Youth LEAD Project Two weeks ago, the St. Andrew’s office was abuzz with news – youth in three areas of Cairo, who had previously maintained violent rivalries, had agreed to a peace treaty. Phones of the Youth LEAD staff were ringing incessantly, the excitement of the young men buzzing at the other end. The night before, over 70 young men had met and agreed to peace.
The real story here is that this is not just any other peace agreement. This agreement was generated among the young men themselves after a respectably long period of non-violence, without the intervention of the staff at Youth LEAD – though quietly encouraged and supported.
Within these youth and youth in other communities prone to gang violence, numerous peace treaties have been established. However, such peace treaties are often brought about due to initiation from outside, well-intentioned but misguided mediators. What often results is a declaration for peace that looks pretty on paper, but is really just a conglomeration of empty words in the name of peace.
At other times, peace treaties surface in direct response to certain acts of violence. While this idea is on the right track, it too is an incomplete solution. The mixing of emotions action can be unstable and at risk for collapse under the pressures of vengeful forces and pre-existing conditions in the community, the same conditions that lead to gang-violence in the first place. The staff at Youth LEAD work not to produce a document, but to identify and tackle the underlying conditions that lead young men to choose gang-violence.
The Youth LEAD project operates 4 centers currently, with plans in the works for 3 more centers, to provide at-risk youth with an alternative to the streets. The young men can take English classes, receive tutoring, life skill classes, attend demand-driven seminars, take hip-hop lessons, seek counseling, use computers, or simply hang out in a safe environment. By offering these young men resources and support, they are all working together to eliminate the perceived need among youth for gang-violence. And in effect, supplying these young men with the tools and resources to resolve their conflicts and establish their own peace.
By fostering a safer environment, the Youth LEAD project encourages these young men to forge peace themselves. The fact that this peace treaty arose after a period of peace suggests development of real progress, rather than impassioned reaction to a recent occurrence. Youth LEAD fosters and encourages peace, but not just in the name of peace – more importantly, in definition. And sure enough, the sentiment of accomplishment has echoed throughout the Youth LEAD centers with celebration, pizza parties, and the creation of an official banner, painted excitedly the night after the young men shook hands in peace.
For a flash-point background on gang violence in Cairo, see this BBC article.
