Juvenile Justice in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua & Guatemala
LEARNING FROM THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA PROGRAMME
Juvenile justice in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua & Guatemala
October 2007
Since our arrival in Central America in 1974, Save the Chil- dren UK has contributed to the construction of a rights based framework, which has led to dramatic changes in the lives of children and young people. This case study highlights our work in the Caribbean and Central America over the last five years and the changes we have inspired, and is a record of the lessons we have learned, the challenges we have identified and the recom- mendations we have for all those involved in development work and the defence of human rights, espe- cially the rights of children.
Since the closure of our pro- Imprisoned gang members who wanted out of the gangs had nowhere to go. Their bodies were gramme in the Caribbean and marked with readily distinguishable tattoos and their lives by death warrants. Their former mates Central American (CARICA) in wanted to kill them for leaving the gang, and they still were targeted by members of rival gangs, the March 2007, the legacy of our work police and vigilante death squads. for children continues through the • To develop preventative community got into trouble with the law and were ongoing work of our dedicated models of intervention to reduce vio- deported back to their homelands, taking partners throughout the region. lence among and against young people. their gang experience with them. This particular study focuses on juvenile justice in Honduras, El Sal- • To defend the right to life of young These deportees found excellent condi- vador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. victims of extrajudicial executions. tions for organizing new gang cells in poverty stricken and corruption riddled The programme Central America. The resulting gangs Why we did it spread quickly and took effective control This programme sought to contribute to Starting in the mid-1990s, thousands of of many poor neighbourhoods, which the reduction of violence committed by boys and girls facing the stark reality of they lived off of via extortion rackets and and against juveniles. It helped to define poverty and limited opportunities for edu- other forms of crime. They developed a and advocated for state policies emphasis- cation and employment joined a new type reputation for being even more violent ing prevention and worked to eliminate of youth gangs, called “maras,” that were an than their U.S. counterparts, prompting a anti-youth stigma and foment a social and offshoot of gangs based on the West Coast community based culture of prevention of the United States. Contents that respects the rights of children and adolescents who have run foul of the law This gang culture was basically deported The programme 1 or are at the risk of doing so. to Central America. Economic and political Why we did it 1 refugees from the Isthmus settled in the The specific goals of the programme were: poor, gang infested barrios of Los Angeles What we did 2 • To influence institutional policies and their children fell in with the Hispanic Our partners 3 and practices in a way that tilted the 18th Street Gang or formed their own balance away from purely punitive re- Salvatrucha gang, also known as the MS-13. Results 3 sponses and toward preventive ones. Many of these Central American youth What we learned 4 LEARNING FROM THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA PROGRAMME
Juvenile justice in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua & Guatemala
severe reaction that included heavy handed exchanges with Salvadoran researchers; We lobbied against or supported lobby- police tactics, legal measures of question- Studies of the reform of Article 332 of the ing against a 1995 move to change the law able constitutionality and even campaigns Honduran Penal Code, commonly know governing jurisdiction over minors that of extermination by vigilante groups that as the “Anti-Gang Law”; Studies aimed at would have redefined under-aged detainees practice “social cleansing.” quantifying the extermination of suspected as juvenile penitentiary inmates; a series of gang members in Honduras; Collaboration legal initiatives introduced between 1996 In this context of extreme violence, Save the in many studies on the gang phenomenon and 2006 in an attempt to reduce the age Children identified weaknesses in the institu- for universities in the United States, the for criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 tions responsible for dealing with adolescents United Kingdom and Central America; years; a proposed reform of Article 332 of in trouble with the law. The already under and research into the impact of the Law the Honduran Penal Code that would have funded juvenile justice systems were quickly on Juvenile Delinquency on El Salvador’s increased the penalty for gang membership overwhelmed by the gang phenomenon and criminal justice system. from a maximum of 12 years in prison to authorities in Central America were slow to a maximum of 30 years in prison; reform respond to the challenge. National advocacy of Article 198 of the Youth Code aimed at We also identified state policies and prac- We provided technical and financial sup- increasing detention periods for juvenile tices that contributed to creation of the port to the formulation of a Youth Code in offenders to as much as 15 years; reform of problem rather than helping to resolve it. Honduras and to lobbying for its approval the Penal Code and the national consti- Far from attacking the root causes of the and implementation; the development of a tution of Honduras with regard to legal gang problem, these policies were oriented National Police proposal for working with detention and periods of inquiry; proposed toward repressing any youth expression juveniles under the auspices of Hondu- constitutional reform that would have that resembled