U.S., EU pledge help to suppress youth gangs

By Svetlana Marshall –

The United States and the European Union have both pledged to help Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean combat spiralling youth-orchestrated crimes by injecting more funds into programmes that will reintegrate deportees and curb gender-based violence.

U. S. Ambassador to Guyana D Brent Hardt and the head of the European Delegation, Ambassador Robert Kopecky reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to combating the scourge, during the opening ceremony of the National Training Workshop on Implementation of Prevention Strategies and Actions to address Youth Gangs and Violence. The event was organised by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Hardt, while reiterating his commitment to the fight, said challenges facing the region’s youths, such as lack of opportunity, social isolation and the culture of violence, must be overcome, if Caricom is to reduce the high incidence of youth gangs and violence.
“If we are to achieve this goal, we have to grapple with a number of manifestations of the risks facing the Caribbean youth, including lack of economic opportunity, job skills, and life skills; the interaction between young people and the judicial system; and the reality of life on the streets and in the villages…. dealing with the daily social pressures, temptations and criminal environment that the Caricom project is so critical.”
According to Ambassador Hardt, the identification of risks and protective factors can aid in the initiation of successful programmes that can form part of national and regional strategies to address the root causes of youth gangs and violence.
In Guyana, the U. S. has been tackling the issue, the ambassador said, with the establishment of the USAID Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) project. The project has been designed to channel at-risk youths in a direction that would help them to realise their potential. In a similar fashion, it helps other youths who had trouble with the law to reintegrate into society and simultaneously works with young offenders and the courts to promote alternative sentencing programmes.
“Already through the SKYE project; 122 at-risk youth have graduated from a work readiness curriculum and have been linked with mentors to guide them on a path to employment and opportunity.
The private sector has been an enthusiastic partner in helping to identify where jobs can be found and being willing to take a chance on a SKYE graduate,” Ambassador Hardt pointed out.
EU funding Ambassador Kopecky announced that new funding under the 10th European Development Fund is expected to come on stream by the end of 2013, and will be utilised to help dismantle the criminal network. He said with the development of the Caricom Crime Prevention and Social Development Action Plan, the EU is optimistic about offering greater support, which will deal with the links between youth gangs and violence, the high unemployment rate, low social capital, and the cohesion in high-risk communities.
“ There will also be an implementation of initiatives to address reintegration of deportees and ex- gang members into their communities, and entrepreneurial training to address unemployment and poverty are also priorities.