International COAV study documents armed violence in ten countries
Marcelo Monteiro
25 May 2005 – Thousands of young people out of school, exposed to drugs and with little future. Children and adolescents as young as 11 years old use firearms to defend turf in conflicts with police and rival gangs. All of this with the direct or indirect participation of corrupt police and the connivance of politicians. This, in addition to poorly planned repressive measures, a lack of family planning and an absent State have caused violence rates to skyrocket over the last several years in at least ten countries on four different continents. In some of these countries, the number of deaths caused by firearms is greater than in countries officially at war. And worse: most of the victims are under the age of 18.
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| Average age of gang members is 13.5 years old |
This scenario is analysed in the book “Neither War nor Peace – International comparisons of children and youth in organised armed violence” (342 pages, Editora 7 Letras). The book challenges popularly held notions of armed conflict, delinquency and crime. Currently available in English, a Portuguese and Spanish version will follow in June. The COAV site will feature an online-version in all three languages as of May 24.
“They are not delinquents, they are not child-soldiers, and the problem is very serious and happening in various places throughout the world,” said English anthropologist Luke Dowdney, author and organiser of the study. The book and research project are a continuation of Dowdney’s first book “Children of the Drug Trade,” which addressed the use of children and adolescents by Rio de Janeiro’s drug factions. “Poverty, marginalisation, heavy weapons, cocaine and repressive policies are part of the daily reality of various cities in the world.”
In order to carry out the study, financed by Save the Children Sweden, Ford Foundation, DFID and World Vision, and coordinated by Viva Rio and COAV, Luke Dowdney counted on a team of local researchers working in favelas, ghettos and marginal areas in twelve countries (Honduras and Haiti were not included in the book due to the inability to gather sufficient data). The study’s objective was to better understand who are the children and adolescents involved in armed violence; and to understand the motives that drive them to use firearms and violence against other youth as desperate as them for a better future.
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| Members of a Nigerian gang and the weapons used by the group |
After twelve months of research, Dowdney has brought together the results from 120 interviews with members of gangs such as the Comando Vermelho in Rio, the Mara Salvatrucha in El Salvador, Bloques Cacique Nutibara in Medellín, the Egbesu Boys in Nigéria and the Black Gangster Disciples in Chicago.
“There are dozens of factors that explain why youth are involved in armed violence, and dozens for why they don’t become involved. For every risk factor, we have to discover a protective factor. The research allows us to begin to consider solutions,” says Dowdney.
“Neither War nor Peace” is divided into three parts: the first compares the groups investigated in each country; the second describes the participation of children and adolescents in the groups; and the third compares civil society policy and projects; concluding with recommendations on how to treat the problem. The book also includes reports divided up according to city or country (these documents will be available on the COAV site).
In the first half of the interview, the British anthropologist addresses the similarities of the groups researched.
COAV – What surprised you most during the course of the study?
LD – We got so much information that it is difficult to think of only one particular subject. But there was one particular item that, although it did not surprise me, reinforced what I was already thinking. The average age for young people joining armed gangs in the ten countries studied is 13.6 years-old. That is the average! That means that there are children as young as 11 years-old in the world with weapons in hand. In most countries they are given a gun upon entering the group. Until now it was always thought that armed violence was principally concentrated in the 18 to 24 year-old age group. But we have found that violence is a serious problem for the 15 to 18 year-olds. In Ecuador, out of the 12 youth interviewed for the book, eight had witnessed a colleague killing someone and five had killed at least one person themselves. We lost two of our interviewees during the course of the study. And without a doubt dozens of other young people died before the book came out. That reflects the tragedy of the situation. Young people are killing and being killed. And, they are killing themselves. And that is a problem for all of society.
What are the similarities between the groups?
All of the groups we studied act in determined areas; they are territorial groups that fight amongst themselves. That holds true for factions, pandillas, maras...and the majority of the victims are youth that belong to other groups. Of course they are a threat to society in some situations, but above all they are a threat to themselves. It is important to point out that the majority of youth that die by firearms in the world are poor. Statistics therefore help us to better understand where the problem is focused. It seems obvious, but in fact it is not.
Is this research an “international continuation” of your first book (“Children of the Drug Trade”)?
While writing “Children of the Drug Trade,” I imagined that other cities in the world were likely to have problems and challenges similar to those of Rio. That is likely to be because they share similar economic, political and social factors. Poverty, marginalisation, firearms and cocaine are part of the reality of various cities. And so are repressive police measures. All of these were key to creating the situation that we are now faced with. Nine of the ten countries researched are involved in the drug trade and all are on international weapons smuggling routes.
How were the ten countries in the study chosen?
After we finished “Children of the Drug Trade,” we sent e-mails to NGOs, universities and institutions throughout the world asking if in their countries there a similar situation to that in the book. We asked for a one-page text and received material from throughout the world, from Russia, Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, South Africa...we then created a virtual committee with people from the UN, UNICEF and other international organisations that work with armed violence, and we decided which countries were most interesting for the purposes of the study. We also took into account the matter of local partners, groups, faculties, and researchers who have access to the field. We lost two countries that were to be part of the book; Haiti because the researcher was receiving death threats and Honduras because we did not achieve enough interviews.
The research was quite dangerous. How were the armed groups approached? Do you know of a particularly dangerous incident or situation?
A training period was held with all of the researchers in Rio, in order to avoid problems. First, the interviews were conducted in a manner that would not put the researcher or the subject in danger. The researcher, clearly, was at risk by being in a determined area, but he or she had to take care in how they approached the armed group. All of it was negotiated and we had the luck to work with experienced researchers in all of the countries. John Hagedorn, for example, has 20 years researching gangs in the United States. In some countries, such as Nigeria, the researchers had problems because young gang members wanted money in order to be interviewed. That was resolved through dialogue. Another important rule was to first talk to adults from the gang before approaching the adolescent members. We asked for permission from the gang leader...we did not want to put the adolescent in a difficult position. Countries such as Nigeria and the Philippines have very little information available on youth involved in armed violence. We achieved a total of 120 interviews in ten countries. But it was often a tense situation.
Besides the countries that were included in the study, what other countries face similar problems?
All of Central America currently faces problems with gangs. Mexico, Guatemala, the Caribbean...my only doubt is if the groups there are as organised as in El Salvador, Ecuador and Colombia, for example. In Europe there are gangs, but they normally don’t use firearms. For now! Firearms are spreading throughout the world at a rapid rate. To tell the truth, the key component for having this kind of problem is a firearm. The organisation of the group is important, for us to better understand how youth work within a particular structure. But if we control the fabrication and international traffic of arms, the situation will certainly improve. We also have to deal with the problem at the local level. We need projects that directly deal with these youth, identifying risk factors, influences and personal problems. That is why the study is so important. We need to understand first how these groups are organised in order to then treat the problem.
In the second half of the interview, Dowdney addresses police corruption, risk factors and points out how projects addressing the problem can be more successful.
Click to download the book.
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