And another gang truce we're hoping holds up is the one between PIV and BLC. The older heads seem to be holding up their end, but they fear that the younger generation will continue to cause chaos out in the streets. Yesterday the ones who want to leave that life behind came out to condemn the murder of 15-year-old Dwayne Gabourel. But they also gave us an insight into the gang world - about why innocent people get killed and what makes someone even want to join a gang. Their words were raw and expressed the reality of what they face every single day. Now, we know that many have rejected this event as a really twisted way to legitimise outlaws and their clique, but we're obligated to explore it because they shine a light on an underworld that has law abiding society terrorised.
They explained that desperation can cause a person to do unspeakable things. Courtney Menzies has this story.
The loss of an innocent life in a gang-related murder leaves behind a lot of questions: Why were they targeted? Weren't they supposed to be safe since they weren't gang affiliated? What did they do to get killed?
But the answer is oftentimes very simple: they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
It's a phrase burned into the minds of everyone who has lost an innocent loved one to gun violence. And it is the reality of why some of these lives were lost - said so by an alleged gang member himself.
Jermaine Garnett, PIV
"Most of the incidents happen out of the area because then everybody that knows they're supposed to die stay in their own corner, so the individual doesn't come in their area come do anything so most of the individuals that supposed to get hurt or lose their life aren't capable of getting it because they aren't at the spot that the things supposed to happen because the individual that are doing it don't come look for the man they're supposed to look for, they just do random thing around the place and that doesn't make sense because that cause the problem and individual that aren't supposed to die are the ones who die so that's causing the heat because the person that are supposed to dead still stay alive because when that person does die, the system doesn't really worry, they will leave you right there, it won't be a chaos if me or any one of the man that they're saying are active gang member do lose their life."
And that logic might seem strange to you - why kill someone who has no part in this gang war? The older heads in the street life explained that that's just how the younger minds work - if I can't catch you, well, I'll catch anyone else.
Jermaine Garnett, PIV
"We never ever do that in our older guys' history, so the younger guys that are coming now, that makes the thing difficult because they people that know they're supposed to get hurt will always have a protection over themselves and will be watching over themselves so it will be harder to catch those individual. If you hurt an individual who knows he's not supposed to get hurt it's the easiest thing to do because the individual will never expect he's going to get hurt because he has no relation or affiliation with nothing so you could kill a thousand people like that because the individual won't believe that that will happen to him."
Reporter:
"But try make I understand as an outsider what those youths are thinking in their mind, the gunman, the ones pulling the trigger, why would they target an innocent person?"
Jermaine Garnett, PIV
"Because then that just will actually make the same crowd feel pain so they just use it as you live in that area, the same crowd probably going to your funeral and affiliate round you and everybody will see it."
So you're either living in fear of being murdered or hiding from the law after killing someone innocent. But the one question every law-abiding resident asks is: why join that life in the first place?
Brandon Smith, PIV
"Sometimes it has to do with how you grow up, nothing is at home to eat, why should I go to school? Better I go out there in the streets and eat. And that's what cause it most of the time, government isn't setting anything for us."
Reporter:
"Is it hard to leave the gang life?"
Brandon Smith, PIV
"It's very hard but the best way to do it to keep to yourself."
Reporter:
"What are you guys doing since you say you want to stop, what will you do to earn an honest living?"
Brandon Smith, PIV
"Well, I'm trying to get two cement mixers to start a little business."
Courtney Menzies:
"And since you said it's the youths who go into the gangs are the ones who don't have food at home is it a thing where you guys as the older people if you guys make an opportunity for yourself, you'll involve the youths, teach them a trade and help them get on their way?"
Brandon Smith, PIV
"We have a mechanic shop right around the lane where kids go to learn in the evening and they watch what the older guys do and try take up the little trade."
But the opportunity to leave and start fresh is something that they feel is out of their reach. Most of the older heads want out of the crime life and they are begging for jobs to earn an honest living.
Jermaine Garnett, PIV
"We're trying to make it not happen like that because we want it not to happen but life really difficult and then it's only the rich getting richer and we're here in the slum, nothing happening for any of us, none of the youths they are talking about they do nothing for, every minute they say they'll have mediation and this and that, they do it but no results out of it. They're doing this for 20 to 15 years I would say these things happening between gang members and none of the politician do anything, they only come out to try say they will do it and they always say and give story, the story just isn't working because the youth are getting younger and nobody have anything to do."
Anthony Reyes, BLC
"They will harass we for selling weed, everybody smoke weed, big people in the system smoke weed, and enough of us do hustling different. Some of us do barbering, my big brother have a barber shop right there, everybody do their barbering, people teach the youths too. But you can't just do the war and nobody got money to sponsor what they're dealing with because people need to eat."
"I don't want my little brother to die, none of us want our little brothers die, but people have to let go of the resentment too because it's the resentment make people think certain things that they think abut their people that died and it's just the resentment, the rationale, they just have to stop all of that."
But rather than working, these alleged gang members spend most of their time behind bars since the constant state of emergencies that have been enacted since last year. Under the UDP, the men from all known gang areas were rounded up, regardless of if they had any part in the recent criminal activity. These men are saying they are sick of it, since they want to change their lives, and added that the SOE's just make the crime rate worsen.
Jermaine Garnett, PIV
"Nothing is happening out here because the people only set thing, set state of emergency, set this, set that, and send we to jail. When you come out of jail you just turn more monster, nothing else is there to do, you come out broke, you know, every time they send you to jail you come out broke, you don't have money or anything so your monster have to come loose because you need to eat, everything need to balance back and the scale need to set back straight, once a scale off balance it will never work in life."
