Honduran gang members 'wander' into new life

Mennonite Central Committee
Friday, 22 June 2001

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- After two years of involvement with a Honduran Mennonite outreach program, members of the "Wanderers" street gang in Punta Caliente neighborhood still hang out together -- but now they play soccer and pick up trash rather than shooting at other gangs and robbing.

Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice), a program of the Mennonite Church of Honduras, has worked since 1999 in two neighborhoods here. Through sports, community service, instruction and spiritual assistance, Paz y Justicia has helped end most criminal behavior of gangs in these neighborhoods. A Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) volunteer previously worked with this program, and MCC plans to fill the position again by January 2002.

On a weekday morning in Punta Caliente neighborhood, eight former members of the Wanderers -- they pronounce it "Wone-dares" -- gather with Denis Mata, a Paz y Justicia employee. The young men range in age from 16 to 24. Most have gang-related tattoos, from amateur-looking hearts and "W"s to elaborate angels. Several men cannot attend because they are working; another is in school.

Thirteen members of the Wanderers have left the gang and now call themselves "Youths in Recuperation." Seven others are still in the gang. Other former members have either moved away or been killed.

The young men give different reasons for working with Paz y Justicia. One says a soccer team the group sponsored gave him something to do. Another credits talks on nonviolence from Denis Mata and the MCC volunteer, Ricardo Torres, with opening his eyes to the lack of a future he had with a gang.

A third, named Elwin, speaks of Christian salvation that Paz y Justicia taught. The professional-looking tattooes across his chest and arms are mementoes of his time in prison.

"The gang offers nothing," he says. "Only Christ offers salvation."

As these Wanderers left the gang they began other activities; along with soccer they also made outings to a swimming hole. They offered their time to the neighborhood council and began picking up trash along the nearby highway.

The work in the Gracias a Dios neighborhood has been even more successful; because of Paz y Justicia and other forces, the Vatos Locos gang has ceased to exist. Again, soccer and other activities attracted the members.

Since the Gracias a Dios program began, the youths have periodically cleaned a park and a cemetery, and they have also sponsored Mother's Day and Children's Day celebrations. Denis Mata has photos of gang members organizing a party in the streets for their mothers.

"The people in the neighborhood are very glad to see the changes," Mata says.

Neighbors confirm this. Angel Vasquez is owner of a small store who says the gang problem had made business difficult.

"Truck drivers with milk, meat, gas tanks, they would not come in," he says. "We had to push carts several blocks away to get the things." He credits Paz y Justicia with calming the neighborhood; police and a vigilance committee established by store owners also helped, he says.

Dominga Alba, who owns a small kitchen nearby, agrees that the gang program has improved the neighborhood.

"When the supply trucks could not come in, it hurt my business too because I could not buy food I needed," she says. "But our boys are not the problem anymore." However, outside gangs still cause trouble in the area, she says.

Juan Carlos Mendoza owns another small store nearby and adds, "It's not just the supply trucks -- the mere presence of gang members, of course, makes it hard for me. Customers don't want to come around when they see that."

He agrees that the situation is much improved after the work of Paz y Justicia. He also thinks that a number of deaths within Vatos Locos limited the gang's influence.

"Many of these kids don't really know what a gang is when they join it," Dennis Mata says. "They just see guys wearing nice clothes, and looking tough with their tattoos. When they realize what the gang requires -- carrying weapons, selling drugs, getting in fights -- many want to leave."

In these two neighborhoods, Paz y Justicia has been there to offer an alternative.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org