Special Report Part 2: Juarez Leaders Hope Youth Programs, Facilities Will Help End Violence

Just a mile from El Paso, Texas in West Ciudad Juarez, Roberto Ayala is just trying to survive.

The teenager lives in one of the most dangerous sections of Juarez. It’s such a dangerous area that children have seen assaults, shootings, and even dead bodies on the streets of their neighborhood.

Then there are the narco messages scrawled in the neighborhood that threaten to kill people. The messages have left Ayala scared.

Despite the carnage, life goes on and Juarez leaders are hoping to end the violence by targeting youth such as Ayala with programs that helped rescue Medellin, Colombia from the depths of hell.

The war for Juarez has a number of striking similarities to Medellin at the height of the Colombian cocaine wars more than 20 years ago.Now, Medellin is considered one of the safest and most progressive cities in Latin America.

Jose Reyes Ferriz, then mayor of Juarez, and other Juarez officials traveled to Medellin last year and witnessed the Medellin model for success first hand.

“Creating opportunities is what they did in Medellin,” Reyes Ferriz said.

Juarez is already investing in libraries, just like Medellin did.

Colombia’s transformation included cultural centers in some of the poorest and roughest neighborhoods and they encouraged youngsters to invest back in their communities.

“Life is much different now,” Luis Felipe Londoo said. He said growing up in Colombia, he avoided the lure of drugs and crime by joining clubs, such as the Boy Scouts. He adds, “you either unite or you die.”

Medellin has been instrumental in keeping kids off the streets, not just by encouraging them to get involved socially and through education, but also by taking part in sports.

That’s exactly what they’re doing in Juarez where city leaders recently built a state of the art football field in the very neighborhood where 15 people – mostly teens – were massacred in January, in what’s been called a case of mistaken identity.

Sports offer a necessary distraction for Jesus Sanchez who said basketball is pointing him in the right direction and away from those he calls “bad people.”

Another haven for teens is the Casa Juvenil de Juarez, where mentors teach them how to use computers, look for jobs and expose them to history and culture.

Without this place, Omar Garcia said he’d be in the streets.

Misguided teens can change in places such as these, Ayala said. They provide tools for youngsters to beat the streets.

Related Links:Link:Special Report Part 1: Comparing Colombia’s Past Drug War To Juarez’s Current ViolenceLink:Special Report Part 3: Juarez Models Military, Police Changes After Colombian Tactics