From Rio to London, an example of Fight for Peace

A project that supports the struggle to end violence. A project which at its start appeared as a paradox has evolved to become an example of success for programs dedicated to the prevention of violence. In addition to working with Brazilian youth, “Luta Pela Paz” has extended its reach to youth in the United Kingdom.

“Luta Pela Paz” (Fight for Peace in English) began in 2000 as a small boxing club in Complexo da Maré, a shantytown in Rio de Janiero. Founded by the British ex-amateur boxer, Luke Dowdney, who first came to Brazil to write his master’s dissertation in anthropology. While boxing may be seen as violent and therefore problematic, it is justified by Dowdney who claims that the sport acts as an escape valve for adrenaline.

“What helps youth to work better is their hormones,” he maintains. “In addition, it is the individual struggle to not become a victim and this [boxing] encourages ownership without creating the feeling of invincibility or victimization.”

In Complexo da Maré, as in several low-income communities of Rio de Janeiro, high levels of poverty, exclusion and lack of social services have led children and adolescents to be hired by drug factions as armed soldiers, police lookouts and drug dealers.

Based on field research (see Children of the Drug Trade and Neither War nor Peace) and youth participation initiatives, the project has developed its own methodology to confront the problem of youth involvement in armed violence. The project’s model, titled "Five Pillars", combines boxing classes and other martial arts; extra curricular programs and formal education, access to the formal labour market; support services for youth and their families, as well as a Youth Council which aims at encouraging leadership among youth.

 
"Since we started, the program has affected more than 2000 youths" Dowdney states. In 2005, Dowdney opened the Sports Center and Educational Fight For Peace, which has since served more than 500 children and youths each year.

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“Fight for Peace” in England

While violence in Rio de Janeiro is not exactly equal to that of London, the similarities between certain risk factors that lead youth to engage in violent behaviour, led the former boxer to return his attention to his land native.

"While the UK has low crime rates, juvenile violence is growing, there are kids walking armed who kill each other, only in general they do not use guns, but other weapons," Dowdney said.

For the coordinator, the difference is not in the youth but in the State: “in Brazil, there is a desire to create social inclusion policies. In the UK the problem is that youth do not know how to access their rights. However, in both situations, the same central issues arise: the importance of belonging to a group and weapons as a symbol of power".

After concluding his comparative research (titled "Neither War nor Peace") on the involvement of youth in organized armed violence in ten countries, Dowdney concluded that it would be possible to replicate the work of “Luta Pela Paz” elsewhere:

"We've been working with the youth in extreme situations, youth who we believe we have something to offer. The basic problems are the same and the methodology can be adapted to the specific dynamics of each region," he says.

The result was, that in April of this year, Dowdney opened the academy “Fight For Peace” (photo) in North Woolwich, London, in collaboration with the institution “Community Links.” To meet the needs of local youth, they consulted local organizations and principally, the youth of the town of Newham, a neighborhood with historic problems of youth violence.

"Currently there are 600 young people between 11 and 21 years enrolled. Many of them have been expelled from school and feel marginalized by society. Others just want to exercise," Dowdney claims.

From boxers to champions in life

All you need to start training in is the will to do it. "Fight for Peace" does not make demands. Based on the "Five Pillars", boxing is just the platform of an inclusive package. The project also includes courses on personal development and support services for youth.

"In England, activities are a little different than in Brazil. Here, for example, we practice other martial arts, while in Brazil, capoeira (a traditional national martial art) is the preferred alternative to boxing," explains Dowdney.

Another difference between the parent and subsidiary is that in the UK, the organization has signed onto agreements with governmental and nongovernmental institutions in order to serve as a bridge between youth and their rights.

"The collaborations and exchanges have been easier here than in Brazil," Dowdney said. “Fight For Peace” has recently signed an agreement with the local government to work with youth to meet socio-educational standardized levels.

"We will work with youth one to one," Dowdney asserts. "We want success inside and outside the ring. Whether by winning a boxing competition, completing secondary education, entering a university, getting a good job or taking care of one’s family.”

 
Apart from in London, the former boxer hopes to replicate its program in other cities which also suffer from the problem of youth violence, including Cape Town, South Africa, and Medellin, Colombia. "But first I want to consolidate the programme in the UK; the rest is a project for the future," Dowdney says.

From Comunidad Segura:

A first step toward protecting youth from organized armed violence

In the ring for peace

Read Further:

Luta Pela Paz / Fight For Peace

Translated by Nathanael Wolfson