Keneisha's life does not only revolve around
dancing but also her children Raheem and Alisha.
- ANDREW SMITH/Staff Photographer MY DREAM
When I was a little girl I loved sewing and wanted to be a fashion designer. I still believe it will happen because I will work toward it. I go to sewing class in Spanish Town
Being an exotic dancer is something I do for the easy money to make a living for my children. I could have done something else like working at a supermarket but this pays more and the money is quick.
I am paid $5,000 to dance at Shades exotic club in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, and when I get (private) clients I make at least US$300. I will not stop doing this until I buy a car and finish building my house.
Girls like her are not usually discussed in polite circles. When they are, we dismiss them as cheap and vulgar without hearing their story.
Keneisha Dacres is 19, has two children, and works her body for money. She tells Staff Reporter Nordia Henry her story, although at this point in her life she really doesn't care whether you understand, because she's a survivor.
"I'M A 19-year-old exotic dancer. I enjoy doing it because I'm making honest money. The only regret I have is that as a child I was tossed from place to place like a ragged, rejected toy. Today, as I reflect on the struggles and embarrassment I've endured, I realise that had I got more care and stability from my parents I wouldn't be like this today.
I was born in Thompson Pen, Spanish Town, St Catherine, the second child of my mother who has seven children and my father who has 12. My mother was 19 and unsettled when she had me, so my father took me from her at age four to live with my grandfather and his wife. I lived with them until age 12 when I was expelled from Tredegar Park All-Age School. I was kicked out of school because I broke the arms of a girl I got into a fight with. I pushed her and she fell.
'Mi nuh business wid yuh', my mom said
After that I lived with my grandmother for three years until my father took me away because she treated me badly. There were other children living with her but if they wanted anything at the shop they would send me barefooted in the scorching sun. I also did most of the chores and was blamed for anything that went wrong. When barrels came from abroad, my grandmother would give my cousins the best and would give me the worst clothes.
I told my mother, but she said, 'Mi nuh business wid yuh because dem always cuss me fi yuh.' (My father used to beat her when I lived with her up to age four). So I kept telling my father about what was happening and one day he visited and saw for himself so I went to live with him and my sister.
I went to my first dance, 'Old Clothes Party', because my father bought some good clothes for me and my sister, shortly after I went to live with him, and he sent us to the dance to enjoy ourselves.
How I met Stagalee
My father has a friend called 'Stagalee'. I've known him since I was a little girl. He used to visit the house and after a while people started telling my father that Stagalee and I were friends - which was not true. But one day when we were alone Stagalee told me that he liked me and I felt a little likeness for him too.
One Sunday, after I cooked dinner for him and my father, he went on and on about how the food tasted good. We kissed for the first time that day. I was so excited that I told my sister. After that we kissed at every opportunity until he took my virginity. My father, hearing the rumours, suspected that Stagalee and I were intimate and he used to beat me for that. Still, no matter what he did, he could not stop the feelings Stagalee and I had for each other.
Then one night police broke down the door to our building, but there were only women at home. They told us that if any men had been around they would've died.
Due to the incident my father sent me to live with my aunt and grandmother on
St. John's Road, Spanish Town, for a while. When I came back home, Stagalee was living with another girl. I also got involved with someone else. However, one night Stagalee and I ended up at a dance together and he told me that he still wanted my body. I thought about it for a while and decided that I was
going to give him a little piece. We had sex at the back of a little kitchen while the dance was in session.
I got pregnant and really believed that the baby was for my boyfriend. It turns out that Stagalee's girlfriend was also pregnant at the time and we went to clinic together, unaware that we were pregnant for the same man. She chose to dash wey the baby. I was 16 when my son was born. He resembled my boyfriend - at first. But after awhile the baby started acquiring the features of Stagalee and everything bus' out.
Pregnant again
After the baby was born I lived with my mother who didn't want me because she had a boyfriend who came there to sleep at nights. She used to cuss and tell me to leave. One day, when I was six months pregnant with my second child, she put me and my son out in the pouring rain.
I went to live with my aunt and grandmother. The father of my second baby used to be a taxi driver. I've known him since I was a little girl. He was always very kind to me, taking me wherever I wanted to go, buying me whatever I wanted and giving me money. One Christmas Eve night we had unprotected sex and I got pregnant.
I was hospitalised for a time during my pregnancy but none of my family members visited me in the hospital. I went back to my grandmother and aunt after I left the hospital, but they used to cuss me and one day they put my clothes out on the street. I was taken in by a woman I had befriended. She was helpful and encouraging. Plus, after a while, Stagalee took his son my first-born to live with him and his people so things aren't so bad. The woman who took me in is a positive influence and she and her family take superb care of my daughter."
