Young men prone to violence in Bermuda need a father's love and guidance, it was claimed last night.

Outspoken Debra Wellman, whose two nephews were acquitted of the murder of Tekle Zion Mallory this week, said the Island needed to tackle the issue of young black men, particularly pertaining to gang violence.

She said more and more black men were fighting each other with little reason and said further bloodshed would result, unless action was taken now. And the Somerset mother, who has a 23-year-old son, said she believed many of the problems were down to a lack of stability in homes, and the absence of fathers.

"The majority of young black men in these gangs do not have the love and support of their fathers," she said.

"They need love, and it is never too late to show them love.

"They have been brought up by mothers who have had to work so hard just to make ends meet.

"Mothers try to be everything to their sons, but they simply can't be. A mother cannot take the role of a father, and I think that is why Bermuda is seeing so many problems with its young, black men.

"They need role models and they need the guidance of their fathers. They don't have them."

Ms Wellman said she was not speaking about young, black men in general, but more specifically about gang members on the Island. And she said she would be the first to say that many black families were very close, loving and supportive.

Even those families that seemed to do everything right, sometimes, had children that went off the rails, she said.

However, Ms Wellman said she believed a lack of fatherly involvement played a major role with many of the Island's out-of-control youths.

She said since 2000, she had noticed an increase in violence among young people, but believed much of it went unreported. Her son and nephew Quincy Brangman, she said, had been targeted a number of times purely because they were from Somerset. And she said there is only so much boys will take before they begin to retaliate and rebel.

Once they get on the slippery slope, she said, they often felt they had nothing to lose.

But she said if these boys had fathers to guide them, they might not channel their anger into violence, and instead put it to good use.

Ms Wellman said she felt sorry for the family of 22-year-old Mr. Mallory as they had not found closure to their son's death, and still did not have all the answers as to how and why he died.

Her nephews Quincy Stanley Brangman, 24, and Everett Jahni Bean, 20, were both acquitted of his murder earlier this week.

However, she said the 100-plus people who were in Ice Queen car park at the time of the fatal stabbing were partly to blame for failing to come forward and offer more information about the murder.

She added: "The witnesses in the case were very poor. During the trial, it clearly stated that there were several men travelling out together from Somerset that night, and went to Ice Queen, but I don't think half of them were witnesses (in the case).

"If they go out and cause trouble, they all should be pulled in together. As it is, the truth of this matter has not come out."

Ms Wellman said a number of young, black boys were graduating from school unable to read, and had little direction in their lives. She said they needed to be better educated, better respected and better understood, and suggested the Island begin immediate dialogue to get the issue out in the open.

However, she also criticised the "cocky attitude" of some Police officers and said they did not help the situation by approaching Bermuda's youth as they did. That, too, needed to be given attention.

And she said violent movies and video games, along with increased violence in the US, had a lasting impression on the Island's young men.

"I don't know what the answer is, but I know we need to do something before it is too late," said Ms Wellman.

"People say gang violence does not exist, but it does and I have seen it. We need to find out why they are turning to violence.

"It is ridiculous that boys get beaten up just because they happen to travel out of their parish.

"We need to start by talking to those people in Westgate and finding out what happened to them and what can be done.

"We need town hall meetings with the young people and we need to get the issues out in the open. Can we offer our children a proper education and better jobs? We can't stand back and watch this happen anymore. We have to do something before more young black men are killed." Ms Wellman said she did not believe that it was only black boys who did drugs, acted violently and committed crimes. Those ills also affected white people, she said.

But she said the cases involving white men were not being reported or coming to the fore.

However, she said she believed fewer white boys were turning to violence because they had had greater stability in their lives. "My son hangs out with a group of boys, and they are very respectful," said Ms Wellman.

"They have beautiful personalities. They call me `mum'. I think a lot of these people are just looking for love and affection. A lot of men have shirked their responsibilities as fathers.

"That's the difference between white families and black families; They go about parenting very differently. That's the difference. They have children and they love and support them. The families have a meal together every day. They are a unit.

"A lot of black males around here have fathered so many children and half of them are not even paying child support They don't know if their children are getting meals, and the mothers are working all hours of the day trying to manage.

"That has to have an affect. Again, I'm not saying this is black families in general, but it does relate to a lot of the people in the gangs that are causing the problems."

Ms Wellman said since she spoke on the issue of gang violence outside of Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon, she had received a number of calls asking her to take her campaign one step further.

As a result, she said she would be spending this weekend thinking about how the matter can be taken on and the issues addressed.

But she said she would also be talking to some of the young people she knows to find out where they believe the answers lie.

"When you speak to some of these people, they say `we don't know what tomorrow brings; Live for today, not for tomorrow','' she said.

"They feel people are not doing anything for them, but that's not the case.

"My son is out there with his friends. Lately, I have not seen him come home covered in blood, but every day I pray that somewhere along the way he gets himself together and does what he has to do.

"He just tells me `mother, you don't know what it's like out there'. I think it's time we all tried to find out, by bringing this out in the open once and for all."