The Social Phenomenon of Violence in El Salvador - Research Paper Example

El Salvador gang assessment Introduction Question one: Sociological phenomenon of violence after 1992 Gangs and associated violence is the most sociological phenomena of violence after the peace Accords of 1992 which ended the civil war. Homicides and other violent crimes like intra-familiar violence, robbery, extortion and kidnappings are some of the crimes associated with the gang violence (USAID/LAC/CAM 1). Question two: effect of poverty affected El-Salvador There is high income inequality in El Salvador. According to 1961 statistics, the poorest quintile earned six percent of total income while the wealthiest earned 61 percent of the total income (USAID/LAC/CAM 1). The trend has not reversed whereby the poorest 20 percent earn about 2.4 percent of the total income while the richest quintile earn about 58.3 percent of the total national income. The youth faces numerous challenges including lack of access to basic services like water, energy and education. Majority of the youth aged between 14-25 years face social exclusion. The country’s population is fairly young with average age of 37 years. It is estimated that 11 percent of the youthful population is illiterate (14-25). 40 percent of the children in the country drop out of school before grade 5 while only 17 percent of the youths afford to reach university level in their education (USAID/LAC/CAM 2). Question three: Origin of gangs in El Salvador The origin of the gangs can be traced back to the civil war of 1980s whereby Salvadorans and their children fled to Los Angeles, California. By 1990, more than 700,000 Salvadorans had settled in California, Washington DC, New York and parts of Maryland hence they formed own gangs which joined the already existing gangs in those places. After the Peace Accord between the government and the Marti Faribundo National Liberation Front (FMLN) in 1992, the Civil War ended and most of the Salvadorans began streaming back to their country. In 1996, the number of Salvadorans returning back home increased due to the changes in immigration policies in the United States where thousands were deported to El Salvador and other Central American countries (USAID/LAC/CAM 5). Although the immigrants were not deported due to criminal activities, some of them had already been incarcerated in the California prison system. Some of the deportees were Gang members including the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street (Barrio 18) gangs who inherited many aspects of the U.S gang culture back in El Salvador. Some of the U.S gang culture which the gangs took back to El Salvador includes the use of hand signals, insider language, styles of dress and the propensity of rebellion and violence. MS-13 and 18th Street members leaned much of their gang craft from the established Mafia Mexicana which is the most influential gang in Southern California. Two gangs which originated from this include the MS 13 (Mara Salvatrucha) and 18th Street gang (USAID/LAC/CAM 5). Question four: goals of the 18th St. Gang The 18th Street gang has established several goals where the first one is to take over the drug trade which they can use to finance their criminal activities. The gang also wants to purchase weapons for the gang members. The gang is also geared at eliminating members who are traitors. The gang is also prohibiting new tattoos and also wants to end the recruitment of women as new gang recruits. The gang has established a goal of executing members who consume crack and cocaine but it has allowed the consumption of marijuana including marijuana laced with coke. The gang has established an objective of taking over drug trafficking corridors in the next two to three years. The gang is also committed to taking over the small cartels USAID/LAC/CAM 6). Gangs in El Salvador are becoming more sophisticated Law enforcement approaches have not been able to curb gang violence and gang membership seam to be on the rise. MS- 13 and 18th Street gangs are trying to establish drug corridors and collaborations with Colombian narco-traffickers. Ricardo Meneses who is a former director of police has observed that gangs are becoming more sophisticated by using minors to commit the crimes since the minors cannot be convicted as adults. Gangs are also receiving family support since the gang members also support their families financially from the earnings of the gang activities (USAID/LAC/CAM 7). Gangs are becoming sophisticated by forming a widespread network with incarcerated gang members in jails. The gangs are also extorting “fees” from the bus drivers and business owners in order to finance their criminal activities. Gangs have established strong links with organized crime and gang competition has moved from the competition for territories to the competition for drug trafficking. Some gang members have resorted to paying for costly defense attorneys which is an indicator of the substantial proceeds the gangs make from their criminal activities. There is also fluid communication between gangs residing in El Salvador and those in the United States. The gang members have established sophisticated communication channels and networks between the prisons and the streets were they operate by using coded language and messages which are folded in precise manner (USAID/LAC/CAM 7). The gangs have established websites which they use for communication purposes hence sophisticating their criminal activities. The gangs have sophisticated their organizational structures since 18th Street gang which operates in El Salvador has established the national leadership (ranfla) and leaders with no tattoos (runers). The gangs have established strong discipline within the leaders who take the responsibility for committing homicides, drug trafficking. The clinkas gang members are also known as the missionaries. Question six: economic and social impacts of gangs on El Salvador The gang activity has hindered the economic and social development in El Salvador. The gang activities have negatively affected the state-citizenship relationships and the