Luderitz Teenagers In Gang Fights

Recently I have become aware that there are gangs within Luderitz, surprised? I was too. These gangs generally consist of boys and young men from different areas of the town, mainly Nautilus, Location and NHE who fight viciously against each other at every given opportunity for what seems like very insignificant reasons. Fights over which girl belongs to who are very common it seems, and have resulted in stabbings, as have fights over clothing and who comes from which area of town. This, to me, all seems very juvenile as there is no pinnacle reason they are fighting, but it is a catch 22 situation as no one will be the first to back down, even though they may not want to be fighting.
Not every young male is involved in this, not by a long way, but enough are for it to be a major concern. Fights and stabbings have occurred in and out of school, and retaliations are necessary apparently, so the boys walk around constantly watching their backs. Boys as young as fourteen and fifteen are involved, and they don’t seem to care if they get injured or stabbed, it’s just part of it to them. I asked whether they considered the consequences of jail or expulsion from school, and they seem to think they’ll have grown out of it by the time they are no longer considered as juveniles in the eyes of the law, but expulsion from school seemed to worry them more. If they are caught fighting in school they are suspended or deprived of a privilege , which seems to act as a good deterrent. However, who is there to control these situations out of school time? The police cannot crack down on them due to their age and such a large number of people cannot be monitored, there are around sixteen people in each gang and up to eight gangs.
Fights have occurred outside clubs and bars, which poses the question, why are such young people able to frequent drinking establishments? The legal drinking age is eighteen but it seems to be ignored. Maybe less fights would occur if alcohol wasn’t involved and these boys weren’t out socialising with adults. One boy I met, who was under the age of sixteen, and cannot be in any way described as a man, has been stabbed five times. This to me is inconceivable, but he accepted this as the norm. Do we want the youth in Luderitz to be growing up involved in such things, or surrounded by such events? Another weapon the gangs use aside from knives, which might I add they carry with them to school, are petrol bombs. Again, these are accepted as the norm, the boys just go out in thick clothes to protect themselves from them. This is not play fighting, this is serious and people could get badly injured, whether they are caught in the crossfire or involved in the gangs, it makes no odds, this is not how young men should be spending their recreational time and something needs to be done about it. This is not a new issue, a boy has been stabbed to death in recent years as a result of gang fights. According to my sources, most of the parents of the gang members know they are involved in some kind of gang but do not know the extent of what happens. If my son had been stabbed five times I think I’d start asking some questions.
It seems students, girls and boys are dropping out of school as soon as the opportunity arises to get away from the situation, and I personally don’t blame them. However this means that learners who normally would finish their education are not, which is a great shame. The boys that have stayed out of gangs are definitely the wise ones, but the ones that got involved at an early age don’t really get the opportunity to walk away. Once they’ve fought someone, that person will hold a grudge and just because they are out of the gang doesn’t mean the other boy won’t retaliate.
Death or jail doesn’t have to be the culmination of this situation, if the gangs are recognised and dealt with it could be stopped, or at least reduced. If anyone has any opinions on this matter or would like to assist in some way please don’t hesitate to contact us. There is a forum on the website if you wish to air your thoughts.•