Excerpt of a conversation between two female students, about 14 or 15 years old, of Gaynstead High School:
Girl 1 (wearing a red ribbon on her uniform): Bwoy, da ooman weh come a wi school really strong fi tell people seh she have HIV. Mi kyaan believe.
Girl 2 (giggles): If a mi, mi wouldn’ tell nuhbaddy. (lowers her voice) Mi ‘ear mi modda seh ______ fuck ______, an’ ‘im ‘ave AIDS. (pauses) Heh, mi wouldn’ tell a soul.
Girl 1 (fixes her with a pointed look): So what about your partner?
Girl 2 (draws back slowly): Den a which partner woulda gi mi dat? (chuckles) Anyway, da ooman deh really strong.
Girl 1: Eeh-heh.
(Three beats of silence)
Girl 1: But har hair waan do over, tho.
9 Comments
December 4, 2008 at 8:03 pm
There are so many things to be done, but not enough money to do it. Public educations needs more funding to really get the message out there more. However, we have come a long way, with Caribbean Broadcasting putting out several HIV ads on TV that are not superficial, but real life situations with real people. Kudos to them and hopefully, people are watching. I heard the other day that we have less reported cases of HIV/Aids in Jamaica so maybe, just maybe, the message is being heard.
December 5, 2008 at 2:31 am
@ DB & JD Yes, that talk certainly made an impact on those girls, and probably everybody who was there. I guess I am less worried about the discomfort than the denial. But you know what, not all lessons are learned and internalized immediately. So, let me not be too hard on them.
@JD Yuh si since our people miggle name is “Dipeena”, me wi use dat fi take nuff libatty when the situation call fo’. Mostly, its the way you do it; compassion, grace and humour go a long way to putting people at ease. Young people will certainly look at you like you had two heads and a tail, but they also hear and value input that’s not about putting them down, but lifting them up. Sometimes I wish we dipped more constructively and cussed an’ quarrel less.
@ DB – no problem. But missa man, how yuh a come blame di chile modder now? A how she one a di cause o’ di ignorance? Nobody else no deh roun? Alright, alright. So I know that mothers/mother-figures are presumed present and almost always a key adult connection for adolescents in Ja. But I am not so sure that girls (or boys) are getting their core messages and information regarding sexuality from their mothers anymore or at all, and certainly not if they are sexually active. Girl #2 certainly don’t seem comfortable talking about the issue with her peer which leads me to think that she not too upfront in other settings as well. Its peers [like Girl # 1] that are usually the major source of [accurate and inaccurate] information, with family offering either competing or complementary bits. I don’t know what the research currently says about this, but I would certainly like to know.
@Cool Destiny – while I recognize the value of marketing campaigns, I don’t think that’s the only way for public education to happen, especially in a situation where we KNOW we don’t have the money. And as long as sex remains – and is being pushed to remain – a backroom rather than a verandah issue, especially where young people are concerned, then we can’t make the kind of headway we might wish. Still, every little does help. Now, if only we could figure out how to reinforce the message in other ways.
December 6, 2008 at 7:33 pm
It is good that these two girls decided to talk. It has thrown some light on how un-informed they are on matters that they really ought to know a lot about, in order to protect themselves.
Girl #1 seems to be the hyped type who really does not understand the seriousness of getting infected with HIV,
while Girl #2 appears not to be getting informed through
her mother, but is very frightened of what it could be like
if she should get it.
Girl #1 respects the woman for having talked about it, while Girl #2 thinks she shouldn’t. It is people like girl#2 who is dangerous because if she finds herself with it, she would not talk, so the possibility is that she would probably pass it on to anyone who gets involved (sexually)
with her.
Nuff respect to the woman who braved the tempo to go speak to those school children. May God grant her some comfort while she suffers.
December 8, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Funny yet sad. I chalk it up to the recklessness of youth. You think you’re invulnerable. That same girl probably thinks she can’t get pregnant.