'Pig', 'Rapist', 'Child Molester' not kind words, but what 18-year-oldMichael has to endure daily from his girlfriend's parents.
They blame him for gettingSarah pregnant when she was 14.
She was a child, they said, he should be 'hung or jailed, tarred and beaten'.
There's lots more.
Her uncles, brothers and friends who take it upon themselves to guard the young mother's flagging honour, has promised him that one step out of line and he'll get a grand whipping.
Ever wondered how many teenage dads would act if they could do everything all over again?
Michael does. Everyday.
"Everytime I wake up I know that I'm going to make at least one more mistake, that I'm going to get cursed at, but I get up anyway," he said. "I have to, to prove that I'm a good father."
But working as a gas station attendant for up to 12 hours a day, occasionally baby-sitting, paying child support and spending quality time with his son, isn't enough. He is still berated with name-calling and snickers when he is allowed to see the child.
Which is not often enough.
"I felt like I was fighting the whole world when J.R. was born," he said, "no-one wanted me to see him, her parents just wanted to whisk him away. There was no assumption that I would want to spend time with him."
The assumptions still stand, and he often wonders about their future.
"I'm still a 'no-good street youth' though I always had a job - worst I happened to live in August Town and Sarah was Red Hills crop. According to her dad, teenage boys weren't supposed to be responsible, they assumed that I'd just up and leave her alone after the pregnancy."
The two celebrated their year-long anniversary last month.
The trials of being a teenage parent are not new to us, we hear daily of teen mothers struggling to feed their babies and of errant fathers skipping town, of young girls lives lost.
"There are many teen fathers who really care, I care deeply for my son, and I'm not even allowed to see him, I'm not even allowed to call her house after 10:00 p.m.," Michael said.
What to do?
"I know I made a mistake, but it's really crappy that my son and I have to suffer through it, I know she was only 14, but the baby needs as much love as possible now, and this situation won't help," he said. "I know they just wan't me to pack up and move on, but I won't, I'm sticking through this, in a way all fathers should."
Not real names
