Shaquille Romblay
J-FLAG
Jamaica
The time is indeed drawing near. I will soon be flying off to Kingston, Jamaica. I honestly feel like there is nothing in this world that can prepare me for this journey. In life there are some things that you have the opportunity to properly prepare for. I don’t believe this is one of them.
How can I prepare to live on an island where individuals are heavily disenfranchised? How does one prepare to live on an island where many individuals openly advocate for the murder of queer individuals?
Vasuki Nesiah’s human rights seminar this semester has been very helpful. I learned that it is heavily important for an individual to conduct a vast amount of research on the place they plan on revolutionizing. In other words, “back ground the background.” Coming into the seminar, I was heavily optimistic: I believed I had the power to change the lives of all the gay people who live on the island. However, through the seminar, I learned that it will not be so simple: queer issues are not even viewed as a human rights issue on the island! I guess my first step should be finding a way to communicate to everyone on the island that queer lives indeed matter.
I will be leaving in June and coming back home in August. I have been frequently communicating with my host organization to make sure that I am as situated as possible and also make sure that I am making the best decisions. My biggest concern is safety. Therefore, my host organization will be picking me up from the airport.
I will be renting a single room for my two-month stay. Trust me, I am a boy who loves his space, but I’m not sure if I want that single! I would rather have the opportunity to be around another individual, and I pray that I am able to make a friend who will guide me and be my support system while I am on this foreign island.
Although I fear loneliness, a part of me wants to leave my technological devices at home. While in Jamaica, I want to be in the moment. I want to work as hard as possible to discover ways that I can help queer individuals on the island. I want the experience to both move me and shape me.