gang customs. In doing so, ras’ National Youth Forum; the Forum reinstated capital punishment in Honduras; the policies actually generated discrimina- on Juvenile Delinquency and Community criticisms of the UN Convention on the tion and, with it, more violence, especially Security in Honduras; training and mo- Rights of the Child; and efforts to repeal or against under-privileged youths. bilisation of community resources in 20 reform articles in the Youth Code related to urban barrios working with Communities juvenile offenders. In civil society we discovered a vacuum for Peace (COHAPAZ) to demand the end of support for young people, character- to violence against youths in those poor International lobbying ized by the lack of vigorous responses to neighbourhoods; a legislative work group In the international arena we provided the killing of hundreds of adolescents in that elaborated the proposed “Law for the technical and financial support for: the the poor neighbourhoods. We also found Prevention, Rehabilitation and Social Rein- elaboration of independent reports by the existence of innovative experiences in sertion of Persons Involved in Gangs”; the non-governmental networks in Honduras prevention at the non-governmental level Collective for Life and the Roman Catholic for presentation to the United Nation’s that demonstrated notable success in the Church in their campaigns against the Children’s Rights Committee in Geneva; reduction of gang related violence. murders of youths; the mobilisation of the Central American working groups and national Youth Forum with regard to the networked NGOs that pushed for approval What we did Framework Juvenile Law; debate forums of Youth Codes in Guatemala, El Salvador and co-sponsored with other international Nicaragua; and the presence of independent Research agencies (FES, GTZ, etc.); and a reconcilia- representatives from Central America in the Save the Children programming conducted tion effort between members of the 18th assembly of the Inter-American Commission its own research and supported counter- Street gang and the government. on Human Rights (CIDH), New York office. parts that carried out studies on a variety We provided technical support for: formula- We also participated in interchanges with of topics related to the gang phenomenon. tion of the Organic Law of the Honduran Amnesty International on the summary Those include: Institute for Childhood and Family (IHNFA), execution of minors; lobbing of Amnesty Contribution to the elaboration of inde- and its strategic plan; design of the National International HQ in London to obtain sup- pendent reports on youths and violence programme for gang prevention in Hon- port for a campaign against those killings; (produced by counterpart the Coordina- duras; awareness raising campaigns carried consultations between the Inter-American tion of Organisations Pro Children’s Rights, out by and with civil society on the issue Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) and COIPRODEN) for the UN Children’s of widespread murder of young people; senior Honduran officials; relations with Rights Committee in Geneva; Financing and lobbying for creation of the Inter- human rights organisations in Los Angeles, of two field investigations into the gang institutional Commission for the Physical California, USA; and support of the Latin phenomenon in Honduras carried out by and Moral Integrity of Youth and the Unit American Network on Children’s Rights. nationally recognised experts; Scientific for the Investigation of Murders of Minors within Honduras’ National Police. LEARNING FROM THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA PROGRAMME
Juvenile justice in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua & Guatemala
Community mobilisation training about the Inter-American System We supported mobilisations of Commu- of Human Rights, funded its research and nities for Peace (COHAPAZ) and Casa supported its organisational development. Alianza, the Central American branch of We also co-founded and provided exten- Covenant House, against the extrajudicial sive logistical support to the Collective for execution of minors; and provided support Life, Peace and Justice in Honduras. to the National Youth Forum of Honduras in its struggle for effective implementation Supporting youth participation of the Youth Law in that country. We strengthened and broadened participa- tion in Honduras’ National Youth Forum Building the model of and its affiliate Youth Forum of the Sula Val- community intervention ley, (a national network working on youth We supported the creation and imple- issues run by youth). We also supported a mentation of a community governance group of ex-gang members called “Genera- model against Social Violence in the Rivera tion X”, formed with the help of our San Hernández sector of San Pedro Sula, an Pedro Sula counterpart JHA-JA. industrial city in northern Honduras. Riv- era Hernández is a sprawling complex of urban slums that is home to some 100,000 Our partners people and was a centre of gang activity. In Honduras Save the Children support for commu- Forward Honduran Youth – United We nity model piloted there included work “My vision is to continue Advance (JHA-JA, San Pedro Sula);Group with the authorities on a pilot community Generation X (San Pedro Sula);Christian working with young people policing project, support for co-operative Youth Association (Central District affiliate of and to create spaces for them. enterprises formed by former members of the YMCA);National Youth Forum; Perma- Generation X is opening its juvenile gangs, including the Co-operative nent Centre Against Torture; Jesuit Reflection, own vocational centre so they of Multiple Services, and a micro-enter- Research and Communication Team; Centre have such as space.” prise and vocational centre for young for the Research and Promotion of Human women who had been in gangs and were Head of Generation X and former Rights; Peace and Justice Project of the Men- seeking reinsertion into