THE story of a St Ann mother of nine who is living in abject poverty has ignited a heated debated among Jamaica Observer online readers about who is to blame for the woman’s situation. The Sunday Observer reported that 45-year-old Imogene Lawrence and her children live in a cramped two-bedroom house and often go without food because of financial hardship. Here are some edited comments:

Roan Wiggan

Portia! where are you? yuh pickney dem hungry

Jamerican

These parents should be charged for crime against humanity … Like seriously! After 3 kids couldn’t you see the difficulty? Nine? Who is to be held accountable here? The government or the parents?

Ruel Alexander

Jamaica’s Government, PM, members of Parliament, please have a heart. This woman needs help.

cookiebulla

Remember the choices we make have consequences! Why have so many children without the financial means? This is part of what keeps poverty healthy!

suzie

This comment jumped out at me: “Mi have one little boy, you see when him come from school, like all when him come tonight and him don’t see nothing on the fire, him cry for something to eat. Mi affi beat him fi stop the crying for food,” she said. “Suppose mi nuh have it to give him miss? Him must bear it when mi don’t have it. And him affi bear it because is mi one.” Children should not be hungry… this is so sad.

Brooklyn_man

I do not know what to say about these situations. I say we lock up the parents and try help the kids. I do not see any case of bad luck, job loss or misfortune, just plain carelessness and wickedness to have nine children with a man who won’t make you a wife, has no steady income… I hope the Observer blocks those who blame Portia or Lisa Hanna or even Bruce Golding for that matter. Compassion without correction leads to repeat behaviour.

Everton Saunders

Is this for real?

Janet Callender

Girlfriend, you could never get not even 10 cent from me. You go 1 2 3 4 5 6 still can’t take care of yourself yet you go 7 8 9? You need to check yourself. Then, you expect someone to give you house and a TV set? The Government need to step in and take the kids from you

Truth

This is so damn sad. I see guys burning money and spilling champagne in dances, if u really wanna Flaas then sponsor one of these families that are suffering so much, that would be the ultimate flaasing.

Steph Love

Very sad.

Pecho

I think it is high time that something be done for all these women/girls who are acting as ‘breeding pens’. As hard as it would seem, they should be prevented from having more children than they can take care of. Why should the people/Government have to cover for their slackness? It might be forced sterilisation of the partners or something else done. This is a crisis now. Who will step up to the plate? Perhaps the child welfare agency should take these children and place them in homes so they will not suffer because of the carelessness of their parents. Some Government or somebody has to break the cycle.

bobo

‘Mother of nine’… The only persons I pity in this are the kids.

Lorna Mitchell

Is family planning still free in Jamaica? Jamaica is a beautiful country, but a lot of things are so wrong and it’s so sad.

Dainty

I pity the children because they did not ask to be born to suffer. Lawrence could have gotten birth control; this has always been free from the local or any health centre and some hospitals, so no sympathy on her for getting pregnant nine times. I do hope and pray that her children will soon get the help they need and the suffering that their mother has been putting them through will soon go away.

indecom

This is only one family story and I bet thousands more out there like her or even worse. Where is the MP or councillors for the area? Are they waiting for election before they visit again with some chicken back and flour?

su beans

Wow! This one made me cry. Can’t just look at the nine children and say she’s worthless… I hope if this woman is given help the children appreciate it and make the VERY BEST out of it.