livelihood of many citizens. According to a recent survey by UNDP, violence in El Salvador costs the country approximately US $ 1.7 billion annually which is about 11.5 percent of the gross domestic product of the country. The violence costs can be attributed to the health related issues of gang violence like the lost lives, emotional distress, and medical attention to the victims of gang violence (USAID/LAC/CAM 7). Costs of gang violence also include the institutional costs which are incurred in strengthening the public security agencies and the administration of justice like the employment of more law enforcement policemen and judicial officers. There are private security costs which have been occasioned by gang violence since private businesses and citizens have to enlist the services of private security providers to guard their businesses and private residents. Gang violence has a negative impact on financial investments hence more people have lost their work due to stagnation of the economy (USAID/LAC/CAM 7). The country lost about US $ 720 million to violence which is more than double than the amount which was spend on both education and health in 2003. The GDP which have been lost to gang violence is way above the average for most industrialized countries where gang violence costs the economy about 5 percent and 14 percent to less developed economies. Gang violence in El Salvador has deterred trade and investments since 41 percent of the Salvadoran firms have indicated to be victims of past crime while 50 percent of the firms have indicated that crime and violence was a major obstacle to business activities in the country. Gangs are responsible for 27 percent of all crimes committed to firms with their criminal activities accounting for 46 percent of crimes to micro firms and 37 percent of the crimes committed to small firms. The World Bank report of 2005 highlights how gangs mainly target the micro and small businesses than larger firms (USAID/LAC/CAM 8). Social impacts Images of gang violence have created a feeling of chaos among the citizens where many people want to leave the country. The increase in deportations from the U.S and mainly the criminal deportees has enhanced the gang lifestyle in El Salvador. The youths are the primary targets of the gangs hence the violence has stigmatized the poor urban youths who are avoided for their appearance since they are considered dangerous (USAID/LAC/CAM 8). The gangs have shifted the attention of the media from other important social issues like the causes of gang violence. The media has over-exaggerated the gang phenomenon hence little has been done to examine the gang proliferation and the origins of the gang violence (USAID/LAC/CAM 8). Question seven: causes and risk factors of gangs in El Salvador There are several causes and risk factors which have forced the youths to join the gangs. Marginal urban enclaves Marginal urban enclaves is one of the risk factors since the gangs dominate the marginalized urban areas which are characterized by high poverty levels, lack of basic services and lack of enough employment opportunities and recreational facilities (USAID/LAC/CAM 10). Large numbers of unemployed youths The high unemployment among the youths is a leading cause of gang violence since the gangs offer the youths an alternative means to acquire goods and gain social acceptance. Marginalized youth have joined the gangs in order to acquire social acceptance (USAID/LAC/CAM 10). Education system which is unable to retain youths Various studies which have been conducted indicate direct relationship between the gang activity and the school drop outs. The youths have poor school attendance records and poor grades which makes their retention in the schools difficult. Forty percent of the children drop out of school before accomplishing level 5 while most gang members rarely complete at least the ninth grade (USAID/LAC/CAM 10). Reactive state government The government has responded to the gang violence with hard line tactics which include arbitrary detentions, torture and extra-judicial executions. These tactics have not deterred the gangs hence in sometimes they have made the gangs to consolidate and confront the state. Access to illicit economy Gangs have been able to finance their activities through drug trafficking hence without the access to the illegal economy their activities would be curtailed. Parents living and working in the United States With many of the parents living in other places, the children are raised by relatives who do not accord enough care hence creating fear or rebellion in such children. The relatives treat such children as outsiders hence they seek relief in the streets (USAID/LAC/CAM 10). Legacy of conflict and violence El Salvador’s civil war of (1980-1992), was one of the most devastating armed conflicts in Latin America which claimed more than 75,000 lives. After the war, there was general increase in violence and crime. The increase in the crime can be attributed to the war. Thousands of trained fighters were without jobs hence struggled to make a living. Weak, ineffective, corrupt police, criminal judicial systems Gangs have been able to take over some services which are reserved for state agencies like the collection of taxes which they use to purchase weapons. Gangs exercise justice by demanding certain behaviors from the citizens. Gangs dominate territories were the state functionaries are corrupt. There are unverified claims that the police has been directly involved in illegal activities with some gang members (USAID/LAC/CAM 11). Access to small arms The easy access and high proliferation of all manner of weaponry has increased the gang violence. For instance, little controls on weapons by the state and availability of trafficking routes have increased the access to weapons (USAID/LAC/CAM 11). Narco-Activity The international drug trade is responsible for some gang violence in the country. El Salvador serves as a critical transit point of drugs from countries like Colombia which are destined fro the United States markets. International drug trafficking has created organized