By IANS
Guatemala City : After the lynching of two men by vigilantes, elders of an indigenous community in Guatemala convinced comrades of the slain criminals to hand over their weapons and undergo rehabilitation.
“It was a lot of work but we did it. We talked to them (the gang members) and warned them that we weren’t prepared to tolerate more harm done to our village and didn’t want any more bloodshed,” community leader Julio Luna told the Spanish news agency EFE.
Luna, a 35-year-old labourer, achieved in less than a week what no government institution has been able to do in years: persuade members of the dreaded Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha gangs to leave behind “the crazy life”.
The feat was accomplished in Cerro Alto, an Indian community within the municipality of San Juan Sacatepequez.
Everything began a week ago when, “sick of the gangs, local residents captured two gang members, beat them and burned them alive in the village square”, Luna said.
“That worried us a lot because we’re a peaceful community and we don’t want it filled with blood. That’s why I took the initiative. I spoke with the village schoolteacher and little by little the rest of the community joined in,” he added.
During the course of the week, the Cerro Alto residents went door to door to warn members of the gangs that if they did not turn in their weapons and rehabilitate they would suffer the same fate as their comrades – meaning they would be lynched in the village square.
“The truth is I didn’t think we would achieve our goal in that way, but it happened,” said Luna, who was surprised to see that close to 300 gang members ranging in age from 15 to 35 came to the square Sunday to turn in their weapons and participate in the rehabilitation programme.
“They handed over weapons of all types: from homemade bombs to automatic handguns, shotguns and hoppers for AK-47 rifles,” Luna said.
He said the community wanted to destroy all the arms on the spot but the police commander asked residents to turn them over to the authorities.
One by one, the gang members posed for photos for ID cards given to them by the community and which identify them as “young people in the process of rehabilitation”.
The residents still have no concrete plans about how to help the men become rehabilitated, “only loose ideas”, Lula said. He added that they hope the government helps them because “the kids need an opportunity”.
The gigantic task begun by Luna has led to death threats from some of the supposed leaders of the gangs who have refused to follow the others’ lead.
“I’ve received a lot of calls on my cell phone, where they’ve issued death threats. I’m going to take my family to a safer place, but I’m going to stay here. I’m not going to give up on this because a lot of the kids are grateful, and even cried because they were hoping for an opportunity like this,” Luna said.
According to figures from security forces, more than 60,000 young people in Guatemala belong to the feared youth gangs, which are notorious for robbing and extorting individuals and businesses and even killing those who try to resist their attacks.