society. gang member Jorge Sabillon (left). nonite Church; Committee of Relatives of Massacre Victims; Committee of Relatives of Strengthening networks Movement for the Defence of Children’s the Detained and Disappeared of Honduras; Rights; CEIBA Association; Alliance for Com- We worked to support and strengthen the Coordination of Private Institutions for Chil- munity Youth Development; and Save the National Network of Municipal Defenders dren and their Rights; State’s Attorney for Children Norway, Sweden, and Denmark of Children; the Collective for Life, Peace Children and the Disabled; One Opportunity and Justice which was co-founded by Save for the Children Coordinator; and the 21st In the United States the Children UK (a collective dedicated Century Network to investigating the summary executions “Without Borders” of Los Angeles, California of minors);the network of human rights In El Salvador organisations and Children and Adoles- Foundation for the Study and Application cents of Central America (various regional Results of Law; Network for Infancy and Ado- networking initiatives);and the Central lescence; Save the Children Sweden; and American Coalition of Non-governmental Direct benefits to children Community Youth Development Organisations against Violence. The lives of numerous children and adoles- cents were saved in the Rivera Hernández, Strengthening of institutions In Nicaragua San Pedro Sula, during the operative period Coordinator for the Defence of Children’s We provided extensive support to the of the Model of Community Governance. Rights (CODENI); and Save the Children Honduran non-governmental organisation The homicide rate was reduced from one Norway and Sweden Forward Honduran Youth – United We death every two days prior to the project to Advance (JHA-JA), a pioneer with respect one death every 45 days during the project. In Guatemala to research of the Central American gang Thirty former leaders and members of Coordinator of Institutions for the Promo- phenomenon and progressive responses MS-13, 18th Street and the “Vatos Locos” tion and Defence of Children’s Rights; Social to it. We provided the organisation with gangs in Rivera Hernández sector have left LEARNING FROM THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA PROGRAMME
Juvenile justice in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua & Guatemala
their respective gangs and are seeking re- In November 2001, the Honduran National information in cases of summary execu- integration into the community and society. Congress approved legislation establishing tions and leading to the identification of Another 30 former gang members working the obligation to create a National Preven- those responsible for some of the deaths. with the project left their gangs in Lomas tion programme for youth related violence. On this and other issues regarding children del Carmen and Chamelecón sectors. One of the books published by Save the and violence, the collective developed Children-UK with the Young Men’s Chris- At least 10 of these former gang members a coherent alternative discourse that tian Association (YMCA) ,“The gangs in have managed to undertake some sort of consistently advocated balancing the gov- Honduras”, was adopted by legislators as a employment, a crucial step toward reinte- ernment’s primarily punitive approach with basis for drafting the Gang Prevention Law. gration into the community and productive an increased emphasis on prevention and society. A high rate of unemployment per- Save the Children UK was able to position it- rehabilitation. This debate raised aware- sists, however, due to discrimination against self as the international agency with the most ness among certain sectors of Honduran former gang members. At least 30 former expertise on violent youth gangs in Honduras. society about the prevalence of the sum- gang members have acquired vocational skills mary execution of minors and about the We interested some members of the private in the areas of silk-screening, welding, and consequences and limitations of the gov- business sector in San Pedro Sula in support- tortilla making, and the Multiple Youth Serv- ernment’s one-sided approach to resolving ing prevention and community rehabilitation ices Cooperative organised by this project social problems. Among those who gained projects and the programme improved the continues to promote employment oppor- a broader understanding of the issues were perception of participating youths within the tunities for these former gang members and national and international human rights community and the police department. other young people from the community. organisations and justice system operators. We helped place the issue of extrajudicial The treatment of the children of former gang executions of children and adolescents on Networks members has improved due to the educa- the national agenda, working with the Col- tion their parents have received through the The community governance model lective for Life, Peace and Justice, and we The community governance model was project. Participating youth have improved successfully blocked a regressive legislative constructed around a working team of physical and mental health after receiving proposal with respect to children’s rights. concerned individuals drawn from the medical attention, and ten of these have re- private and social sectors who first came ceived support in overcoming drug addiction. We managed to convince the 18th Street together under the Rivera Hernandez gang, through negotiation, to limit its actions Sector Development Committee. Without Advocacy in public policy against former gang members to self-defence. the dedicated teamwork of these core The Community Governance model allowed individuals the programme would not have the people of Rivera Hernandez to take back Summary execution of minors achieved the results listed below. their streets. During the model’s operation The programme helped focus the attention the population regained its confidence in the of the