what it takes to leave a life of violence and stay alive

“It’s easy to get into a gang, but it’s impossible to get out” is another popular saying in gang-affected areas of Cape Town. It also makes it seem like gang membership inevitably ends in violence. This appears to be borne out by murder statistics showing an average of two gang-related deaths every day in and around Cape Town.

Much has been written about the city’s gangs. Researchers have described, for example, how gangsterism has its origins in the institutionalized violence and social disorder imposed by white supremacy under apartheid. Scholars have also written about how gang membership provides opportunities – self-protection, income and dignity – in areas where the post-apartheid state fails to provide adequate development and governance. But there is a lack of literature on gang exit in Cape Town. This reinforces the idea that gangsterism is a death sentence.

But the gangsters get away with it. As a social scientist, I write about this in my book Gang Entry and Exit in Cape Town.

The book is based on the life stories of 24 former gang members, along with hundreds of hours of additional interviews and observations from years of research. It shows that gangsters, men and women – some trapped in gangs, drug addiction, prison and extreme violence for more than a decade – turn to family, work and religion in an attempt to escape. to go out.

The redemptive role of religion, in particular, is central to those who attempt to trade street life for “normal life.”

Patrick

Around 97% of South Africans report some form of religious affiliation. The vast majority are Christian. The believers include current and former gang members.

Religious affiliation can promote positive social networks, offer guidance for repairing relationships, and provide support and social acceptance. Importantly, my research shows that spirituality also offers former gangsters a model for dealing with conflict, as well as a way to convince others – especially fellow gang members – that their change can be trusted.

Take Patrick (29), a former member of the Laughing Boys. Patrick believed that “the more you hurt people, the more people fear you.” Now he thinks differently:

I started going to church more often, reading my Bible, helping around the house. With this, I also learned a little humility towards others and not to worry so much about myself.

He describes how he would present the interpretation of a kerk brother (church brother) walking past his former gang brothers with a Bible, a kind word and a deferential attitude. It’s an essential reminder of his exit from the gangs, just like wearing silver chains and sneakers, speaking in slang, stabbing and shooting to show people he was a real gangster – one not to be messed with .

Patrick admits that religion is not just about piety. It’s also a question of performance:

I want my change to be visible, for everyone to know that I’m not that kind of person anymore.

Stigma and distrust of ex-gangsters is a major stumbling block along the journey out of gangs. The hope is that if he can stay on the straight path for long enough, the memories of Patrick, the boy who laughs, will be replaced with an acceptance of Patrick, the brother of the church.

But getting to this point is not without peril. Like most of the participants in this study, poverty and limited social networks keep him locked in the community he grew up in – and within striking distance of other gangsters. One day he was ambushed and nearly assassinated by a former enemy. He told me:

Fortunately he didn’t have a weapon, that day he wanted to kill me. In fact, I was walking home from church one Sunday with my Bible. He jumped out of his car and said: You risk walking here… So your past can come back to haunt you.

Emerson

Emerson (43) was part of Cape Town’s biggest gang, the Americans, for more than 20 years. He served 16 separate prison stints, mostly for violent crimes. He said:

If we argue, I won’t finish talking, I’ll pull out my gun or my knife.

Emerson now relies heavily on Scripture to guide his disengagement process, and particularly to manage conflict without violence. For example, he describes an attempted theft:

He is standing over me with this brick. And I think this guy is going to hit me… I just leaned on God. His word says, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” The Bible tells you about gentleness.

Emerson also knew that playing the pious man meant showing the outside world that his commitment to nonviolence was real—even if it meant getting hurt.

I can no longer function as I used to if I find myself in situations like that of this thief. Because people are watching to see how I react. The gangs are watching. I knew I had to resist and forgive this guy.

As luck would have it, the attacker walked away, probably surprised by the passive reaction of his potential victim. But Emerson remained conflicted:

It started when I left. I thought: How can I let this guy do this? Does this guy know who I am in the (gangs)? It was very hard. I also started crying, thinking that this thing had happened and I hadn’t done anything.

Emerson had to fend off two threats that day. First the theft, then this emotional reaction. This almost drove him to seek revenge, to seek “blood for blood’s sake,” as gangsters are expected to do.

Like others in this book, Emerson did not experience leaving the gang as a simple decision to change. It was a long and ongoing confluence of deliberations, doubts, hope, introspection, trauma and resolutions, which intertwined in complex and sometimes contradictory ways. Eventually, he got to the point where he was more out of the gangs than in them.

Of course, leaving a gang is a precarious process that provides no guarantee of safety. Emerson and others therefore took every possible precaution. In addition to work and family, turning to religion gave them the best chance of staying alive until their family and neighbors accepted them, their gang mates forgot them, and conflicts with their rivals are decreasing – showing that leaving gangs in Cape Town is difficult, but not impossible.

Gangs In and Out of Cape Town: Going Beyond the Streets of Africa’s Deadliest City is now available in South Africa via UJ Press.

Written by Dariusz Dziewanski, Honorary Research Affiliate, Center for Criminology, University of Cape Town

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.