A recent evening newscast carried a story of a woman with nine children who had been living in deplorable conditions. She was unemployed, unemployable, and had no means of support. As I listened it was revealed that appeals were being made to a host of agencies in the private sector and public sector, including Food For The Poor and churches. There was just one avenue that was not explored. It is the same whenever one of these stories is aired. Where are the fathers?

Some years ago a similar story was aired. Some friends of mine called me and pressed me into service. The woman needed a house and they wanted us to “put up something” for her. I laid down two preconditions: She needed to identify the fathers and start proceedings to take them before the Family Court. Secondly, she should commit to “tie off” immediately. Over the next few weeks, I was given a series of ‘reasons’ these preconditions were not immediately feasible. Reluctantly, I still joined the group.

The building site was at the top of a steep hill. An old sports injury made the trek particularly challenging. When I got there I found that she was pregnant again with the tenth child. Three months later, one in the group called me. She was excited. I was to come down to “Jubilee” and bring certain things. The woman had delivered — twins! I declined the invitation and repeated my request to identify the fathers and tie off.

About 18 months later I got another call from the same friends. She needed an extra room. That I could understand. We decided on a Saturday, as these activities were usually set for weekends. I struggled up that hill again. I thought the first time was difficult. I was wrong. When I finally made it up to the house, the last sight I could have expected greeted me. This woman had a large belly in front of her, again. I behaved badly; very, very badly. Some of the expletives were made up on the spot. The gathering was silent. I departed immediately.

This country has a serious problem. The politicians cannot solve it because we refuse to allow them to be honest with us. Most of us just see a desperate woman with nine children as a problem which some “Lasco” will fix. Not so! This section of the population places the greatest burden on the State. They have nothing to offer, but are constantly in need. Despite the preventive arrangements that are offered to them, free of cost, they continue to ‘breed’ indiscriminately, knowing full well that the burden to maintain these children will be someone else’s. This makes them parasites.

So clinics, schools, housing maintenance have to be expanded and funded with ever-increasing taxes on the responsible in the society who plan their lives and have one or two when the time is right. They squat on people’s land, steal material to construct dwellings, and when food has to be found they steal that too.

Perhaps the greatest threat from these people is their threat to national safety and security; because this is the breeding ground for most of the violent criminals that force us to sleep with one eye open. A friend of mine was forced to watch as a group of them slaughtered her partner before dragging her away for a night of abuse, torture and rape. One of the experiences that she told me that she could not understand was when one of the rapists kept repeating, “Mi never have a fadda…” But I understood.

The thousands of individuals in this country that have been left to grieve on a daily basis; the families that have been destroyed; the pressure on our hospitals, the police and the economy; the many investment possibilities that will never materialise because of this criminal element, are crippling the country.

And, it is unfair to expect the police to deal with it. It is not a police problem!

Should a 25-year-old mother of six, with no marketable skills, no home, no help, be allowed to have more children? This is child abuse! Should men be allowed to just breed these foolish women and just run off in search of the next gullible one? This is child neglect! But no Government can stop that, or we will vote them out.

One solution that many men have found when the number of baby maddas become unmanageable is to just migrate. Why doesn’t the Government seek the help of the governments of these countries to find and fine these men? The US has more than a 100 times the population we have, but its organs can find a needle in a haystack. They could help.

I speak like this because I am concerned. Concerned that we do not realise or understand the cancer that we are nurturing in our society. I can speak because I am not running in any elections and I am not too concerned about my popularity.

These men who are driving around murdering people are not poor, hungry men looking for something to eat. They are more than that. They are dangerous, deadly sociopaths. And only God knows what next they have in store for us.

Glenn Tucker, MBA, is an educator and a sociologist. Send comments to the Observer or glenntucker2011@gmail.com.