Rehabilitating former gang members

10 February 2009

Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, appears much larger than the 1 million inhabitants it contains, sprawling across a series of hills and escarpments.

Young people working on an HIV/AIDS prevention programme at YMCA Honduras.

Photo: Nile Sprague

At first glance from the air, it appears much more solid that it is. It’s only as you come in to land that you notice that many of the houses are constructed from little more than recycled planks of wood, corrugated iron, plastic, and whatever else was at hand. Somehow they cling to the sides of the hills.

The YMCA’s community centre
Today we are attending the inauguration of the Ludoteca (games centre) in the suburb of San Francisco in the west of the city. Winding our way up the side of a hill towards the Ludoteca, the General Secretary of YMCA Honduras points out the different types of houses in the community. The much grander concrete houses - complete with balcony and a new paint job -financed by the remittances of family members in the US, contrast with the wooden, one-room, ad-hoc homes where children are brushing their teeth at a sink outside.

The centre has been in the community for over 17 years, providing a place for children and young people to receive educational support and attend recreational activities. Young people also receive training at the centre in leadership skills and civic empowerment. Many of them remain in the community and continue to help at the YMCA while studying or working. Although violence and gangs remain a problem here, it’s safer than it was. At least that’s what the YMCA volunteers tell me.

Rehabilitating former gang members
Gangs are a huge problem in Honduras. It is thought that out of a population of seven million, there are 30,000 gang members - many of them young people. A heavy-handed zero tolerance policy on gang crime has created massive problems. The YMCA of Honduras is participating in a government-run violence prevention programme. An important part of the programme is rehabilitating former gang members, including removing gang tattoos. Tattoos are the mark of gang membership. Some of them have been ‘earned’ by gang members, representing a kill. It is virtually impossible for former gang members to gain employment or live a normal life without having them removed.

YMCA Honduras currently has 20 - 25 young people in its rehabilitation programme and is supporting them to have their tattoos removed at the government-run tattoo removal clinic in Tegucigalpa. Depending on the type of ink used, it can take anywhere from 1 – 7 sessions to remove a tattoo, yet after a month or so virtually no mark remains. The most difficult tattoos to remove are where unconventional products have been used to make ink, such as rubber tyres, or where unconventional instruments, such as guitar strings, have been used, which penetrate far deeper into the skin.

While some young people manage to make a clean break from the gangs, many are at even greater risk once they leave. It can be particularly dangerous when gang leaders attempt to leave the gang. Those with high-level information about other gang leaders are tracked down by both their former gang members and the police. A Doctor at the tattoo-removal clinic told me that at least 12 young people had been killed in this way. They try to protect these young people by sending them out of the city to smaller communities, although that doesn’t always help.

Francisco’s story
Francisco is 27. He joined a gang at the age of 11. He tells me that he was often on the streets causing trouble. “The gang was like my family. Most gang members come from broken homes. They look for a way to get ahead, so they join the gang.”

Francisco was in the gang for thirteen years. “Most of the time, from 18 to 25 years old, I was in prison. And it’s not pretty. They say when you are in a gang you feel good, but it is not true, it is a lie.”

“Tattoos are a must. They have to be earned; it’s not just that you get them. To win a tattoo, you must participate in assassinations, hassling and kidnapping people.”

Francisco left the gang when he was asked to kill a fellow gang member: “That’s when I decided to leave”, he tells me. “I told my family I had dropped out and they accepted me. Thanks to my family I’ve been out for four years.”

Francisco still gets stopped by the police and they check him for tattoos, so he is trying to get them removed through laser treatment. He had a job for a while but then had to look for another. Many employers do a physical examination and they won’t employ people who have tattoos.

“I’ve got gang tattoos and if the police see me they get me to lift my top up and when they see the tattoos they detain me and investigate. If after that they find I’ve done nothing wrong then they let me go. They sometimes call the YMCA to check if I I’m involved with them.”

Francisco has been involved in the YMCA for a year. He is taking part in an HIV/AIDS prevention project, teaching other young people about contraception. He believes that if he hadn’t found the YMCA, he would almost certainly be dead. “Being involved in the YMCA has changed my attitude. I used to hang around on the streets, but not anymore. I’m studying now. I’m in my second year of business and if God allows, I want to graduate and be something in life. And in time I want to have a family. Forget everything. I want to live without tattoos.”