Manhood, free of violence

This story has resulted from the Workshop on Good Practices in the Prevention and Reduction of Armed Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Rio de Janeiro in late 2010.

“It was either kill or be killed, and this went on for many years. And it was very hard for me to get any sleep. Once I dreamt that a huge snake ordered me to dive into a big hole, and I did. I had nightmares every day.” This is how a former gang member from Nicaragua, now age 23, describes his life before he “climbed out of the hole”. He now shares his stories with other young men and women who still see gangs as a way of life, even if it means meeting an early death.

To an outsider, from the vantage point of the middle class and wealthy neighborhoods, the malls, the hotels and the newspaper offices, the aggressive stance of the Guatemalan gangs are seen are “merely” violence that must be quashed with more violence.

But seen from the inside, through the perspective of someone like Iveth Espino Altamirano, from the Centro de Prevención del Delito (CEPREV) a crime prevention center, gang violence is a much more complex phenomenon. And to do away with it, the first step is to enter into a relationship with these youths based on trust and mutual respect.

CEPREV’s work is based on the premise that it is important to change mindsets, to challenge a notion of manhood based on violence.

Based on this idea, CEPREV has already touched the lives of 8,000 Nicaraguan youths, it has run peace culture courses open to young gang members and to people who live in communities affected by violence in Nicaragua.

As a result, 80% of the youth gangs that took part in the Project have disbanded.
“Our mission is to work with these youths to help them end violent and self-destructive behavior by building a culture of peace,” said Altamiro, who admits that it is a time consuming process, but one that offers lasting results.

The core of the program, present in workshops and interpersonal discussions, focuses on vision of masculinity that asserts itself through constructive and peaceful behavior, in contrast to violent models offered by gang culture.

A non-governmental institution founded in 1997 by a group of counseling professionals dedicated to violence prevention in Nicaragua, CEPREV champions fostering non-authoritarian relationships inside families, schools and in the community. Its methodology has been recognized by organizations such as UNESCO, the IDB, UNICEF, the World Bank and FLACSO.

The program is present in the 34 communities deemed most vulnerable to violence in Managua, areas marked by poverty, social exclusion, stigma, unemployment, a lack of opportunities and the growing presence of gun and drug trafficking.

The program however, does not focus exclusively on youth. It also trains educators, journalists, government employees and NGOs in violence prevention.
This type of initiative has become crucial in face of the growth of organized crime in Central America and its voracious absorption of gang youths.

“Over the past eight years I have worked in the most violent communities in the capital. During this period I have seen how gang youths who once used knives and machetes switched to firearms, revolvers, machine guns and pistols. The situation has been generating increased violence. It has also meant that gun and drug traffickers have developed an increasing hold over the communities, thus become more deeply rooted in them,” said Altamiro.

In Altamiro’s view, efforts towards violence prevention generate results in benefits that go beyond the confines of the local community. “Investments in violence reduction and a culture of peace help create the necessary conditions for development and activities related to economic, social and personal growth, for young people, their families, and the community.”
Youths who take part in the Project “develop a better opinion of themselves, by working with a group of psychologists, they improve their self-esteem and reject violence, such as the use of guns, addictions and crime,” said Iveth.

Results have positive repercussions. “After being trained, individuals look for  jobs or go back to school, it is a way of bettering themselves. It is a way they improve their own lives and the lives of their families. When you do away with violence it allows you a greater understanding of others, to find ways to cooperate, relate to the surroundings, by engaging with the community, adopting a spirit of solidarity,” said Altamiro.

The police has also been invited to take part in the process through workshops that stress the role of prevention over suppression. “It is a way to reduce conflict and violent acts of retribution. It is also a way to make improve how official security forces are seen by the public,” adds Altamiro.

Along with the workshops, violence reduction training has reached 1,753 public servants that belong to 24 different government entities. It reached 154 NGOs, 28 media organizations, 53 Evangelical churches, as well as 903 individuals from the neighborhoods of districts 4, 5 and 6 in the Tipitapa municipality, making a grand total of 5,062 people.

Altamiro has provided Comunidad Segura with excerpts taken from a young gang member’s testimony, who will remain anonymous. It describes a relentless effort to win over drug addiction and social exclusion:

"It is thanks to god that today I am a new person,  one that no longer lives in the past. I was lost because the only life I knew as a child was the world of the streets where I started doing drugs at age 11. Back then I used to pray to God to help me get out of that life, but I couldn’t do it.

My dad left uswhen I was nine, and grew up with my mother and eventually a step father. Although my older siblings wanted me to stay in school, I did not pay attention to them. I believed I wanted to spend my time with street gangs. I used to go to a  private school, but I hooked up with some friends to smoke pot and crack, by the time I was 13 I was lost to drug addiction.

I still remember the first time I smoked, I sat down and immediately could not get up. I fell asleep and did not get up until it was six in the evening. I knew it was wrong to do drugs, but when I realized it I was completely addicted. In less tan a year I was begging in street corners, and I would spend up to two thousand córdobas a day on crack and coke. "

Photos: Cortesía CEPREV