Dear Editor,

It is another day, and once again we are running around the track, passing the baton to another generation to experience issues associated with fatherlessness.

It is no secret that crime and violence is Jamaica’s number one problem, and it also follows suit that males are the number one perpetrators of crime and violence in Jamaica.

In one of the biggest gang trials that is now at the sentencing stage at the Supreme Court in Kingston, the issue of absentee fathers is heading the defence’s mitigation pleas for the convicted members of the Klansman gang. Fifteen members of the gang, fourteen men and one woman, were found guilty of being a part of a criminal organisation.

The title of “single mother” is often bandied about and worn like a medal around the necks of some mothers. They are made to feel extra special on Mother’s Day by, among others, their sons, who see them as both mothers and fathers.

Now something is amiss when mothers bear the burden of fathers in the home. It is ironic that the same boys who struggle with their mothers, while cursing their fathers, become fathers themselves who, unfortunately, fall into the same trap of delinquency as their predecessors. How do we break the cycle?

Men often stand out as dons, musicians, athletes, entrepreneurs, etc, but in the area of parenting they copped the award for DNA (daddy not available).

Now that it is overtly clear that the absence of fathers can play an active part in children falling prey to negative influences, such as gangs, what are we going to do about it?

The millions of dollars spent on at-risk youth and social intervention programmes are not bearing the expected fruits, and our desperation is bubbling over. The State has employed its most extreme crime-fighting measures, but gangs still continue to thrive, many of them I would guess are headed and peopled by fatherless men, many of whom are themselves fathers, who, instead of playing their part in the home, are busy wreaking havoc.

We can continue to come up with expansive plans and programmes, but until the issue of absentee fathers is fixed, these plans and programmes will come to nought.

More emphasis ought to be put on fostering the right behaviour in our boys. We need to be deliberate in saying positive things to our boys and lead them by holding their hands. We need to teach boys how to channel their energies in positive ways, hug them, show them love, and affirm them.

We have for years embraced the narrative that “man fi have nuff gyal”, but this has negatively impacted the home. It has left a void in the lives of our boys that is often filled by dons and gang members.

It seems we are being forced to admit the importance of fathers in their children’s lives as attorneys plea for leniency after the deeds of fatherless criminals have crippled the lives of many.

I pray that greater and more urgent focus will now be placed on fixing the male species.

Hezekan Bolton

h_e_z_e@hotmail.com