Honduran government, civil society, The model’s networking efforts were use of public spaces, like parks, which had and the international community on the extended to the international level through been nearly abandoned for fear of crime. problem of summary executions of young contacts with the Central American Coali- people, a disturbing trend that appeared tion for the Prevention of Youth Violence. The model managed to gain the respect in the mid-1990s. The Honduran govern- Support for the involvement of counter- of officials of the “Peace and Co-existence ment recognized that such executions had part JHA-JA in the model helped establish programme”, a municipal public security occurred, and that members of the National the organisation as an authority on the programme funded by the InterAmerican Police had participated in some of the killings. issue of gang prevention. Development Bank (IDB) in San Pedro Sula, as well as that of municipal officials The national and international public The Collective for Life, Peace and Justice in Puerto Cortés. Officials in both cities advocacy campaign, undertaken by the The Collective for Life, Peace and Justice recognised the model’s potential for replica- programme with the Collective for Life, brought together local and regional human tion in their jurisdictions. We noted greater Peace and Justice, contributed to the crea- rights organisations around the issues community control over the actions of tion of the Permanent Commission for of capital punishment, reduction of the police officers, while the police regained a the Protection of the Physical and Moral age for prosecution as an adult, and the measure of public trust thanks to the work Integrity of Children. This commission reforms to Article 332 of the Penal Code of the Community Policing component. created the Special Unit for Investigation known commonly as “the anti-gang law”, into the Deaths of Minors, within the Na- among other issues. The collective provides Youth who left the gangs provided a positive tional Police. Member organisations of the a space for reflection and discussion and is example and influence over other children Collective then supported the special in- a point of reference for other human rights at risk of joining violent youth gangs. vestigation unit’s efforts, providing valuable organisations. Efforts to deal with these issues are better coordinated because of it. LEARNING FROM THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA PROGRAMME
Juvenile justice in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua & Guatemala
Given the experimental nature of this programming, initial socialisation of project goals should be conservative and real- istic so as to avoid disappointment and disillusion with the process if it does not develop quickly.
Participating actors It is important to encourage broad non- politically aligned participation in the model, rather than limiting direct participa- tion to a select group of leaders. Limiting participation in the model will limit its potential results. Different sectors bring a greater variety and often complimentary skill sets to the table while broadening community support for the initiative.
Families have an important role to play in this process. Work with parents and Generation X sends envoys into the poor neighbourhoods of San Pedro Sula to counsel children to stay siblings can ease the reinsertion of former in school and out of the gangs. Here association vice president David Ortiz speaks about self respect to gang members into society, and instruction a group of youths whose geographic and economic situation puts them at risk for gang recruitment. with regard to taking care of their own Participation Advances against discrimination spouses and children can help to break The programme and partner JHA–JA The programme was able to reduce the the vicious cycle of domestic violence and helped former gang members achieve a amount of discrimination faced by former abuse often associated with the incorpora- voice through the formation of an associa- gang members by incorporating them into tion of youths into street gangs. The youths tion called Generation X, which provides broader community governance activities. need orientation that few if any have Relations between the community and the its members with a mutual support ever received with regard to roles within former gang members improved along with network while acting as a platform for their family, respect for rights within the perceptions. Improved community relations home, non-violent conflict resolution, and public advocacy activities and community had a positive impact on the former gang rehabilitation and prevention efforts. member’s standing within their own families. adequate sex education. The programme succeeded in validating At least a dozen female former gang The complexity of youth violence as- youth participation in the eyes of com- members who had been ostracized by sociated with gangs should not be munity leaders involved with the different community and society were reintegrated underestimated. It is the product of histori- aspects of implementation. Adults said they into education or the work force. cal structural factors beyond the scope of were impressed with the level of interest programming and these causes cannot be displayed by the youth and with the quality quickly remedied. Transforming the real- of their input on key issues. Steps were What we learned ity of social risk for youths in conflictive taken to ensure this input at every step of neighbourhoods may well require more the process. The community governance time than generally allotted for project model implementation and programme staff must Several former gang members participating Prioritisation of programme activities be flexible, ready to adapt to changing cir- in the programme have gained leadership Effective strategic planning should priori- cumstances in the target community. In the in the broader youth movement through tise programme activities, identifying which words of one of the Model’s chief architects, participation in forums and organisations. aspects are crucial in the beginning stages, Fermin Lainez, “The reality always trumps what inter-institutional coordination is any technical or theoretical proposal, and Partner JHA-JA involved youth at the level prerequisite, and what training will be needed of its board of directors as well as in project to prepare programme personnel and as such, the model is a proposition that can design and implementation. One group of participants Resource management should never attain an absolute conclusion.” 