashpoint for human rights in Jamaica. His cause was championed by Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ), a fledgling advocacy group who have kept the case in the local spotlight and brought it to the attention of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
On November 10, the IACHR's report on the Michael Gayle incident was released, more than three years after JFJ made them aware of the case. The group condemned the Jamaican Government's handling of the matter, saying it should apologise publicly to Mr. Gayle's family and offer monetary compensation to Ms. Cameron for 'moral damages.'
One week later, Attorney General, Senator A.J. Nicholson, launched his own broadside against the IACHR. He said that Mr. Gayle's death was "deeply regrettable" but added that the Government had already apologised for the tragic incident and paid his family almost $3 million.
Two days before Senator Nicholson's remarks, Ms. Cameron, a slim, soft-spoken woman, welcomed the IACHR statement. But she said she cannot be at peace until her son's killers are convicted, even if it means going through another six years of legal battles.
"The sooner they close this case, I will be looking into a different world because that sore inside can't heal until my son get justice," she said.
RESPONSIBLE
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Kent Pantry, ruled that no one was criminally responsible for Mr. Gayle's death. Last Thursday, Mr. Nicholson said the decision of the DPP should be respected and not second guessed. Government interference, he said, would be "problematic".
Dr. Carolyn Gomes, executive director of JFJ, said she was "deeply disappointed" by the minister's statement. She chided the government for not acting on some of the IACHR recommendations which include reopening investigations into the Gayle case.
Furthermore, she said the State had not apologised to his family.
"An apology must be made to the person who has been wronged and that is Miss Jenny and that has not happened," she said. "It's a question of honour and integrity."
In December 2004, when Government offered Mr. Gayle's family $1 million, Ms. Cameron said she had no choice but to accept it as after five years of court appearances, her legal fees had mounted.
At present, she works at the Faith Cathedral Deliverance Centre at Waltham Park Road where she is a member. She says she has always been close to the church but having children out of wedlock prevented her from attaining full membership.
Working to maintain six children also made life difficult.
Ms. Cameron hails from Sanguinetti, a district in Clarendon near to the Manchester border. Her first three children were born there but she moved to Olympic Gardens, a tough area in St. Andrew, while they were still infants.
Michael, she explained, was a normal youth who earned a living working at construction sites. However, in the last two years of his life, he experienced bouts of depression for which he received medication.
"He was a good child. The only time he and I quarrelled was when he didn't take his medication," said Ms. Cameron.
On the evening of his confrontation with the security forces, Mr. Gayle had not taken his medication. After being alerted of the incident by a neighbour, Ms. Cameron remembers rushing to the scene where she saw her eldest son beaten and in a "desperate" state.
She says she still has flashbacks to that evening but her Christian faith prevents hatred from overwhelming her.
"Sometimes I see a policeman drive past and I say to myself, 'Look at him and my son is murdered and no questions answered'," she said. "But then, I remember it's another woman's child and it makes no sense hating him."
