Five years lost - Dad wonders if he can now bond with daughter after DNA result

He has never held her, doesn't know her favourite food or the sound of her laugh, nor has he seen the way she smiles.

And now that a DNA test has confirmed that he is the father of five-year-old Anna, 23-year-old Max is unsure if he can bridge that emotional gap.

"I don't even know her," he admitted after learning that the DNA test, conducted by Polygenics Consulting, returned a positive match.

"I never had the opportunity to do anything with this child, mi never hold her in my hand yet. She is now five years old. I don't know her. 'Five is not too long', is something people can say easily, but from my perspective, I don't know her, and this is going to be something that is very hard for me," he said.

"I don't know how I will build a relationship with her, mi just affi do weh me affi do."

This shocking paternity issue was first published in this newspaper on July 18 under the headline, 'Man demands DNA test for abandoned child' .

Six years ago, while still in high school, Max's then girlfriend told him she was pregnant. She left school shortly after and had little communication with him, even after the baby was born. Max said he was never officially informed of the birth, and his name was omitted from the birth certificate.

Max's mother, Gloria, is relieved that the paternity question has finally been answered, but she worries about Anna's well-being. Until a few weeks ago, Anna had been living with Gloria, after being dropped off by a friend of the child's mother, who had migrated.

However, the little girl has since moved again -- this time to live with her maternal grandfather following a dispute over how Gloria disciplined her.

"She did something rude and I slapped her," Gloria said. "I guess she went there (to her grandfather's house) and told them, and the grandfather's wife is saying that I am abusive. I said, since I am abusive, you guys keep the child, we will do what we are supposed to do," Gloria said.

"Mi a 55 years old, and mi no want nobody call me an abuser when I'm not," she added.

Gloria fears the constant moving is damaging Anna's education and self-esteem.

"Based on what her grandfather is saying, maybe that is why she behaves that way. She no have no self-esteem, she's not doing her schoolwork properly. She is way behind in school, and I know that's the result of what is happening in her life, 'cause she say her mother don't want her and her mother gone leave her," Gloria said.

Still, Gloria insists that neither she nor her son can keep Anna permanently.

"Where my son is living now, he cannot accommodate her, and that's where I came in. The accommodation is not suitable," she said, before expressing full confidence in her son's ability to provide for Anna otherwise.

"Anything is being bought, any money being spent, he tells me -- him and him sister. That is how we live," she said.

Max, who maintains he never doubted paternity, is now considering his next steps. Under Jamaican law, if a child is born to unmarried parents, the father's name can only be added to the birth certificate if both parents sign the registration form, or if legal proof, such as a DNA result, is provided. Even with proof, the process can be lengthy--sometimes requiring a court order -- delaying a child's access to benefits, a passport, and school registration.

"I feel like I was robbed of the child's entire childhood. I don't know if the child is christened. My name is not on the birth certificate, I don't know why," Max said.

Now, with the DNA result in hand, thanks to the partnership with this newspaper and Polygenics Consulting, Gloria anticipates the legal journey ahead.

"We have to go through the right procedure, and I'm getting to understand now that putting a name on a birth certificate, you have to have some proof that you are the dad, and this result will help to push that forward," she said.