Mennonite
Central
Committee

"Brother Ricardo" works to rehabilitate gang members

Tim Shenk
May 18, 2006

Ricardo Torres has spent the last eight years befriending some of the most despised members of Honduran society — young men and women who belong to street gangs.

Honduran street gangs, known locally as maras, are widely feared for their violence and drug-trafficking. In recent years, the Honduran government has responded by incarcerating thousands of teenagers and young adults on the suspicion of gang involvement. Human rights organizations accuse law enforcement officials and vigilante groups of widespread abuse of suspected gang members, including arbitrary detentions and killings.

Torres, an MCC conflict resolution trainer from Bogotá, Colombia, has worked with gang members in several cities in northern Honduras since 1998. He meets with them in the streets, at their hangouts, on soccer fields and in prisons. Once he has gained their confidence, Torres asks about their life stories, speaks about peaceful ways to resolve conflicts and offers help in leaving the gangs.

"In our church language, this is a process of evangelization," Torres says. "The youth really need pastoral accompaniment."

Peace and Justice Project

Torres works for Peace and Justice Project, a Honduran Mennonite organization in La Ceiba, along with four other staff members and 20 volunteers in three regions of northern Honduras. Peace and Justice Project works primarily to rehabilitate current and former gang members, with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention. MCC contributes about $42,000 Cdn., or $38,000 U.S., a year to support this work.

Torres says that it is difficult for many gang members to begin a different way of life. Gangs are known to kill members who try to leave their ranks. Young men with gang tattoos are often beaten by police officers or arrested and held without trial for as long as a year and a half.

The violence of prison life further alienates gang members from society, Torres says, and terrible human rights abuses have taken place in Honduran prisons. On April 5, 2003, a riot in La Ceiba's El Porvenir prison led to the massacre of 69 inmates by soldiers, guards, police and other prisoners, according to a governmental report. Most of the victims were suspected gang members, and Peace and Justice Project helped family members organize a mass funeral.

Torres says he has helped about 20 young people to leave their gangs entirely. Peace and Justice Project offers a program of tattoo removal, community service, recreation, counseling and employment to help gang members start a different life. On four occasions, Torres has gone to court to testify that former gang members have reformed.

Known as "Brother Ricardo"

Torres says that he and his coworkers have slowly won the confidence of many other gang members. They visit gang members in the hospital and in prison. They organize soccer games and trips to the beach, and use these activities as opportunities to talk about improving one's self-esteem and resolving conflicts nonviolently. Among one street gang, Torres is known as Hermano Ricardo, or Brother Ricardo, for his pastoral work.

On Dec. 10, 2005, Torres was honored by Center for Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture, a Honduran human rights organization. He attended a nationally televised awards ceremony and accepted a plaque in recognition of his promotion and defense of human rights.

Torres plans to complete his term of service with MCC in July of this year. Torres says he and his wife Marion Meyer may move next to South Africa, where she is a citizen. He says he hopes to study English there.

"Really, I give thanks to God because he gave me this opportunity to demonstrate that I can do something in favor of the most vulnerable and unprotected people in society," Torres writes of his service with MCC. "... I believe that by acting diligently we will be able to share the peace of God. I pray to God that this work with young people will continue and that he will guide the youth to look for a better future."