Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter

Shellesha Woodstock, the 19-year-old who recently gave birth to her daughter on a Cayman Airways flight en route to Jamaica, is now finding it difficult to register her child.

Ms. Woodstock yesterday told The Gleaner she was told by local authorities that her baby, Lateisha Julene Clarke, could not be registered on the island, as the baby was not born on Jamaican soil.

The first-time mother said this has only added to her problems as her baby is now one month old and still not registered.

"I am worried because I want the baby to get registered as soon as possible," she said.

When The Gleaner contacted Dr. Patricia Holness, chief executive officer of the Registrar General Department (RGD), she said the office was currently awaiting verification as to where the child was actually born.

"We (RGD) are quite happy to register the child, as long as we can verify under the Registry Act of Jamaica that the child was born under our jurisdiction," said Dr. Holness.

She said, at present, there is still a level of uncertainty as to where the birth took place, whether it was Jamaica, The Cayman Islands or over international space.

International space issue

According to Dr. Holness, based on international law, if the child was born over international space then it would be registered in the country of the carrier on which the birth took place. However, if the child was born over Jamaican waters, then it will be registered here in Jamaica.

Captain Kris Bertram, vice-president of Cayman Airways Limited (CAL) and the captain who happened to be in charge of Flight 600 on which baby Lateisha was born, told The Gleaner the birth took place some 15-18 minutes after the plane departed The Cayman Islands.

"The baby was born en route to Jamaica," said Capt. Bertram in a telephone conversation yesterday. According to the captain, the flight was scheduled to depart The Cayman Islands at 7:00 a.m., but left at 7:10 instead.

"The baby was born around midpoint the flight and we landed in Montego Bay approximately 10-12 minutes after the birth," he said.

Donnie Dixon of The Cayman Islands General Registry yesterday told The Gleaner that his office was also awaiting the results of the investigations being conducted by The Cayman Islands government and the Jamaican Consulate before a decision as to where the child was born is made.

"We won't make any assumptions," he said. "We have referred the case to our legal department for an opinion and will act based on their recommendations."

athaliah.reynolds.gleanerjm.com