IT IS ALWAYS a sad day when we are treated to all manner of insidious comments from various quarters when it comes to our fathers. What makes this practice so much worse is when it comes from those who hold positions of authority and influence.
Have we not realised by now that the more we label our fathers as deadbeat, useless and irresponsible, that we are actually reinforcing this image in the psyche of our people? Are we unknowingly removing all objective, commonsensicle process thinking from our conscious articulations?
When will we accept and understand the awesome power of words and their influence on the mind? I have to declare that I am sick and tired of these psychological attacks on the minds of our men and fathers especially when it appears that the chief culprits are usually the ones missing in action when it comes to empowering our men or developing initiatives that can help them to be better fathers.
I will never deny that some of our men still have some way to go in becoming the best dads that they can be, but I challenge all those who believe that Barbadian men are deadbeat, to take a moment and reflect on the reasons that have led to some of them shying away from their role as fathers.
Our men have and continue to be denied their right to be fathers. Our boys are raised by people who constantly remind them of their “good-for-nutting-fathers”. Is this the legacy that we want for our country? Is this the message that we want to imprint on the minds of our boys and young men?
Father’s Day is Sunday and I am pleading to all Barbadians to do all that you can to honour fathers instead of belittling them for the effort, however small, that they have made in our lives and the overall development of our nation.
The Men’s Educational and Support Association (MESA) is eager to work with anyone who wants to develop and implement programmes to help our men become better fathers. Join us and please feel free to contact us at 622-2043 or email mesabarbados@gmail.com.
Have a wonderful Father’s Day, Barbados.
– SEAN ST CLAIR FIELDS (Deputy chairman, MESA)
