The debate about gang crime increases more and more as the problem grows. Journalist Christer El-Mochantaf has met the young guys behind the headlines. “Many of them are very young, they are still children,” he says. For several months, Expressen journalist Christer El-Mochantaf has followed various gang criminals. In a recorded conversation, one of them talks about his fear of losing his life. -Imagine if it happens like this and like that. What if I die, he says. Christer testifies that many who are in the criminal world feel incredibly bad and stressed by the world they live in. – Many have an ambition to leave that world, he says. The gang seeks out and recruits young people from socially vulnerable areas. One person Christer El-Mochantaf has followed is only 16 years old. He fell into crime much because of his older relatives and now finds it difficult to get out, an experience he shares with many others. Some people the gangs recruit are only 12-13 years old. The gang begins to lure the young people with money and expensive gadgets in return for minor services, such as shopping at the kiosk. – When these children are groomed for several weeks or months, they are then tasked with selling drugs and carrying weapons, says Christer El-Mochantaf. According to the people Christer El-Mochantaf has met, the escalation of gang violence means that more young people have gained access to weapons. With a lack of thinking about consequences and a lot of money to be made, violence is close at hand. In the recorded conversation between Christer El-Mochantaf and one of the gang criminals, the young man ends by sharing a piece of advice. – I would say to those who are not into this game: Stay your ass out, he says.
t4-general
New mapping: How children are groomed to become gang criminals
