Beloved AIDS Bahama AIDS Activist Wellington Adderley Murdered.

My Bahamian HIV positive musician friend, Andrew Jones, has informed me that the very beloved AIDS activist Wellington Adderley, administrator for the AIDS Foundation for the Bahamas, has been found murdered. Andrew, who is traveling right now, is devastated.

Wellington was one of the first persons with AIDS who freely came out both with his disease and being gay, and who has worked tirelessly, both at the community level and in the media to bring attention to the disease in the Bahamas.

He's the kind of person who cannot be replaced. His work and the respect afforded him in the Bahamas was legendary. Here is the link to the news story.

I also did a little poking around on some of the Bahamian discussion boards and discovered that there is a level of anxiety and fear in the community as he's the third murder of a high profile gay man in recent times. On the street, they think there's a serial killer, but the police are saying there is no evidence the crimes were related. However, these three killings happened within blocks of one another.

Still, it is not easy to be out in the Bahamas. So, Wellington's courage stood above most others as he presented a face to the people of the island and fought vigorously for education and care. There are places on this planet where visibility can mean death.

According to the article:

Inspector Wright said there was no evidence that the murder was connected to the November 2007 murders of fashion designer Harl Taylor and College of The Bahamas Dean Dr. Thaddeus McDonald.

The bodies of those two prominent Bahamians were also found in their homes, which coincidently are not too far away from Delancy Street.

Mr. Adderley was regarded as a well-respected HIV/AIDS activist in the community and in the Caribbean region.

In addition to serving as the administrator for the AIDS Foundation, he was director of the Bahamas National Network for Positive Living.

Some of Mr. Adderley’s relatives and colleagues were on the scene when authorities removed his body from his home.

They wept at the site.

"He was the greatest person to work with and a jewel," said Nurse Rosemae Bain, an official at the Bahamas AIDS Secretariat.