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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon

Time: 9:26 pm

Results for youth gangs (timor-leste)

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Author: Scambary, James

Title: A Survey of Gangs and Youth Groups in Dili, Timor-Leste

Summary: The events in April 2006 that propelled Timor Leste into an ongoing political and social crisis came as a surprise to most observers. The disintegration of the security forces into multiple factions and the emergence of large, organized street gangs and a diverse range of potentially destabilising disaffected political groups was also largely unpredicted. The sources of the violence are also varied and complex, including long standing ethnic tensions over the control of the markets and trading routes, property disputes arising from post 1999 resettlement, rival factions within the security forces, endemic gang rivalries, and a politically driven destabilization campaign by opposition parties. The one common thread is the involvement of large numbers of young, marginalized males. The sources of their alienation are well known through a number of recent studies which revealed a sense of disenfranchisement due to a range of factors including unemployment, security concerns, and lack of access to education. Not all youth have resorted to violence however. The key finding of this report was the existence of hundreds of different bairo (village) based youth groups, all attempting in different but positive ways to engage and unify their communities through collective, socially oriented activities. These groups are essentially voluntary, community based civil society organizations, and represent important building blocks for future reconciliation and reconstruction programs, and as vital points of engagement with marginalized youth. Their needs and objectives are generally modest, and could be met with a minimum of support. In the absence of active, viable representative youth structures these groups also present a vital opportunity for building a new, ground up youth representative body, to ensure youth perspectives are heard at a national policy level.

Details: Canberra: AusAID, 2006. 42p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 18, 2011 at: http://www.etan.org/etanpdf/2006/Report_Youth_Gangs_in_Dili.pdf

Year: 2006

Country: Indonesia

URL: http://www.etan.org/etanpdf/2006/Report_Youth_Gangs_in_Dili.pdf

Shelf Number: 121386

Keywords:
Violent Crime
Youth Gangs (Timor-Leste)
Youth Violence