I am currently a student at the mona campus of the University of the West Indies here in Jamaica, where i study International Relations and Economics. I have to admit that my involvement in SRHR advocacy over the past year and a half, has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of my life to date. Nothing gives me more sense of purpose than knowing that i am able to contribute so much to improving the reproductive health status of the young people of my country especially, given the nexus between this issue and Jamaica's future development. When i am not studying or working on SRHR projects, i am enjoy laughs with my friends, liming on facebook...lol, at some event networking or doing some independent research. I am currently aspiring to become an ambassador and i am indeed grateful for the opportunity that Advocates for Youth is giving me to hone and develop the requisite diplomatic relations skills. Being apart of the IYAN and the various projects of Advocates is a life changing experience indeed.
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Jamaican mothers and their newborns who would under any other circumstances, have been granted medical staff visits from our hospitals, are being denied this access on account of the where they live. I was shocked when i learnt of this situation, as while i expected this to be the case in Jamaica twenty years ago, i had no idea that in this age of perceived development and progress, our women are having to deal with what i consider to be the height of inequity.
In an article published in the Jamaica Gleaner last week entitled, Wrong Address;Many Jamaicans Still Denied Jobs and Services Because of Where they live, the case of a young couple from the innercity community of Marverly, was highlighted. The young mother, distressed by the reality she is forced to contend with, pointed to the fact that not everyone will be able to afford to visit the health facility with their newborn upon giving birth, to get the medication they need. She alluded to the obvious injustice of being denied access to the very essential services that she contributed her tax dollars towards.
Why did i cry when he told me he was gay? This is the question that i have been pondering ever since a very good friend of mine said yes when i asked him if he were gay. I have never in a million years dreamt that this would have been my reaction to anyone affirming this sexual orientation but last night, not only did i cry but i was awashed with sadness, grief, nausea and i felt depressed even.
Why was this though? At best i think that i'm one of the most tolerant individuals a gay person could find in this largely homophobic Jamaican society. Granted, i have never knowingly had a gay friend before so the experience is a new one. But why is it that my impulse reaction is a defensive one? Why was i so confused about how to treat the situation? Why was i even forced to reconsider my stance on the issue of whether it is ok, even in the sight of God, to be gay?
Talking to my daddy about it never helped matters. He inadvertently chided me for associating with 'people like those' and strongly feels that my friend should be shot. He was echoing a sentiment that resonates throughout the Jamaican populace as it relates to the perceived "punishment" for being gay. This friend is an awesome person...he is bright, ambitious, hardworking and i literally look up to him and try to emulate his attitude towards work and achieving the most in life. Would i really want this fate to be meted out on him? No.
My mind then went back to a conversation i had with my boyfriend earlier. He detests gay people as well and at the time when we spoke, i understood why. He's so cute he sometimes looks pretty. He's disgruntled because gay men are always making advances at him and the mere thought disgusts him. He likes his hair long, i'd like his hair to be long too...but he's had to always wear his hair low because walking around with long hair only exacerbates the situation.
As i write this blog, i'm beginning to garner some clarity on this question of why i cried. I cried because i would not want my friend to be harrassed or even killed for being gay. At the same time, I cried because i would never want my brother or boyfriend to be harrassed by gay men or to be forced to give up doing the things they love just so that they can avert drawing any attention to themselves. I cried because i am in the midst of this debacle without any idea of what i am going to do, when i have to make a decision among the people i care about.
I can imagine the agony that persons caught in a similar quandary are having to endure. I think i might even have to seek counselling. Do i really have to make a decision?.....the confusion lingers.
As part of our activities for Jamaica's observation of Safer Sex Week last week, I along with two other J-STAR council members and staffer Sasha Small, visited the local Women's Centre in St. Andrew, Jamaica, with the aim of increasing the awareness of the students at the centre of safer sex practices and issues surrounding the same. Women Centres in Jamaica are special schools operated by the Women's Centre Foundation of Jamaica that seek to offer counselling services and tangible support for teenage mothers. Family planning is a critical component to the overall counselling progamme and the girls are informed about all the available methods of contraception as often as possible, especially in light of the fact that 'second' pregnancies among this grouping remains rather high, with contraceptive failure being the most common reason cited. A second pregnancy is one which occurs before the girl completes her secondary level education on her return to school.
An additional benefit to be garnered from these centres by pregnant teenagers, is an opportunity to be tutored in the same subjects that they would have been persuing, had they not dropped out of school.They were tutored in English Language, English Literature, Social Studies, Principles of Accounts, Integrated Science, Information Technology, Food and Nutrition, Home Economics, Office Administration, and Biology. This opportunity allows these students to sit their final exams like their peers enrolled in the public schools, thereby giving them a chance to get back on their feet.
I recently read an article by way of Amplify entitled " Condoms: Recession Proof" wherein several arguments were cited in purporting that the recession, in effect, could actually spell something good for safer sex endorsements. The article posited that in light of the existent polical climate, individuals, upon doing a cost benefit analysis of their options, will no doubt opt for activites that will cost them less in pursuit of their romantic endeavors. Sex is free for one and secondly staying home and enjoying each other's comp[any would turn out to be less expensive than going out on a date. Thirdly, person will take into consideration how unwise it would be to have a child in the face of our economic hardships.
Upon reading this article i was immediately reminded of an incident that occured on my campus, The University of the West Indies, yesterday. A friend of mine and i were leaving one of the halls of residence when another student, upon passing us exclaimed (in Jamaican Patois), " *@!&*!, a so safe sex expensive?" "Mi jus' buy waan pac' a condom a wile ago a Den an' i' caas mi $180.00!!" The student was complaining about how expensive safe sex was after purchasing a pack of condoms from a popular grocery outlet on campus, for what he deemed to be an exorbitant price for a student's pocket.
(The following is part of Jamaica's Safer Sex Week Blogathon)
The Jamaican entertainment fraternity is now abuzz with discussions on whether the Jamaica Broadcasting Commission's decision to ban all sexually explicit songs from the airwaves, was prudent or just plain discriminatory. These sexually explicit songs, more commonly known in the Jamaican Dancehall sphere as " Daggering Songs", were banned from the airwaves on Friday, February 6, 2009, with official sanctions to be imposed on any media house that refuse to conform to the dictates of the Commision's pronouncements. Daggering songs essentially feature expresssions with highly potent sexual content and accompanying dance moves that entail a male and a female dancing in various positions fit for any Karma Sutra manual. While some persons view this move as an attack on Dancehall Music (a popular genre of music in Jamaica), it is evident that such songs have evoked the ire of many concerned citizens who view these songs as a major influence on young people's decision to partake in risky sexual behaviour.
