Bermudian motivational speaker Dennis Rahim Watson has called for a series of summits to address the issue of fatherless children here.His appeal comes after he was honoured in the US yesterday for three decades of service August 20 was observed as Dennis Rahim Watson Appreciation Day following a declaration by borough president of Manhattan, Scott Springer.The honour came in recognition of his work as chairman of the National Youth and Gang Violence Task Force.In an interview with The Royal Gazette yesterday, Mr Watson called on Bermudians to “come together from Somerset to St George’s and convene a series of summits designed for fathers, sons and daughters”.“Bermuda is a small country of nine parishes, it’s ‘up the country’, ‘down the country’, and ‘town’,” said Mr Watson. “It’s not like New York where there are millions. I believe what’s going on in Bermuda with young black males and females can be solved by Bermudians.“We have a generation of angry fatherless children running amok. We’ve got men in Bermuda who have children all over the Island who feel abandoned and they are angry.“And then there’s the fact that finance, or the lack of it due to unemployment, puts even more pressure on family units. It doesn’t have to take five years to do something about it, and it shouldn’t take foreign experts either.”Mr Watson said it was time to establish “law and order in our homes”.“If they are living under your roof then parents need to be the policeman or woman in their house because we all know that much of the gang activity in Bermuda is based around drugs and crime.“And we keep sending for experts from somewhere else, from places where they have yet to solve their own crime issues. The problems in Bermuda can be solved by Bermudians, I know this because it was a long string of black men who kept me in check along the way.”He acknowledged that life here while he was growing up was totally different from today where children have the influence of modern technology the internet, instant messaging and 24-hour TV.“We have young children online being exposed to all sorts of information, young girls whose mothers don’t talk to them straight and let them know that babies require time, energy and a lot of effort,” said Mr Watson.“Instead we have young parents living electronic lives without taking personal responsibility for their own choices, children making adult choices I might add, without adult resources.”He described sex as “the number one recreation” after drugs and alcohol.“There are consequences to sexual misconduct and one of them is pregnancy which leads to children,” said Mr Watson.“And then there’s the thug mentality perpetuated in the hip-hop culture fuelled by things like BET and MTV in a country where there is a lack of identity. Where else do you see so many Bermudians who act Canadian, American, British or Jamaican?“We need to get back to the very basics that made us who we are. In the end it all gets back to who is your mother and father, your family.“Every father has a responsibility to acknowledge the paternity of their sons who are engaged in drugs, crime, gun violence and anti-social behaviour. A father’s intervention can prevent death and incarceration.“Abandoned black males in Bermuda are angry and they are acting out that anger to get the attention they should have gotten on a regular basis at birth and beyond. Angry girls are also looking for the love they never received from their fathers some from birth.”He continued: “The key to a strong family is a unified Bermuda that acknowledges all of its children.“I still believe that Bermudian males are bright, talented, brilliant, artistic and impressive, but they need venues to showcase their genius.“Whenever I go online on local news sites I am continuously amazed at all the negative, petty bickering posted by people who don’t sign their names, and by the unsigned letters to the editor.“There is so much negative energy being wasted when there is so much positive work to be done at a time when there is no time for negativity.“We need real solutions, with real results and we need it now.”Persons interested in speaking with Mr Watson may contact him by telephone, 347-849-6259, or e-mail, saving.ouryouth@yahoo.com.