criminal networks which contribute to higher drug consumption in the country hence high gang violence levels in the country (USAID/LAC/CAM 11). Media coverage The media has over-exaggerated the gang violence by glamorizing the gang lifestyle to the many youths in the country that already sense isolation many fronts (USAID/LAC/CAM 11). Question eight: government and social policies used to suppress gang activity Government response The government has responded to the gang violence and related crimes with a hard-line approach where law enforcement has being used as the only means to resolve the gang menace. Prevention measures have received little attention. The main hard-line strategies which the government has employed are the Mano Dura (firm hand) and Super Mano Dura (super firm hand) where the law enforcement agencies aim at incarcerating gang members. Mano Dura was made a law in 2003 while Super Mano Dura was launched in 2004 where the aim was to deal ruthlessly with gang criminal activities. Super Mano Dura resulted to more than 11,000 arrests in one year. Existing legislation allows the law enforcement agencies to randomly arrest and book gang members in the flooded system. The police and judiciary systems lack enough coordination since there are no enough personnel to manage the gang problems (USAID/LAC/CAM 12). There is lack of information sharing between El Salvador and the United States on the deportees’ criminal history. Criminal deportees are more sophisticated since they have no paper work and their criminal history is unknown to the authorities. They speak English and have links with other gangs in the United States. Currently, Ley Penal Juvenil (Juvenile offender law) requires the minors between the age of 12 to 17 years to be treated as juvenile offenders and to be tried in juvenile courts where the sentences for the minors have been limited to seven years (USAID/LAC/CAM 13). The Anti-Mara law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and the maximum period which has been set for investigating crimes involving minors has since been limited to 60 days. The police must inform the minor’s parents, the Attorney General and Public defenders office for Human rights when a minor is arrested. The government has also initiated public participation and designed numerous programs in collaboration of government ministries and NGOs which aim at reducing the gang violence. There are numerous massacres which have been reported in the prison system due to congestion of the prison facilities since some gang like the M-13 has been supervising crimes while incarcerated. Donor response International donors such as UNDP, World Bank and USAID have implemented programs which aim at combating the gang violence. USAID supports Artisans program which is referred as the Movement of Young Discoveries (MOJE) where it provides technical job training to local gang members in skills such welding, carpentry and screen-printing (USAID/LAC/CAM 15). MOJE also provides has workshops on self-esteem and personal development for the gang members. The U.S Embassy supports a school program which is implemented by the educational NGO Culture of Lawfulness where it demonstrates to 8th and 8th grade students the benefits of the rule of law in becoming better citizens who respect the law. The project has helped the teachers to develop lawfulness education programs in to the curriculum where parents and the communities are involved (USAID/LAC/CAM 16). Civil society response Civil society organizations are expected to reduce violence through conducting research on the violence and implementing initiatives which reduce gang violence. Communication of the gang violence to international donors has been one of the key initiatives of the civil society. Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation has prevention programs in some areas like Zaragoza where they have established recreational facilities like Karate and soccer fields. The EU has provided approximately $ US 10 million of funding for crime prevention and gang rehabilitation centers (USAID/LAC/CAM 17). Question nine: policy solutions to gang activity in El Salvador Provision of basic services and employment The government should provide basic services and employment opportunities and recreational facilities to the marginal urban enclaves where most youths feel isolated. Change of the education system Various studies which have been conducted indicate direct relationship between the gang activity and the school drop outs. The government should provide free and compulsory education to the youths and incorporate training on the importance of the rule of law and the dangers of drug abuse in the school curriculum. Change of law enforcement tactics The government should respond the gang violence through the use of prevention and intervention mechanisms since the ruthless tactics where extra-judicial killings and rampant arrests have only helped to reinforce the gang resistance to law enforcement efforts. Combat the illicit economy and access to small arms Criminal gangs finance most of the criminal activities from drug trafficking proceeds hence the government should ruthlessly end the illegal drug activities in the country. The government should enact strict laws which control the access of weapons like the small arms. The government should also end the transit points of the international narcotics trade which have increased the organized crimes in the country. Strengthen the police and judicial system Some State organs like the police and judicial officers collude with the criminal gang members. The government should end corruption in both the police and judiciary. The government should provide enough training to the law enforcement agencies while at the increasing the personnel in those agencies. Media coverage The media should focus on the prevention and causes of gang violence in the country rather than glamorizing the gang violence lifestyle. Works cited: USAID/LAC/CAM. Central America and Mexico Gang violence: El Salvador profile. Washington, D.C. Creative Associates International Inc. April 2006. Read More