Residents of the Tema are getting increasingly worried over the growing presence of lunatics within the Metropolis in recent times. Their concerns stems from the fact that wherever one goes within the Metropolis nowadays, he or she was likely to bump into one lunatic or the other, thus heightening the fears of residents at the increasing number of the mentally-ill persons among us. At corners within the Metropolis, food or eating joints, along pavements, on football pitches, even around the market areas, it is now a common occurrence to see some of these people either wandering about, or wedged in a corner taking a nap. Some of them are not friendly, and pick quarrels with pedestrians and townsfolk anytime they try to remove them from places where people go to buy food to eat or drink. Traders who sell food to school children at the Twedaase Junior High School (JHS), at the forecourt of Our Lady of Mercy (OLAM) Catholic Parish at Community One, Tema, have had a lot to complain about as a result of the presence of two regular 'customers,' who have made it a point to mingle with the school children, especially when they come out for break. These two guys, whose places of abode cannot be traced or none has any knowledge about where they come from, have made the place their home, where they do everything, including sleeping. This, according to the traders, has slowed down their businesses, because some of the school children and passersby are afraid of the 'mad men,' and therefore do not buy from them. Last week Wednesday, one of them attempted to attack one of the traders, and a gentleman who was passing by decided to come to the aid of the trader by trying to scare the 'mad man' away, but the mentally-ill man staged a drama that surprised all present. The gentleman shouted at him in Twi, which literally translates "You mad man, move away from there before I smash you," and the mentally-ill man also replied saying; "Come on get away, if you are mad I am not," and with that went to stand a little distance away from them. The traders have therefore appealed to authorities of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), to endeavour to get rid of all the lunatics in the area before they lose all their customers. Philip Abam, a Tema-based taxi driver, also called on TMA to ensure that all such persons are removed from the streets, for the safety of residents in the Metropolis. Source: The Chronicle