15 young people in the Rivera Hernández be carefully staged as it is likely that initial The youth the programme seeks to assist support will be limited until the programme Sector extended their organisational efforts must become its primary protagonists. Our can prove itself to potential sponsoring agen- into the economic arena via formation of experience shows that they are the most the Multiple Youth Services Cooperative. cies which might initially be put off by such high-risk programming. interested parties, pursuing substantial LEARNING FROM THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA PROGRAMME
Juvenile justice in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua & Guatemala
change in their lives with the same convic- allowed for joining of a church as one of Vocational training and actual productive tion and force of will that had ensured the only legitimate ways to leave the gang. activities proved a powerful stimulus for their survival in the face of life’s substan- Local priests or pastors have been at the youth to overcome their conflict with the tial daily risks. Programme staff should forefront of gang rehabilitation activities in law, reduce their physical risk and seek therefore employ a theoretical and meth- many of the communities plagued by youth new horizons through reinsertion into so- odological framework that corresponds violence. Generation X members display ciety. Accompanied with the right amount to the perspective and logic of the chief an uncommon religious fervour and often of psychological and logistical support, protagonists, the involved youths. Results equate leaving the gangs with salvation and sports or cultural forms of recreation, will in the end depend on the programme’s before God. These youths have inflicted and economic enterprises established through ability to increase the capacity of partici- been subject to intense levels of violence the programme became a vehicle for the pating youths to find and implement their and they find in religion a way to get past desired reinsertion. own solutions. those brutal experiences. Most left the Any programme working with former gang gangs only after hitting a psychological bot- In working with these youth who have members must be prepared to deal with tom that included contemplation of suicide. been ostracized and worse by their society, drug abuse problems among participants Through religion they seemed to find not programme personnel should not be and in the community. Special care must only redemption but a new reason for car- also be taken because of the ties between surprised by the depth or the personal rying on and encouragement in facing the drug traffic, the gangs and even the police. nature of the relationships they form with difficulties they continued to confront. Re- the youth. The identification of these social Firearms have an important place in the ligion also provides former gang members outcasts with the facilitating organisation cycle of violence plaguing poor urban with an important point of reencounter proved to be especially strong because of neighbourhoods like Rivera Hernandez with the rest of Honduran society. the novelty of finding a source of support and Chamelecon. Effort should be made and institutional protection, and due to the Programme design in a violent context to foster processes of negotiation and reconciliation within the neighbourhoods. environment of trust, freedom and solidar- The violence that this model aims to A project to get guns off the street by ity implied by this type of undertaking. prevent, especially the exaggerated rate at exchanging them for items or services in which the target population is being killed, demand with youths might be a viable op- Gender issues in gang violence places special demands on programme Gender issues must be taken into ac- tion for lowering the level of violence. design and implementation. Security mecha- count when working on the issue of gang The police historically have been another violence. Participants are coming from a nisms are a must and should be adjusted in line with constant monitoring and evalua- source of violence in these communities, highly regimented gang atmosphere where and more recently have also been a target tion of the security situation. Care must be relationships are defined by power and of gang violence. It is necessary to have a taken not to inflame sensibilities that could blanketed in machismo, including extreme profound understanding of the operations physical and sexual abuse of females by lead to additional violence or put pro- and capabilities of police in the target com- their male counterparts. Care must be gramme personnel and participants at risk. munity, as well as their policies with regard taken to ensure that this macho culture Personnel should be given adequate health to the humane treatment of citizens, does not transfer to the new forms or or- support, including in the psychological arena. suspects and detainees. You can expect to ganisation used by former gang members, have to intervene on the behalf of project Our experience led to the development and special attention should be paid to the participants who are detained and to advo- of five pre-requisites for the implementa- abuse females endured within the gangs. cate respect for their human rights. These tion of this model: a) a process of social activities will also contribute to improving Masculinity