CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 141

they have attached to their children can have.
They become far removed from the situations
their children endure daily. And, as their
children grow more resentful, their relationship
increasingly suffer.
CARIMAC Times spoke with the parents of
Lejohndy Facey, Shetania Myles, Janrameish and
Deadranne Baston, and Othniel Williams. They
all stated that they had did not think the name
they chose or created would affect the child.
After becoming aware of the challenges the
children faced, all except one of these parents
held firmly to the view that they would not
change the name of their child. Despite their
child’s clear dislike for the name, it would
remain because they, the parent ‘love it’.
One parent, Lisa Cowan, said she got ‘Othniel’
from the Bible, and she would not change it
because it is unique.
“While I was pregnant, I saw the name in Judges
and I liked it, because the spelling was different,”
Cowan justified.

extensively on my name. They asked questions
like ‘what does your name mean, where did you
get it?’ And, if I like it and so forth …” Baston said.
There was a similar case for his sister, Deadranne
Baston, who is majoring in Gender and
Development at the UWI, Mona. She said she
had experienced a case where her employer only
considered her for a job as a sales representative
because of her name.
“One interviewer said she hired or shortlisted
me because of my name; she was curious to
meet me,” Baston said.
“I wasn’t happy about it, as I believe that people
should employ me based on their belief in my
potential, and not my name. And then I thought,
if that wasn’t my name, would I have got the job?”
They continue to navigate their lives and deal
with the repercussion of their names, their
burden.

However, Sandra Crawford, Deadranne Baston’s
mother, said she would have changed the name
if she knew her daughter was negatively affected.
Their names followed them outside the classroom
and into the working world.
Janrameish Baston, an electrician, said his
interviewers, at the time he was seeking
employment, were more interested in his name
than his abilities.
“During the interview, they would quiz me

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