In Manresathe Mossos d’Esquadra 11 boys arrested (only three were of legal age) after a brutal fist fight between two gangs. Meanwhile, armed with knives, two groups of the Hindu community stage another violent confrontation in Vic (Barcelona).
These three chapters of extreme violence -which are reminiscent of what happened last year in Barcelona during the Mercè festivities- have taken place in just one week. The Conselleria d’Interior recognizes that these are not specific disputes but rather a full-fledged phenomenon. “This goes beyond the local level. We need reflection as a country,” acknowledges the mayor of Molins, Xavi Paz.
Different types of violence
What then do these altercations respond to? Are they organized gangs? Is this a spectacular and viral nihilistic reaction? Another symptom of the lack of limits? Are young people expressing discomfort, as has happened in France, about their zero expectations for the future? In fact, young people of migrant origin have been involved in the three pitched battles. So, to what extent does the migratory factor and the lack of horizons and references that they often accuse influence these explosions?
In order to make a diagnosis and put possible solutions on the table, Esteban Ibarra, president of the Movement against Intolerance, asks the police to specify which young people we are talking about. “The violence of a group of football ultras is not the same as that of ethnic group gangs or that of thuggish partygoers,” he explains.
Ibarra, who emphasizes that everything indicates that we are ahead of interethnic gangsmakes it clear that the root of the problem is “the normalization and internalization of violence”, a common denominator of all youth regardless of their origin.
Rejection of the other, narcissism and impunity
Two other ingredients that, according to Ibarra, have lit the fuse are the climate of intolerance and rejection of the other. Also the impunity (they know they go unpunished for being so young), narcissism (they record everything on their cell phone and show it on social networks) and the can that gives them knowledge within a cluster.
“There is a lack of public youth policies against violence,” says Esteban Ibarra, from the Movement against Intolerance.
Ibarra considers that we are facing a polyhedral problemwith a social, family and political aspect and criticizes “the lack of public youth policies against violence“. “It is urgent to have more pedagogy to instill respect for others and to stop normalizing violence,” he concludes.
Intolerance, rejection of others, impunity, narcissism and the power of the group are other elements that light the fuse.
Organized groups?
Like the president of the Movement against Intolerance, Alejandro Rodrigo, a family counselor with extensive experience in a closed detention center, asks the Catalan authorities to offer more information about the violent young people detained these days to know if they are previously organized groups. “Is not the same and the problem generated by a band that the conflict that causes a thug who has drunk more than necessary and gets other kids follow him punctually. With the latter there must be a moderate response to the events and also psychological, educational and social measures. With the first, with the organized gangs, there is only one possibility: forcefulness,” he says.
“The problem of a gang is not addressed in the same way as that caused by a thug who has drunk and gets other kids to follow him punctually”
Accustomed to working with violent young people and author of ‘Real Adolescences from Within’ (Editorial Platform), Rodrigo explains that, currently, these organized groups do not have a single nationality but are heterogeneous and among their ranks there are also young Spaniards. “Anyone is susceptible to joining a gang,” explains the counselor and disseminator.
Like the sects
From his experience, Rodrigo knows that bands They work the same as the sects. “It’s hard to get in and it’s even harder to get out.. Emotional blackmail occurs, they pretend that they are giving their lives for you. “You get into the hole and you are already in debt to them,” she summarizes.
The gangs, Rodrigo adds, always seek violence. “The more violent you are, the more status you have. They confront everyone, it doesn’t matter if it’s a business, street furniture, the police or members of other gangs,” highlights the expert.
“Many children come from unstructured families in a broad sense: there are also homes with a high socioeconomic level that are not accompanying their children as they should,” says psychologist Roger Ballescà.
Rodrigo adds that many kids who belong to organized and violent groups are characterized by having a low socioeconomic level, belonging to dysfunctional families or marginalized areas. His violence is, let’s say, his way of being. Or its reason for being. “The kids from violent groups are alienated. “They increasingly feed on younger children because they know they go unpunished,” he concludes.
The Icelandic success project
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Like the other two experts, the child and adolescent psychologist Roger Ballesca ensures that, before putting possible solutions on the table, it is essential to have a good diagnosis of the situation. In his opinion, the latest violent episodes are explained by both individual and family causes. “Many kids come from broken familiesbut not in the classical sense of the word, since there are also households with high economic power who, however, are not accompanying their children as they should. A crucial aspect is the lack of limitssomething that is also proven by the problems that high school teachers have in managing authority in class.”
Ballescà mentions the abandonment and school failure as part of the problem and demands to take note of projects carried out in other countries to work with youth. The expert mentions the Iceland initiativewhich improved data on drug addiction and juvenile delinquency with a plan in which it organized sports and cultural activities to “offer kids a way to feel useful and competent in positive spaces.”