Seven years ago, my fight for queer liberation in notoriously homophobic Jamaica culminated in a violent and brutal unlawful arrest and detention.
This was the peak of decades of persecution due to my sexual orientation and work as a queer human rights defender and activist.
It completely broke me and silenced me. I suffered severe emotional trauma, from which I am still recovering years later. Following that life-threatening arrest, I became a shell of who I once was.
I cut off communication with my community for several years, unable to face my fear of the police and the hostility of the world around me.