Challenges in reforming gang life

According to research conducted in 2019 by Dr. Harold Young, Belize City has as many as 1,400 active gang members. These groups of young men often prey on each other in a battle for territory in the illegal drug trade. The reckless violence has led to deadly shootings in broad daylight when gang members are caught leaving their neighborhoods. Since they have become part of our reality, the streets are no longer as safe as they once were. These young men, many of whom are unemployed, are using their brotherhood to rob, rob, assault, and murder ordinary citizens. In this edition of our Five Point Breakdown, News Five’s Marion Ali looks at gangs, why people join them, and intervention programs to guide other youth away from them before they are led astray. Here is that report.

Marion Ali, reporter

In the Old Capital, a murder scene usually means the work of a gang taking revenge on a rival street gang for a previous murder or shooting. This has been the case since the mid-1990s, when the original Bloods and Crips gangs were formed. The rivalry between the two made certain streets more dangerous to walk at certain times. But what are street gangs in the first place?

What are street gangs?

A street gang is defined as a group of people who repeatedly engage in criminal activities that affect the order and safety of public places in particular. But why do men and young people join gangs?

Why do people join gangs?

Brandon Baptist

Brandon Baptist, Gang Member

“I’ve been on the streets for a while, I’ve been to jail a lot. I was in the police force. I’ve always got news. Everybody knows me, Brandon Baptist, right?”

Charles Augustine

Karl Augustine, Belize City resident

“When I was 16, because of poverty and lack of leadership and, you know, I didn’t have a father figure in my life. So, you know, I ended up on the streets. One of my friends, um, he died from gang violence.”

Karl Augustine says he was never a member of a gang, but the life he led as a young man had the same impact on him. And as Baptist said, his time in the gang led to his incarceration. Now, both men are trying to get their lives back on track.

Charles Augustine

“I decided to leave that lifestyle behind and I joined the volunteer BDF. And from the volunteer BDF, I spent about two years in the volunteer BDF and then I joined the regular armed forces. And during my time in the regular armed forces, there were different options, because it’s not just about being a soldier. They also give you different opportunities to become a mechanic or an electrician. So, um, they asked me if I wanted to do a trade, so I chose the trade. And that’s how I learned about electricity.”

Difficulty leaving

Sometimes it’s hard to leave.

Marion Ali

“Have you received any threats or anything like that?”

Timmy Stamp

“Yes, you get threats. They threaten you and all sorts of other things.”

Brandon Baptist

“Every time I try to do something positive, I fall back. But I keep fighting it.”

Marion Ali

There are a few individuals who have joined street gangs and successfully left. The following person we spoke to shared his testimony of a life of crime and violence. Timmy Stamp, 57, joined the KGB Bloods in the early 1990s. For him, it took family life to get him off the streets.

Timmy Stamp

Timmy Stamp, former gang member

“We that we start this. Make it so big. Yeah, we start it all the way. You because I was in blood. We were KGB. I thank God I don’t have to kill nobody. You know what I mean? Uh, yeah, Rob, you name it. We got through it. You know what I mean? But otherwise we don’t have to kill nobody. And I thank God for that. You know what?

Marion Ali

“What finally opened your eyes and made you decide: you know what, this is enough for me and I have to get out.”

Timmy Stamp

“Well, when I met my beautiful wife, she was like, you know, I wanted to take her to different places and there’s no way I can take her. And there’s no way I can go. Then I had a new daughter and different things that I want to do better today. You know what. So that’s why I’m asking God to change my lifestyle and you know, take me out of here.”

Stamp opened his own business, first a fruit shop, which later turned into a grocery store he now owns on Dean Street. He showed us the scars he got from being in the gang. To help steer the leaders of tomorrow away from that path and prevent the even worse possible outcomes, he holds evening sessions and organizes field trips for local children.

Timmy Stamp

“We have night classes that we do with them, you know, teach them to read, spell, do math, stuff like that. We go on different trips, you know, just let them know the beliefs of their country, you know, I think we need more things like dende.”

The role of intervention programs

Stamp and other community leaders are receiving support from the Leadership Intervention Unit, led by Dominique Norales.

Dominique Norales

Dominique Norales, President, LIU

“You’ve got Mr. Timmy Stamp running an after-school program. You’ve got Stix running Days of Healing. Miss Olga running an after-school program in her front yard. Uh, other, other community groups, neighborhood watch groups that have, uh, really done that nuanced work that we, we can’t have, we can’t do.”

The LIU collaborates with various organizations, agencies, institutions and units to guide problem or at-risk youth through channels that can improve their lives.

Dominique Norales

“That work, first of all, you know, involves gathering some information about them, um, the neighborhoods that they come from, and the children that they have. When they would have dropped out of school, which is a situation that most of them have experienced for various reasons. And then, um, we put them into work teams, which are located in different parts of Belize City. That work is supported by the Belize City City Council, where we try to coordinate, um, what kind of beautification work needs to be done in communities. Also added to the work program is the TOBAL vocational training, um, where we involve our clients. Um, so some of them are also enrolled in school, which is twice a week, um, every week for three to four months, depending on holidays and things like that. And then those individuals are generally also involved in other training.”

It’s trainings like these that Brandon Baptist and Karl Augustine also engage youth in the Lake Independence Area in, to ensure they spend most of their waking hours doing positive activities. Augustine, who is a BDF soldier, says their background in electrical work complemented the program he wanted to manage.

Charles Augustine

“A lot of people think that. People from Lake Independence are just criminals, or when people heard about um, Lake High, or the St. Martin era, people would think that they’re just violent people, but that’s not it. You know, there are actually good people here, and people who are willing to help other people, and are willing to turn their lives around, if people would give them the chance to do so. Some interns, they come up to me and they say, Mr. Carl, look man, my phone is, the wire is damaged and the skill that, the way you show me how to connect the wires together is the same as what I did and the phone starts working.”

Brandon Baptist

“They have a lot of young people there, you know, they go to school, a lot of young people try it out there, and then they end up in a gang world or a violent world, so we need to stop that before that happens, then we give them the opportunity to learn a trade.”

Taking the bold step

Dominique Norales says that the LIU also works with young people who slip up and gang members who run away and show that they really want reform. For those who want change, like Stamp thirty-seven years ago, the challenges will be there, but faith rules all.

Timmy Stamp

“Remember God is in control, no deh. Da God is in control. I put all my faith and trust in God.”

Marion Ali for News Five.

The post Challenges in Reforming from Gang Life first appeared on Channel 5 Belize.