Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Valle de Angeles (Agenzia Fides) – Various representatives from Caritas of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama met on September 22-26 in Honduras, in an event organized by the CELAM’s Department of Justice and Solidarity, in order to study the situation of the gangs and youth violence in Central America, Mexico, and Panama, and analyze the pastoral challenges that this phenomenon presents (see Fides 24/9/2008). At the close of the event, they sent out a final declaration analyzing the causes of this problem and offering several solutions.
According to the participants, there are gangs in all the regions. They are “of a wide variety and constantly evolving, and are attractive to minors because they offer them something that they are not finding in their families, in their schools, or in our pastoral labor. These are boys, girls, adolescents, youth, that suffer some type of exclusion and thus seem like they are “extra” or can be “done without.” The participants analyzed several different social, economic, political, and cultural factors that can be at the root of the birth and expansion of gangs, as well as several personal and individual factors “that make these people more vulnerable in adverse conditions.”
The Statement says that the policies of a “hard-handed” nature, “anti-gang laws,” “zero tolerance” and others in the region, which are clearly of a repressive character, “have not been successful in eliminating gangs.” Furthermore, “far from solving the problem, following the application of this hard-handed policy, the gangs have grown in strength and number and the process of dialogue and communication between them and the government has been blocked.”
Thus, they point out that “opting for repression, instead of policies that guarantee basic rights for children and adolescents, such as education, housing, and equal opportunity for their integral development, does nothing more than worsen the problem.”
However, even in the midst of this situation, they seem hopeful and observe that there have been projects both of a preventative character as well as direct work with members of gangs that have been successful. What is needed is “personal attention” and “considering the youth as subjects, not as objects of pastoral activity.” This implies “listening and dialoguing with them, supporting them in their search for a way out of the situation.” The document continues: “We have discovered that we should work in the area of prevention and in direct contact, but also in higher-level decision-making, so that public policies may be established that protect the rights of children.”
The participants in the Encounter propose several resolutions in the fight against this phenomenon. Some are: to work in areas of prevention, direct contact, and reintegration; to strengthen family pastoral care; offer a greater awareness and formation to pastoral agents in themes related to the social vulnerability of people who are led to join gangs; carry out a direct apostolate with the youth at risk and those already active in gangs; begin a movement for public policies that promote integral development of minors; promote dialogue between the government, civil society and the youth at risk and active in gangs, keeping in mind the fact that they should be considered active subjects in their own development. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 02/10/2008)