and gender must also be taken intervention that allows staff to get to the image of the police department and up with males whose senses of these know the community actors and to design respect for the law within the community. issues have been warped by membership ways of interacting with them; b) feasibility in gangs that equate violent action with studies for the different options of training Community members with maternal or manliness and make it a condition for and workforce insertion; c) analysis of the paternal attributes and who were willing to presence of groups in the community that achieving status. offer love, guidance and solidarity proved represent a risk for those youths who most effective in reaching out to children Religion in reform and rehabilitation decide to participate (i.e. active gangs, who had fallen in with gangs. Participat- While the promotion of spirituality was not groups involved in organised crime, vigi- ing community leaders should be carefully a component of this model, it is important lante groups, etc.); d) training in the areas trained and sensitized to Save the Children to recognize the importance of religion contemplated for working with the youths; and e) strengthening of administrative and standards before working directly with to the reform and rehabilitation process. managerial capacity with respect to meet- youth gangs. Establishing clear ground rules The gangs use traditional Catholic symbols ing donor requirements while maintaining at the outset helps ensure consistent co- inherited from their Latino predeces- the flexibility to respond to changing operation during project implementation. sors in the United States. In the past, they conditions in the street. LEARNING FROM THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA PROGRAMME
Juvenile justice in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua & Guatemala
Generation X achieved a high level of gang. Care should be taken to minimize International allies can be very impor- organisation during the life of the pro- rivalry between gangs. Sporting events tant when the social and political climate gramme. Future efforts should focus on pitting former rivals against each other, for of a country is marked by high levels of projecting their message of reconciliation example, have a potential for reviving old violence or repression. The government’s to larger audiences. Their story has been but deeply engrained animosities. desire to be held in favourable regard reported internationally, but should now by international opinion with respect to Working with youths in vocational activi- be focused closer to home in order to human rights compliance can be used as ties requires special knowledge and skills, counter the discrimination and rejection leverage to increase the influence of hu- and facilitating organisations should enlist felt there. JHA-JA, as the technical or- man rights organisations. the help of specialized entities for this ganisation that supported the creation of purpose. The Polígono Don Bosco in El Organising a collective Generation X, should continue to accom- Salvador is one example. Diversity among members of a network or pany these youth leaders in their journey inter-institutional space creates poten- while documenting and socializing their The specific needs of female participants tial for shared learning and resources. A experience and this model for addressing should be taken into account when providing properly functioning collective requires a youth violence. vocational training. Separate facilities were well-defined structure and membership preferable in this case due to extreme male It is important to introduce a component and a high level of personal and institution- dominated experienced within the gangs. of public communication so that suc- al commitment. The broader interest that cesses can be relayed to the general public The perseverance of Generation X despite unites the collective must be channelled and awareness raised with regard to the the killing of 30 of its members and the through a coordinated plan of action. existence of effective alternatives to the organisation’s continued commitment to Commitment was key in our experience problem of violence and youth. non violence in the face of such adversity because proper functioning of the col- must be characterized as a triumph of this When organising communities around lective depends in great measure on the model of integrated attention to youth projects attending to former gang mem- participating organisations completing their violence, developed by JHA-JA, the com- bers, you must be prepared to address the assigned tasks. Group cohesion depended munity and the participating youth groups. unique and at times antagonistic interests on member organisations feeling like the of participating community groups, like collective represented their interests, but churches. Care must be taken so that the The Collective for Life, Peace care must be taken to separate those indi- project does not become a vehicle for the and Justice vidual agendas from that of the collective. furtherance of separate institutional ambi- Lessons in political advocacy Organisations grow and develop when tions or for the imposition of a separate Effective political advocacy is fundamental to conditions are right, and they should have institutional vision on participating youth. achieving the changes pursued by this col- lective of organisations united by a concern the flexibility to respond to changing Vocational and employment opportuni- for human rights. The collective was most ef- conditions. Where there is willingness and ties proved essential to maintaining youth fective when it was able to respond to crisis commitment, financing is not an obstacle. involvement in the project. These types situations with well thought out and techni- of enterprises should be established in cally detailed proposals for public action. neutral territory, not controlled by any
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