Street tensions 'rising for six months'

Gambino gang members (from left) Kade, Ben and Newon, at the scene of a beating of two fellow members by rivals. Picture/ Glenn Jeffrey

South Auckland community youth worker Sully Paea says he has felt tension rising among youth street gangs for six months.

"I listen to the language on the street, the youth in the schools ... I can tell from the language on the walls, I can tell by the environment, something is brewing," he said.

"Kids have become harder and harder. There are more gangs, more gangs I have never seen before."

Mr Paea, who is director of Crosspower Ministries Trust and has worked in Otara since 1979, said young people in the area had no facilities targeted at them but plenty of access to tinnie houses and alcohol.

Children as young as 8 and 9 openly smoked cannabis.

Mr Paea said the solution had to come from the community and he challenged community leaders, including churches, to stop simply talking about the problem and start acting.

"Churches around this place have gone to sleep. If any change is going to happen, it would come from churches, they have the members ... people in churches are very inwardly focused, they need to get out more."

Manukau Youth Centre assistant manager Allan Va'a agreed with Mr Paea.

"It's a volcano waiting to erupt, and if we don't deal with these issues with our young people, that volcano will erupt."

Mr Va'a, who has worked with young people for nearly 20 years, said there needed to be a greater collective effort to counter the gangs that lure troubled youth.

"For me, it all stems back to identity. These young people can't identify with their school, their family, their community, so they find identity in a gang and run with that."

Mangere East Family Centre director Peter Sykes said more "mainstream" youth were involved in gangs than ever before.

He said part of the solution was to take adolescents seriously as individuals and provide appropriate community supports and facilities for them. More money was needed for resources such as social workers in schools.

Manukau East MP Ross Robertson said the latest incident highlighted the need for a community response and the resurrection of "traditional civic values".

South Auckland Christian community worker Sam Chapman said gang-related violence waxed and waned.

"I'm not sure if it's on the rise or if it just gets reported a whole lot more. It comes in spasms.

"There's always people under so much pressure, close to the boil, and it doesn't require much to get them over the edge."

Mr Chapman said he had been trying to help gang members for 25 years.

The community had long been active in trying to stop gang-related violence from a grassroots level, he said.

"There are a lot of good things happening that never get reported on. There would be a whole lot more [gang-related violence] if it wasn't for the efforts from school teachers who work in the community, social workers and community workers who work for church groups.

"They do a tremendous job to alleviate the pressure on a lot of families, whether that be economic, or just trying to cope day-to-day with reality."

The work he was involved in tried to make gang members take responsibility for their actions, Mr Chapman said.

"Until that happens, things will remain the status quo."