CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 133

I

magine when she calls on a student whose
name is Shetania to answer a question.
How would you react in this setting? What
if Shetania decides to introduce herself
to you for the first time?

“Hi, my name is Shetania.”

Saddened in school
Shetania Myles, a former student of the Johnathan
Grant High School in St. Catherine, explained
her high school ordeal involving all of these
implications to CARIMAC Times.
“I hated school,” were the three words Myles
repeated throughout the interview.

How would you respond?
I observed people being baffled, shocked and
disgusted when 24-year-old Shetania Myles
introduced herself. Some people laughed and
attempted to repeat what they heard but could
only manage to say ‘Sh*t’.
She is one of many who have to endure the
consequences of having an uncommon name.
Several CARIMAC Times interviews found that
some parents are adamant on being creative,
especially when it comes to naming their
children. They attempt to create names they
believe are unique. But to some individuals,
this is creativity gone awry, as some children
are left to bear the consequences of having an
uncommon name.
Although article seven of the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) —
ratified by Jamaica two years later — states that
every child should be registered immediately
after birth and shall have the right from birth
to a name, there is no article giving that child
the right to a name free from ridicule. Children
are made to face social, psychological and
educational implications simply because of
their name.

“The students were mean. They would call me
all sorts of things like sh*t, Sh*tpanya and then
laugh. They were awful,” she recalled.
Myles shared that her social life was negatively
impacted because of her name and the kind
of ridicule it allowed for.
“Being five feet, nine inches tall and weighing
267 pounds with that name ... you won’t have
much friends,” Myles said in a soft voice.
Myles set the scene of an experience she
had in high school when she was jeered and
compared to filth.
She described the environment as sunny and
windy and remembered it was lunchtime. She
said she walked towards the playing field to
gather with some of her classmates who were
already engrossed in a happy conversation, but
the joke was on her.
As she approached the group of grade eight
male and female students, they started pointing
at her and shouted, through giggles, that she
was the ‘doo-doo’ [filth] girl.

129